Encyclopedia of Women in Comics

Valleau, Janice (1923-2013)

American artist and inker

Sometimes credited as Ginger or Janice S., was a Golden Age artist and inker who worked for MLJ (Archie) Publications, Charlton Comics, Novelty Press, and Quality Comics.

Her first published work appeared in Smash Comics, published when she was just 16. After high school, she attended the Phoenix Art Institute where she studied commercial art.

When she graduated, she went to work for MLJ (Archie) Publications, where she worked on comics like Archie, Ginger, and Gloomy Gus. She began working for Quality Comics soon after, and worked in comics for the next eleven years. She is best known for her work on the "Toni Gayle" feature for Young King Cole comic for Novelty (1946, 1947) featuring a glamorous model-detective.

She met her husband, Edward, in 1948. In the mid-1950s, they moved to Pittsburgh, where she continued to work on comics. She left comics in 1955 after the Wertham-era crackdown, which put her off working professionally in any art field.

Vantanoff, Irene (1948 - ) American author

Vantanoff was famous for her frequently published and often insightfully critical submissions to letter columns in practically all of DC’s titles through the 1960s, having had over 100 letters published with in about a two-year span.

Vartanoff would contribute to the DC Universe herself by co-writing “Who Killed Lucy Lane?” with Cary Bates in Superman’s Girl Friend, Lois Lane #120—making her the first woman credited as a writer on a Superman comic.

Viana, Germana (1972 - )

Brazilian comic book artist and editor

After having worked on the production and business sides of the industry, she has become a prominent player in Brazil's indie comic scene, especially participating in and spearheading initiatives with a feminist outset. Among her most important accomplishments are the webcomics Lizzie Bordello e as Piratas do Espaço (2013) and As Empoderadas (2016), the graphic novels P.O.V. - Point Of View and O Verão do Papa-Angu (2018), and her collective project Gibi de Menininha (2018-2019).

Viana began her career in the 1990s doing illustrations for children's books. Her first contact with the comic industry happened in 2005, when she started to work as letterer for Mythos Editora. This company was responsible for the editorial work on the Panini Brasil titles. She provided lettering for many Brazilian editions of Marvel and Star Wars comics, for instance. Some years later, Viana was Joe Prado's assistant in managing Brazilian artists for the North-American comics market. Prado's agency, Art&Comics, represented artists such as Ivan Reis, Ed Benes and Roger Cruz. But this line of work was bureaucratic and not artistic, so she left the agency to work in an art gallery.

Only in 2013, after visiting the Festival Internacional de Quadrinhos (FIQ, the most traditional Brazilian comic festival, held biennially in Belo Horizonte), Viana decided to make her own comics. Her first work was Lizzie Bordello e as Piratas do Espaço, a webcomic series about a crew of four women (including a trans woman) who travel in a spaceship capable of time-traveling. They enjoy nonsense adventures with a lot of action and humor. Two print book collections have been released by Jambô Editora in 2014 and 2016.

On 8 March 2016, Viana started the ongoing digital comic As Empoderadas ("The Empowered") as part of Pagu Comics, a label of digital comics made exclusively by women. The series tells the story of three women who develop superpowers and become vigilantes after a strange solar phenomenon. This comic won the Troféu HQ Mix (most important Brazilian comics award) as "Best Webcomic".

Villareal, Anastasia

American Comic Book Illustrator, Storyboard and Freelance Artist

Villareal is a New York based freelance professional artist who specializes in horror and sci-fi. Among her works include Unsolicited, Haunted, Lost and Found, Pop Goes The Weasel, Shoo Fly, Stuck and Dathan Anerbach's Pen Pals among others.

In her own words, Anastasia interprets her work in this way; "My genre of choice is horror and sci fi, but “why horror?" “Why not draw any other way?” Horror makes me comfortable. What I mean is that I’ve been uncomfortable my whole life, so things that typically are supposed to make you uncomfortable brings me comfort because it’s a familiar feeling. Leaning into the uncomfortable has helped me have control over my traumas."

In May of 2025, Villareal graduated from SVA with a degree in comics. Pop Goes The Weasel was created during a mentorship with her then professor, now friend, Jamal igle, and Shoo Fly was her thesis.

If you would like to learn more about Villareal's powerful and impressive body of work, please follow the link https://www.anastasiavillarreal.com/ to her official website.

Virella, Nicole "Nik"

American comic book colorist, illustrator and designer

Virella has an extensive career in the Comic Book Industry spanning over 20 years of experience and is the first Puerto-Rican woman to draw Deadpool in a Marvel series or mini series.

Nik’s original ‘heart-hands’ design for Deadpool became a global viral image after the concept was adapted for the Valentine’s Day marketing campaign for the film Deadpool. First introduced in Return of the Living Deadpool, co-produced with author Cullen Bunn, the now-iconic pose resonated with audiences worldwide and quickly evolved into a recognizable symbol associated with the character’s humor and unconventional charm. The image’s cultural reach expanded even further when it was later incorporated into recruitment branding for The Walt Disney Company. Its worldwide visibility inspired countless fans to recreate the pose in tribute, transforming the original artwork into a lasting piece of pop culture iconography celebrated across social media, conventions, and fan communities around the globe.

Featured by Vogue Italia for International Women’s Month (La Festa della Donna), Virella was recognized for her contribution to All-New Wolverine: Enemy of the State II (2017) and their work bringing Laura Kinney to life as the new Wolverine. The interview highlighted her Italian heritage and the creative process behind shaping Laura’s strength, vulnerability, and resilience, as well as the significance of redefining such an iconic superhero for a new generation of readers. The feature also celebrated the growing influence of women in comics and storytelling, recognizing Virella’s role in helping shape contemporary superhero narratives.

At Business Insider, Virella collaborated on the publication’s current events comics line alongside Pulitzer Prize–winning team members Josh Adams and Anthony Del Col. Together, they produced Sons of Chechnya, a powerful illustrated story based on the firsthand account of human rights lawyer Abubakar Yangulbaev, whose work has sought to expose the abuses and depredations of the Kadyrov regime. Nik served as designer, storyteller, and artistic direction on the project, helping bring Yangulbaev’s testimony and the broader human rights crisis in Chechnya to an international audience.

Virella has been an illustrator for such clients as the Walt Disney Company, Dynamite Entertainment, TKO-Studios, Valiant Entertainment, Marvel Entertainment, Upper Deck, DC Comics, and Atomic Mass Games.

In the 2018 benefit anthology Ricanstruction: Reminiscing & Rebuilding Puerto Rico, Virella served as the inside cover artist.

Since 2024, Virella has worked as a Production Artist for Marvel Studios and as a Verifier for the Associated Press.

To see more of Nik Virella's career and body of work you can see her profile here https://www.artstation.com/nikvirella.

Volk, Rosemary

Contributed some text stories to New Comics #2 and #8, including “The Book Shelf,” “The Test of a Man” and “The Happy Four Club.”

the bios were created using public information, if there are any errors, please contact me at leonardbonnano@gmail.com.