Ormes Society

The Ormes Society is an online group that promotes black women who work in the comic book industry. The organization is named after Jackie Ormes, a pioneering African-American comic artist.

History

The Ormes Society was founded in 2007 by artist Cheryl Lynn Eaton. ^{[1] [2]} Eaton was upset by the comic book industry's lack of diversity and wanted to help support black women and fans. ^[3] She named the organization after Jackie Ormes, a pioneer African-American comic illustrator and America’s first black female professional cartoonist. ^[4] The website for the group became a hub where comic book creators could network with one another. ^[1] The site itself also acted as an archive of members' artwork. ^[5]

The group ended briefly in July 2015, when Eaton felt that there was no longer a need for it. ^[1] It was briefly rebooted a year later ^[6] but as of 2021 it appears to be defunct once again as its website is gone and its social media has not been updated since 2017. ^[7]

Members of the group included Charlie Trotman, Carol Burrell, Afua Richardson and Alitha Martinez. ^[3]

References

Citations

1. Jackson 2016, p. 137.
2. "Superheroes reflect America's diverse society". The Florida Times-Union . December 21, 2014. p. 52. Retrieved 2026-01-29– via Newspapers.com.
3. Peterman, Erika D. (28 November 2011). "African-American women take on the comic book industry". Geek Out!. CNN. Archived from the original on December 1, 2011. Retrieved 2017-05-04.
4. Jennings, John; Duffy, Damian (2008). Other Heroes: African American Comic Book Creators, Characters and Archetypes. p. 110. ISBN   978-1435704022.
5. Whaley 2015, p. 152.
6. MacDonald, Heidi (2016-07-14). "The Ormes Society is back spotlighting black women in comics". The Beat. Retrieved 2017-05-04.
7. "The Ormes Society". The Ormes Society.^{[ permanent dead link ]}

Sources

• Jackson, Tim (2016). Pioneering Cartoonists of Color . Jackson, Mississippi: University Press of Mississippi. ISBN   978-1496804839 – via Project MUSE.
• Whaley, Deborah Elizabeth (2015). Black Women in Sequence: Re-inking Comics, Graphic Novels, and Anime. University of Washington Press. ISBN   978-0295806112.