Colleen Coover (born July 14, 1969) is a

comic book artist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary and ...

and

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

based in Portland, Oregon and is known for creating the lesbian-themed erotic

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. ...

''Small Favors'' from

Eros Comix Fantagraphics (previously Fantagraphics Books) is an American publisher of alternative comics, classic comic strip anthologies, manga, magazines, graphic novels, and the erotic Eros Comix imprint. History Founding Fantagraphics was found ...

, illustrator of the comic book

limited series Limited series may refer to: *Limited series, individual storylines within an anthology series *Limited series, a particular run of collectables, usually individually numbered * Limited series (comics), a comics series with a predetermined number ...

''Banana Sunday'' from

Oni Press Oni Press is an American independent comic book and graphic novel publisher based in Portland, Oregon. In 2019, it became an imprint label following the company's merger with Lion Forge Comics. The merged company, Oni–Lion Forge Publishing Gr ...

, and for illustrating several short stories in '' X-Men: First Class'' from

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Comics'' in 19 ...

Early life

Coover was born in

Iowa Iowa () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wiscon ...

on July 14, 1969.. She identifies as

bisexual Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, wh ...

. Coover met writer Paul Tobin at a drama class, and would go on to meet again at a local comic book store she regularly frequented. Coover and Tobin were married August 25, 2007. Coover grew up reading comics. She dropped out of art school and says that she is entirely self-taught as a comic book artist. She began drawing comics after meeting her husband. She credits the

Hernandez brothers The Hernandez brothers, also known as Los Bros Hernandez, are the three American cartoonist brothers Mario (b. 1953), Gilbert (b. 1957), and Jaime Hernandez (b. 1959). The three were born in a Mexican-American family and grew up in ...

Milton Caniff Milton Arthur Paul Caniff (; February 28, 1907 – April 3, 1988) was an People of the United States, American cartoonist famous for the ''Terry and the Pirates (comic strip), Terry and the Pirates'' and ''Steve Canyon'' comic strips. Biography ...

, Wendy Pini,

Seth Seth,; el, Σήθ ''Sḗth''; ; "placed", "appointed") in Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Mandaeism, and Sethianism, was the third son of Adam and Eve and brother of Cain and Abel, their only other child mentioned by name in the Hebrew Bible. ...

's '' Palookaville'',

Peter Arno Curtis Arnoux Peters, Jr. (January 8, 1904 – February 22, 1968), known professionally as Peter Arno, was an American cartoonist. He contributed cartoons and 101 covers to ''The New Yorker'' from 1925, the magazine's first year, until 1968, the ...

Dan DeCarlo Daniel S. DeCarlo (December 12, 1919 – December 18, 2001) was an American cartoonist best known for having developed the look of Archie Comics in the late 1950s and early 1960s, modernizing the characters to their contemporary appearance and es ...

Curt Swan Douglas Curtis Swan (February 17, 1920 – June 17, 1996) was an American comics artist. The artist most associated with Superman during the period fans call the Bronze Age of Comic Books, Swan produced hundreds of covers and stories from the 195 ...

, and

Neal Adams Neal Adams (June 15, 1941 – April 28, 2022) was an American comic book artist. He was the co-founder of the graphic design studio Continuity Associates, and was a Creator ownership, creators-rights advocate who helped secure a pension and re ...

as artistic influences.

Career

Coover has contributed comic work to ''Out'' magazine and has done illustration and cover design for various publications, including '' On Our Backs'', '' Girlfriends'', ''

Curve In mathematics, a curve (also called a curved line in older texts) is an object similar to a line, but that does not have to be straight. Intuitively, a curve may be thought of as the trace left by a moving point. This is the definition that ...

'', ''

Kitchen Sink Kitchen sink may refer to: * ''Freaks of Nature'' (film), a 2015 comedy horror film, also known as ''Kitchen Sink'' * ''Kitchen Sink'', a 1989 horror short directed by Alison Maclean * ''Kitchen Sink'' (TV series), cookery series on Food Networ ...

