Database of Women Comic Creators in France (19th–21st centuries)

This database lists 711 women comic creators who published at least two works with a commercial publisher in France between 1876 and 2020. It serves as a reference tool for studying the contribution of women to the comics industry and supports research in sociology, history, political science, gender studies, and art studies. This database was produced by Marys Renné HERTIMAN as part of her doctoral dissertation titled “Struggles for the Recognition of Women in Comics in France”, defended in June 2025 (Université Paris 8). It addresses the scientific need to identify, document, and make visible the women who contributed to the history and development of comics in France, from the late 19th century to the 21st century. Women comic creators are defined here as individuals who identify as women and take part in the creation of comics; they may be responsible for drawing, writing, coloring, editing, or any combination of these roles. The goal of the project is to provide a reliable, structured, and accessible reference dataset that can be enriched by the scholarly community. The data were gathered through triangulation, by cross-referencing various sources: – professional directories, publisher catalogues, reference works; – specialized databases; – heritage digital resources; – academic studies and associative contributions. The inclusion criterion is the publication of at least two comics in France, with a commercial publisher, between 1876 and 2020. The database is a living object. The Identité and Pratique fields are documented for nearly all individuals; the Registre, Période, Début activité and Fin activité fields, however, are still being completed and currently cover only part of the population. A few entries also carry a note in the Statut field, indicating a pending verification (spelling of a name, possible duplicate, practice to be documented). Corrections and additions from the scholarly community are welcome; any proposal may be sent to the author, if possible with the supporting sources.