Woman Rebel: The Margaret Sanger Story

by Peter Bagge

Overview

The alternative-comics master offers an indelible and idiosyncratic take on the protofeminist

"[Woman Rebel] is fine work from an excellent cartoonist and I urge you to jump right in."-Tom Spurgeon of The Comics Reporter, from his introduction

Peter Bagge's Woman Rebel: The Margaret Sanger Story is a dazzling and accessible biography of the social and political maverick, jam-packed with fact and fun. In his signature cartoony, rubbery style, Bagge presents the life of the birth-control activist, educator, nurse, mother, and protofeminist from her birth in the late nineteenth century to her death after the invention of the birth control pill. Balancing humor and respect, Bagge makes Sanger whole and human, showing how her flaws fueled her fiery activism just as much as her compassionate nature did. Sanger's life takes on a whole new vivacity as Bagge creates a fast-paced portrait of a trailblazer whose legacy as the founder of Planned Parenthood is still incredibly relevant, important, and inspiring.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781770461260
Publisher:	Drawn & Quarterly
Publication date:	10/15/2013
Pages:	104
Product dimensions:	6.50(w) x 8.80(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Cartoonist Peter Bagge is the Harvey Award–winning author of the acclaimed 1990s alternative comic series Hate, starring slacker hero Buddy Bradley, and a regular contributor to Reason magazine. A graduate of the School of Visual Arts in New York City, he got his start in comics in the R. Crumb–edited magazine Weirdo. Bagge has published two critically acclaimed books with Drawn & Quarterly: 2017’s Fire!! The Zora Neale Hurston Storyand 2013’s Woman Rebel: The Margaret Sanger Story. He lives in Seattle with his wife, Joanne, daughter, and three cats.

Editorial Reviews

…an unlikely but inspired pairing of author and subject. A more or less historically accurate biography, it's played for boffo yocks on almost every page…[Bagge] brashly squeezes black humor out of even the savageries Sanger was trying to mitigate.

The New York Times Book Review - Douglas Wolk

★ 10/28/2013
Bagge is perhaps most famous for his slacker character Buddy Bradley, as well as Neat Stuff and Hate, and his recent work in the libertarian magazine Reason. He’s an accomplished cartoonist and a master of satire and black humor, and Margaret Sanger, the influential birth control activist and sex educator, seems like a bizarre choice of subject for him. But his graphic biography is a modern masterpiece, both educational and entertaining. Bagge treats the famous activist as a real person, rather than an untouchable icon, though still handling her with great respect. The book recounts Sanger’s life from her childhood (her mother had 18 pregnancies, and 11 live births) to her work as a women’s health advocate. She bursts into life on the page, via Bagge’s wonderful facial expressions and exuberant line work, in a manner that no historical text can match. Bagge has conducted meticulous research to separate the truth about Sanger from the fiction, and he documents his work with extensive notes. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

“[Woman Rebel] makes for a great read, full of politics, sex, controversy, yelling, feminism, and, of course, history.” —Paste

“I've been reading Peter Bagge's comics since I was 13 years old...So I do not say this lightly: I think Bagge's new biography of Sanger, Woman Rebel: The Margaret Sanger Story, is the best work of his career.” —The Stranger

From the Publisher

★ 11/15/2013
Bagge ("Hate") told website Comic Book Resources, "I'm shocked at how many people tell me they'd never heard of Margaret Sanger!" Yet Sanger (1879–1966), an American social reformer, helped revolutionize the modern world. Overcoming long-term opposition, she established the use of birth control in the United States, helped fund researchers Gregory Pincus and John Rock in developing the Pill, and founded the organizations that would later form the Planned Parenthood Federation of America. The book's title takes its name from Sanger's own newsletter, which promoted the use of contraception. Educated as a nurse, Sanger loved as large as she lived; while being married twice and raising several children, she enjoyed liaisons with author H.G. Wells and pioneer sexologist Havelock Ellis, among others. Bagge's rubbery, satirical art, here in color, works very well with this documentary biography, demonstrating how Sanger's humanity, both her strengths and weaknesses, fueled her activism. His research is exemplified in 18 pages of notes, plus an afterword. VERDICT This excellent take on an almost forgotten trailblazer will appeal to teens through adults interested in sociosexual issues and woman leaders.—M.C.

Library Journal