Ruth Atkinson Ford, née Ruth Atkinson and a.k.a. R. Atkinson (June 2, 1918 – June 1, 1997),[a] was an American cartoonist and pioneering female comic book writer-artist who created the long-running Marvel Comics character Millie the Model and co-created Patsy Walker.[6]
Born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Ruth Atkinson as an infant moved with her family to upstate New York.[4]
One of the first female artists in American comic books, she entered the field doing work for the publisher Fiction House beginning either 1942 or 1943, and either on staff[7] or, as noted by the Connecticut Historical Society, through the Iger Studio, a comic book packager that produced comics for publishers on an outsource basis.[8] Fellow female artists Fran Hopper, Lily Renée, and Marcia Snyder also worked for Iger, where one of the business partners was a woman, Ruth Roche.[9] Atkinson's first confirmed, signed work is the single-page "Wing Tips" featurette in Wings Comics #42 (Feb. 1944).[4]
Atkinson continued to pencil and ink that airplane-profile featurette, as well such Fiction House features as "Clipper Kirk" and "Suicide Smith" in Wings Comics, "Tabu" in Jungle Comics, and "Sea Devil" in Rangers Comics. At some point, she became the Fiction House art director, but left the position to freelance after finding that the managerial position left little time for her art.[1]
With writer Otto Binder, she went on to draw and co-create the feature "Patsy Walker", for Marvel Comics predecessor Timely Comics in Miss America Magazine #2 (Nov. 1944).[10] She would draw that humor/romance feature for two years, as well write and draw the premiere issue of the long-running series Millie the Model.[11]
^There is some dispute as to Atkinson's date of death, with the Ink Blots column of the Comic Artists Professional Society monthly newsletter[1] and Comics Buyer's Guide[2] giving the date as June 1, 1997. Lambiek Comiclopedia[3] and The Comics Journal,[4] however, both give the date of death as May 31, 1997. Finally, Atkinson's Social Security Death Index entry gives a date of June 15, 1997, and states verification came per a family member or someone acting on behalf of a family member, rather than an observed death certificate. Family members sometimes inadvertently submit filing dates or burial dates.[5]
^ abMcGeehan, Ed (October 3, 1997). "Ink Blots (column)". Comic Artists Professional Society monthly newsletter. Archived from the original on May 9, 2008 – via "Cartoon News and Views" (column; ed. Daryl Cagle), MSNBC.com.
^Vassallo, Dr. Michael J. (December 26, 1997). "A Look at the Atlas Pre-Code Crime and Horror Work of Stan Lee". Comics Buyer's Guide. No. 1258. Archived from the original on August 28, 2008 – via Live ForEverett. MILLIE THE MODEL and PATSY WALKER were inaugurated with artwork by Ruth Atkinson, an artist whose style would be the template for all Millie and Patsy Walker artists to follow.
^ ab"The Gentleman of Comics: Murphy Anderson". Sequential Tart. Interviewed by Laurie J. Anderson. December 2001. Archived from the original on February 9, 2007. Ruth Atkinson was an artist who worked there. Her brother happened to be a very prominent jockey; he was one of the top jockeys in the country at the time.
^Dowsett, Elizabeth, ed. (2008). "Millie the Model debuts". Marvel Chronicle. Dorling Kindersley. p. 31. ISBN978-0756641238. Millie the Model was created by cartoonist Ruth Atkinson, who drew the stories in the first issue. Mike Sekowsky ... took over as principal Millie the Model artist after the first issue)