Last Wednesday, February 25, we continued with the project “Visitising comic book illustrators and artists on Wikipedia”, coordinated by Wikisphere and funded by the Women's Institute. The second session of the CYCLE I | They were always there: Pioneers of illustration and comics , driven by Elisa McCausland y Diego Salgado, It revolved around how enlightenment was a decisive political tool in the construction of modern public opinion.

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> Summary

Elisa McCausland and Diego Salgado showed how Enlightenment was a decisive political tool in building modern public opinion and shaping new female identities.. In a context like the American one, with an expanding press (symbolized by the birth of The New York Times), the vignettes allowed to intervene in public debates directly, quickly and visually. The image was not an ornament: It was a political weapon. The 1913 Suffragette March, perfectly staged and capable of overshadowing the presidential investiture, to what extent image, politics and spectacle could be intertwined.

The construction of the New Woman, disseminated by illustrators as Charles Dana Gibson, It was re-appropriated by cartoonists who shifted the focus from passive beauty to action and public presence. The figure of Amelia Bloomer and the popularization of bloomer’s (bottled trousers) showed that the illustration didn't just show new clothes (allowing to ride a bicycle), but new possibilities of autonomy and security for women.

Illustrators as Lou Rogers (article in English), Nina Allender, Nell Brinkley o Rose O’Neill They combined aesthetics and activism. Economic independence, intellectual property awareness and the use of merchandising They appeared already then as forms of emancipation. An analysis was also made of Wonder Woman as a link between feminist waves. The character, created by the Marston clan (William Moulton Marston, Elizabeth Holloway y Olive Byrne) and drawn by H. G. Peter, linked the strong anatomy, the athletic gesture and the feminist epic with previous imaginaries of goddesses, Amazons and feminist patriotism.

The dialogue was completed with the Spanish context and the intervention of Alicia Palmer, screenwriter of One woman, one vote, who shared his research process in newspaper libraries and parliamentary proceedings to rebuild the struggle for the women's suffrage in Spain. Figures as Clara Campoamor o Benita Asas They appeared as part of an underexplored international network.

Throughout the session was seen the presence or absence of certain figures in Wikipedia. The following was pointed out: asymmetry between the English version, with further development on suffragettes and illustrators, and Spanish, where many items are minimal or non-existent. Even the article on the bloomers It lacks the political context that does appear in English. It served to remind you that these sessions serve as preparation for the editing workshops These will take place in the coming months.

> Bibliography

During the session, the following works were mentioned:

1978 – Body and water notebook. Montse Clavé y Mari Chordá. LaSal. Editions of the Gifts
1990 – Margarita (They were all brave). María Colino Rodríguez. Editorial Hours and Hours
1999 – Alter Ego Magazine Nº 198 (about H.G. Peter). Twomorrows Publishing
2001 – Nell Brinkley and the New Woman in the Early 20th Century. Trina Robbins. McFarland
2017 – Wonder Woman. Feminism as a superpower. Elisa McCausland. Errata naturae Editions
2020 – The Flapper Queens: Women Cartoonists of the Jazz Age. Trina Robbins. Fantagraphics
2021 – One woman, one vote. Alicia Palmer and Montse Mazorriaga. Garbuix Books
2023 – The first journalists from 1850 to 1931. Carolina Pecharromán. Renaissance Publishing House
2023 – Jiujitsufragistas, the Amazons of London. Clément Xavier and Lisa Lugrin. Garbuix Books
2023 – DC Finest: Wonder Woman: Introducing Wonder Woman. William Moulton Marston