Friends of Lulu
Friends of Lulu (FoL) was a non-profit, national charitable organization in the United States, designed to promote readership of comic books by women and the participation of women in the comic book industry. FoL operated from 1994[1][2] to 2011.
Founded | 1994 |
---|---|
Founders | Trina Robbins, Heidi MacDonald, Deni Loubert, Anina Bennett, Liz Schiller, Jackie Estrada |
Dissolved | 2011 |
Purpose | To promote readership of comic books by women and the participation of women in the comic book industry |
Area served | United States |
President | Valerie D'Orazio (2007–2010) |
Website | friendsoflulu |

Membership was open to all persons.[3] Friends of Lulu additionally sponsored the Lulu Awards and administered the Women Cartoonists Hall of Fame.
The organization took its name from Little Lulu, the comic strip character created by Marjorie Henderson Buell in 1935. In the comics, Lulu often tries to break into the boys' clubhouse, where girls aren't allowed.[4]
History
In the early 1990s, comic book professionals Trina Robbins, Heidi MacDonald, Deni Loubert, Anina Bennett, Liz Schiller, and Jackie Estrada banded together to share frustrations, information and aspirations for women in the male-dominated comics industry, and held the first "Friends of Lulu" meeting at a comics convention. Co-founder Trina Robbins recalls that a Cherry Poptart lookalike contest sponsored by Comic-Con International was the "last straw" that inspired the creation of the organization.[5]
Friends of Lulu was formed in the summer of 1994,[6] beginning as an amateur press association which lasted three issues.[7]
FoL elected its first board of directors in the summer of 1995 at San Diego Comic-Con.[8] (The organization continued the tradition of electing board members during Comic-Con for many subsequent years.)
In 1997 the first annual Lulu conference and Lulu awards were held in California.[9]
In 2000, Friends of Lulu was awarded a grant from the Xeric Foundation to self-publish Friends of Lulu: Storytime.[10][11]
In 2003, the organization published an anthology entitled Broad Appeal.[12]
Troubles and dissolution
In the spring of 2006, in the wake of revelations of a sexual assault that happened at a 2005 comic convention, FoL vice president Ronée Garcia Bourgeois announced the creation of a Friends of Lulu Women's Empowerment Fund. The fund was "intended to give victims of sexual assault or harassment in a comics-industry context the strength to fight back legally if not physically." However, the empowerment fund "was judged by its administrators to have been insufficiently thought through ... and it was soon abandoned,"[13] with FoL forced to return all donations.[14][15]
The public failure of the Empowerment Fund was difficult for Friends of Lulu, and by the fall of 2007, the presidency of the organization was vacant. In September 2007, Valerie D'Orazio volunteered to fill the empty president of the national board of directors of Friends of Lulu.[16][17]
In August 2010, an interim Board of Directors was reestablished.[18]
In June 2011, the IRS revoked the organization's tax-exempt status as a non-profit "for failing to file an annual information return or notice with the IRS for three consecutive years."[19] The group ceased operations shortly afterwards.[20][21]
Legacy
With the dissolution of Friends of Lulu, observers weighed in on the organization's legacy:
...today’s younger female creators don’t see the problems FoL was created in response to (in part due to FoL’s actions) and thus don’t see much of a need for the group. These creators have more avenues available to them — webcomics, book publisher graphic novel contracts, online organization and support — and a formal group may seem old-fashioned.
— Johanna Draper Carlson[22]
Heidi MacDonald added:
...the world that FoL was created to confront doesn’t exist anymore. Women are back in comics as creators, readers, retailers... you name it.... The ’90s were a period when women had been driven out of the medium, for the most part, even as it was a blossoming time for women IN the media.[21]
Presidents
- 1997–1998 Laurel Carpenter[23]
- 1998–1999 Jackie Estrada[24]
- 2000–2001 Liz Schiller[25]
- 2001–2002 Katie Merritt (owner of retail store Green Brain Comics)[26]
- c. 2005 Tasha Lowe[27]
- 2006 Katie Merritt[28]
- 2007 Shannon Crane[14]
- 2007–2010 Valerie D'Orazio[29]
Lulu Awards
The Lulu Awards, presented annually at Comic-Con International in San Diego, California, from 1997 to 2009, bestowed the Lulu of the Year trophy for overall work; with additional awards, variously over the years, including the Kimberly Yale Award for Best New Talent; the Volunteer of the Year Award; the Women of Distinction Award and induction into the Women Cartoonists Hall of Fame.