'', and ''

Nickelodeon Magazine ''Nickelodeon Magazine'' is a defunct American children's magazine inspired by the children's television network Nickelodeon. Its first incarnation appeared in 1990 and was distributed at participating Pizza Hut restaurants; the version of the ma ...

''; and for publishers including Buckle Down Publishing,

Alyson Books Alyson Books, formerly known as Alyson Publications, was a book publishing house which specialized in LGBT fiction and non-fiction. Former publisher Don Weise described it as "the world's oldest and largest publisher of LGBT literature" and "th ...

Cleis Press Cleis Press is an American independent publisher of books in the areas of sexuality, erotica, feminism, gay and lesbian studies, gender studies, fiction, and human rights. The press was founded in 1980 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It later moved to S ...

,. and

Dark Horse Comics Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book, graphic novel, and manga publisher founded in Milwaukie, Oregon by Mike Richardson in 1986. The company was created using funds earned from Richardson's chain of Portland, Oregon comic book shops known ...

. Her first major comics project was ''Small Favors,'' a sex-positive, woman-friendly adult comic published from 2000-2003. She illustrated the

graphic novel A graphic novel is a long-form, fictional work of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comic scholars and industry ...

s ''Gingerbread Girl'' (2011) and ''Banana Sunday'' (2006)'','' both written by Paul Tobin.. Since 2012 she has illustrated the digital comic ''Bandette'', also written by Paul Tobin. ''Bandette'' was nominated for four

Eisner Award The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, are prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books, sometimes referred to as the comics industry's equivalent of the Academy Awards. They are named in ...

s, and won the award for Best Digital/Webcomic in 2016. She won the Eisner Award again in 2017 for Best Digital Comic with ''Bandette''. Coover is a member of

Periscope Studio Helioscope is a comics and illustration studio based in Portland, Oregon. Members of the studio work both individually and as collaborators on a number of high-profile mainstream and independent comic books. These include '' Superman'', ''Batman'' ...

and the Comic Art Collective. Coover participated in the panels: "Prism Queer Press Grant Portfolio Review", "Love is in the Air: LGBT Romance Comics", and "Women of Marvel" at the San Diego Comic Convention 2009. She is the author of the 2012 short story "Home Port."

Bibliography

Comics

* ''The Age of The Sentry'' #3: "She Loved A Monster!" (2008) * ''

Amazing Spider-Girl Spider-Girl (May "Mayday" Parker) is a superheroine appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. She has been referred to as both Spider-Girl and Spider-Woman. The character appears in the MC2 universe. The character was create ...

'' #25–28 * '' Amazing Spider-Man Family'' #3–4 * ''Bandette'' #1–20 (Monkeybrain Comics and

) * ''

Fantastic Four The Fantastic Four is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in '' The Fantastic Four'' #1 ( cover dated Nov. 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism in the medium. It was the first ...

Giant-Size Adventures'' #1: "Susan Storm and Misty Knight in: The Importance of Being Invisible" (August 2009, 9 pages) * '' Girl Comics'' #1: "Introduction" (May 2010) * ''I Am An Avenger'' #4: "Then And Now" (February 2011) * ''Iron Man and Power Pack'' #4: "Dog & Pony Show" (April 2008) * ''King-Size Spider-Man Summer Special'' #1: "Un-Enchanted Evening" (2008) * ''

Lockjaw and the Pet Avengers ''Lockjaw and the Pet Avengers'' is a four-issue comic book limited series published by Marvel Comics from July to October 2009. It was followed up by the four-issue limited series ''Lockjaw and the Pet Avengers Unleashed'' from May to August 2 ...

'' #1: "Thor Frog Origin Thingy" (July 2009) * ''Models Inc'' #3: "Brains!" (back-up story) (December 2009) * ''

Power Pack Power Pack is a superhero team consisting of four young siblings appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Louise Simonson and artist June Brigman, they first appeared in their own series in 1984, which l ...

