A Brief History of Iconic Women Spies in the Comics
Señorita Rio stands out as a particularly groundbreaking character, an actor of Latinx heritage who gives up the glitz of Hollywood for the danger of espionage. Created by writer Joe Hawkins and artist Nick Viscardi (also known as Nick “Cardy”)
The comic strip "Terry and the Pirates," created by Milton Caniff, introduced the character Sanjak in February 1939. Sanjak, a trickster figure and a master of disguise, is widely considered the first lesbian comics character. She initially disguises herself as a French hotel owner named "Madame Sud" and abducts Terry Lee's sweetheart, April Kane.
Sanjak then commandeers an airplane filled with treasure and escapes to her island lair. Although she is portrayed as a villainous spy within the comic strip, she became incredibly popular among readers and was credited as the first lesbian comics character. Caniff chose to code Sanjak as LGBTQ+ using the stereotypes of the time, including masculine suits, a monocle, and references to the notorious lesbian bar Le Monocle in Paris.
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