Publications
Friends of Lulu published a number of books, including:
- How to Get Girls (Into Your Store) (1997) — guide for comics shop owners on how to make their stores more female-friendly, edited by Deni Loubert
- Friends of Lulu Presents: Storytime (2001), compiled and edited by Anne Chang-Blaeske and Phil Yeh
- Broad Appeal: An Anthology of Comics for Everyone (2003) — anthology of comics by women artists, edited by Dave Roman
- The Girls' Guide to Guys' Stuff (2007) — anthology of over 50 women cartoonists including Roberta Gregory, Abby Denson, and Julia Wertz, edited by Robin Enrico and M. K. Reed.
See also
References
- Leibrock, Rachel (March 14, 2003). "Drawing Power S.F. exhibit celebrates pioneering women cartoonists". Sacramento Bee: E1.
- Szadkowski, Joseph (January 14, 2005). "Comics for girls may save biz". The Washington Times: D8.
- Houle, Zachary (October 16, 2000). "And Lulu is their guru: There's a move to promote comic books produced by and for women". The Gazette (Montreal): E5.
- Cuda, Amanda (August 5, 2003). "Women's Wit: Holy comics, Batman, it's women cartoonists!". Connecticut Post
- Wilonsky, Robert (May 18, 2000). "Fatal femmes: Why do women in comics become Women in Refrigerators?". Dallas Observer.
- "Newswatch: Friends of Lulu Forms". The Comics Journal. No. 171. September 1994. pp. 42–42.
- "Index to Comic Art Collection: "Periodicals About Comics" (D-L titles)".
- "Lulu Elects Best Friends". The Comics Journal. No. 180. September 1995. p. 29.
- Cooper, Carol (January 9, 2001). "Pretty Persuasion". Village Voice: 59.
- Povey, Matthew (July 12, 2002). "Friends of Lulu announces award nominees". CBR.com. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
- "Book awards: Xeric Award". Library Thing. Archived from the original on September 29, 2019. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
- "Friends of Lulu presents broad appeal : an anthology of comics for everyone". WorldCat. Retrieved Oct 17, 2023.
- Dean, Michael (May 2006). "Scandal Involving CBLDF's Charles Brownstein Leads to Women's Empowerment Fund". The Comics Journal.
- Carlson, Johanna Draper (23 February 2007). "Friends of Lulu Responds". Comics Worth Reading.
- Spurgeon, Tom (March 8, 2007). "FOL Empowerment Fund: Closure?". The Comics Reporter.
- Friends of Lulu (2008). "Friends of Lulu's 2008 Board of Directors". Friends of Lulu. Archived from the original on 2008-02-28. Retrieved 2008-02-10.
- Spurgeon, Tom (February 10, 2008). "CR Sunday Interview: Valerie D'Orazio". The Comics Reporter.
- D'Orazio, Valerie (August 8, 2010). "2010 Awards". Comics Are For Everyone. Archived from the original on 8 July 2011. Retrieved August 8, 2010.
- Draper Carlson, Johanna. "It's Official — Friends of Lulu No Longer a Non-Profit Organization". Archived from the original on 24 June 2011. Retrieved 10 June 2011.
- Draper Carlson, Johanna. "Friends of Lulu Done and Gone". Archived from the original on 8 July 2012. Retrieved 13 July 2011.
- MacDonald, Heidi (July 28, 2010). "Friends of Lulu to end in September". The Beat.
- Carlson, Johanna Draper (July 28, 2010). "Do You Have a Vision for Women in Comics? Friends of Lulu Needs Help". Comics Worth Reading.
- "News Watch: A New Friend in a High Place". The Comics Journal. No. 196. June 1997. p. 26.
- "Meet Lulu's Leaders!". Friends of Lulu. Jan 1999. Archived from the original on 29 Jan 1999.
- "Friends of Lulu's 2000-2001 Board of Directors". Friends of Lulu. Mar 2001. Archived from the original on 31 Mar 2001.
- "Friends of Lulu's 2001-2002 Board of Directors". Friends of Lulu. Oct 2003. Archived from the original on Oct 23, 2003.
- Carlson, Johanna Draper (July 8, 2011). "What Went Wrong With Friends of Lulu? A Postmortem Interview". Comics Worth Reading.
- MacDonald, Heidi (July 15, 2006). "SDCC: Friends of Lulu; Hall blogathon". The Beat.
- Carlson, Johanna Draper (Sep 16, 2010). "Friends of Lulu Future Uncertain as President Resigns Publicly". Comics Worth Reading.