: Day One'' #1–4: "Power Focus" (May–August 2008) * ''Tails Of The Pet Avengers'' #1: ''Terrier On The High Seas'' (story and art) and ''Birds of a Different Feather'' (April 2010) * ''

Uncanny X-Men ''Uncanny X-Men'', originally published as ''The X-Men'', is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics since 1963, and is the longest-running series in the X-Men comics franchise. It features a team of superheroes called the ...

: First Class'' #1 (inked, joint-colored, joint-lettered). * ''Thor and the Warriors Four'' #1-4: "The twelve labors of the babysitter!" (June–September 2010) * '' Wolverine: First Class'' #8: "Kitty's Dream" (December 2008) * '' X-Men: First Class'' #3, 5–6, 9, 11–15 (October 2007 - October 2008) * ''X-Men: First Class Finals'' #1–3 (April–June 2009) * ''X-Men First Class Special'': "The Key; Men Fear the Blob; The Mental Might of Marvel Girl" (July 2009).

Books

*''Small Favors, Volume 1'' (Eros Comix, 2002) collecting issues 1-4 *''Small Favors, Volume 2'' (Eros Comix, 2003) collecting issues 5-8 *''Banana Sunday'' (Oni Press, 2006) (with Paul Tobin, as "Root Nibot") *''Lockjaw and the Pet Avengers'' (Marvel, 2009) H/B incl. "Terrier On The High Seas" written & drawn by Colleen Coover; "Birds Of A Different Feather" *''Sentry: The Age of the Sentry'' (Marvel, 2009) incl. ''The Age of The Sentry'' #3: "She Loved A Monster!". *''Spider-Man: Amazing Friends'' Marvel, 20??) incl. "Take a Seat!" *''Spider-Man: Spider-Women Digest'' (Marvel, May 2009) inc. "Un-enchanted Evening" (from ''King-Size Spider-Man Summer Special'' #1) *''X-Men First Class: Mutant Mayhem'' (Marvel, 2008) incl. ''X-Men: First Class'' (2007) 1-5 and ''X-Men: First Class Special'' #1 *''X-Men First Class: Band of Brothers'' (Marvel, 2008) incl. ''X-Men: First Class'' (2007) 6-10 *''X-Men First Class: The Wonder Years'' (Marvel, 2009) incl. ''X-Men: First Class'' (2007) 11-16 and ''Giant-Size X-Men: First Class'' *''X-Men First Class: Finals'' (Marvel, 2009) incl. backup stories from issues 1-3: "Scott and Jean Are On a Date!", "X-Date Part 2", and "X-Date Part 3" *''Gingerbread Girl'' (Top Shelf, 2011) (with Paul Tobin) *''Bandette, Volume 1: Presto!'' (Dark Horse, 2013) (with Paul Tobin) collecting issues 1-5 *''Bandette, Volume 2: Stealers Keepers!'' (Dark Horse, 2015) (with Paul Tobin) collecting issues 6-9 *''Bandette, Volume 3: The House of the Green Mask'' (Dark Horse, 2016) (with Paul Tobin) collecting issues 10-13 * ''Small Favors: The Definitive Girly Porno Collection'' (Limerence Press, 2017) (reprints books 1 & 2, plus color special and new material) * ''Gothic Tales of Haunted Love'' (Bedside Press, 2018) (contributor)

References

External links

*
Coover's page
at Comic Art Collective
Interview with Colleen Coover
at Sequential Tart, December 2003

at ''Publishers Weekly'', March 28, 2006 {{DEFAULTSORT:Coover, Colleen Bisexual women artists Bisexual women writers LGBT comics creators Artists from Portland, Oregon American female comics artists Female comics writers Marvel Comics writers American bisexual artists American bisexual writers Living people 1969 births LGBT people from Iowa 21st-century American LGBT people