Elizabeth Blackwell:America's First Woman Doctor

by Trina Robbins, Cynthia Martin (Illustrator), Anne Timmons (Illustrator)

In graphic novel format, tells the story of how the Transcontinental Railroad was built during the 1800s.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Biography, History, Comics, Medicine

Paperback

First published September 1, 2006

About the author

Trina Robbins is an American comics artist and writer. She was an early and influential participant in the underground comix movement, and one of the few female artists in underground comix when she started. Her first comics were printed in the East Village Other. She later joined the staff of a feminist underground newspaper It Ain't Me, Babe, with whom she produced the first all-woman comic book titled It Ain't Me Babe. She became increasingly involved in creating outlets for and promoting female comics artists, through projects such as the comics anthology Wimmen's Comix. She was also the penciller on Wonder Woman for a time in the '80s.

Trina has worked on an adaptation of Sax Rohmer's Dope for Eclipse Comics and GoGirl with artist Anne Timmons for Image Comics.

Trina designed Vampirella's costume for Forrest Ackerman and Jim Warren.

In addition to her comics work, Robbins is an author of non-fiction books, including several with an emphasis on the history of women in cartooning.

She is the first of the three "Ladies of the Canyon" in Joni Mitchell's classic song from the album of the same name.

Trina Robbins won a Special Achievement Award from the San Diego Comic Con in 1989 for her work on Strip AIDS U.S.A., a benefit book that she co-edited with Bill Sienkiewicz and Robert Triptow.

Reviews

[John Stanifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although short and obviously aimed at kids, this is still an intriguing primer for anyone who has little to no prior knowledge of its subject.

Like the "Who Is . . . ?" and "Who Was . . . ?" biography series, this is a good resource if you just want the basics of what a particular person was known for, told in a fun, readable format.

Truthfully, I picked this title mainly because it's written by Trina Robbins, the first woman to draw Wonder Woman. But I learned something and would like to pick up a more substantial biography of Elizabeth Blackwell soon.

Based on this, I can't help thinking of Blackwell as the real-life, East Coast urban counterpart to Dr. Quinn's fictionalized Western frontier "medicine woman." They both come from relatively well-off family situations and choose to throw themselves into a profession they're not welcome in, fighting for every ounce of respect and success that they (eventually) earn.

I definitely want to know more about Blackwell after reading this.

[Christy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Discover the brilliant life Elizabeth Blackwell, the first woman to earn a medical degree in the United States, in this powerful graphic novel. With comic book-style illustrations and short, engaging sentences, this biography will inspire, entertain, and inform young readers about an individual who made a significant contribution to society. This must-have graphic novel includes a bibliography, extended reading list, glossary, and further Internet sources.

[Afifa Ainunnisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a good time reading this book.
It humbled me to reflect on how, years ago, becoming a woman doctor was such a disconcerting and almost impossible path. Now, we have more and more women in medicine and I feel lucky to be one of them. The book is simple but inspiring, a great reminder of how far we’ve come.

[StrictlySequential · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love learning about female pioneers! They are always more impressive than the guys because of the male tyranny that's only recently abated (mostly, that is).

[Dreamergirl · Rating 3 out of 5]

As much as this book was good it could have gone more into detail. I loved Lizzie's persistansy but I felt as if the graphic took out some of the parts to make the novel shorter and of course a graphic with pictures! Like for example more about her family would have been appriciated except for that one scene inside when the author says "Her family supported her more than the outsiders" or something like that there weren't any scenes with her sisters, brothers and family. I would also have adored to see more about her years when she was very young (like the beginning) and as she studied at the college (that was just mentioned but there weren't much scenes of her studying there or anything). I know that Trina's main concern was how to make Blackwell seem as courages as she can possibly be but I wanted to see more about her personal life too (but I must say I liked how the author showed Elizabeth and her attitude). I liked the narrator but why not make everything into dialoge between the characters? I know it's harder that way but than the reader could get to know the characters more and understand them... The covers could have been a lot better too and the graphics inside (sorry but it's true) necessarily had to be better... Even with all of it's minor flaws I liked this book a lot and I would recommend this to everyone who likes to be refreshed by history and the knowlege this world holds in the palm of it's hand...

Grade level: 4th-7th

[Lylah Day · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book a little dry but had a lot of gems mixed in for my 8 year old daughter. She loved the part where Elizabeth Blackwell walks into the all male college, as well as the part where Blackwell handles bullying from the women in her town with dignity, very inspiring. Interesting that Blackwell met and became friends with Florence Nightingale. Since we love graphic novels this series is great for opening up dialogues about history.

[Ms. Arca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Elizabeth Blackwell really was one of the key people to pave the way for the many woman doctors in the world today. I love how she not only went into a field because she believed she could, but also set up a school so that other women could follow in her footsteps. She brought people along with her as she made change!