Suzy Varty

Suzy Varty is a noted British comics artist, writer, and editor. In the late 1970s, she compiled, contributed to and edited Heröine, the first anthology of comics by women to be published in the U.K. Throughout the 70s, she was part of the Birmingham Arts Lab, and she has participated in the Underground Comix and Wimmen's Comix movements in the U.S.

Varty was also a contributor to and editor of the 1978 underground comic book Heröine, the first all-female comics anthology published in Britain. A feminist comic that gained praise for going against beliefs of what was considered "feminine," Heröine was praised for challenging social stereotypes by being a form of anarchy against the otherwise strict depictions of political standpoints in Britain.

While in Birmingham Varty published a fanzine during 1979 along with fellow artists Connie Klassmen and Syd Freake. The fanzine was called Brass Lip and contained interviews with the bands Kleenex, The Mekons, Poison Girls, and The Raincoats. The zine focused on political narratives and feminist culture; another important focal point of the zine was the topic of sexism in the punk/rock industry. In 2014, she was one of the judges for the British Comic Awards.

Varty has garnered international success as well, with her comics being published in Finland, England, and America.

Selected bibliography Street Comix (Birmingham Arts Lab Press 1976)—contributor Heröine (Birmingham Arts Lab Press 1978)—contributor, editor Mama! dramas (Educomics 1978)—contributor The Comic Book of First Love (Penguin Books 1990)—contributor The Facts of Life (Penguin Books 1990)—contributor Wimmin's Comix (aka Wimmen's Comix) #17 (Rip Off Press 1992)—contributor My Story (BBC Raw 2008)—contributor Nelson (Blank Slate Books 2011)—contributor