Dame Darcy is an irrevocable part of comics history. I dare those French comics dads to ignore her now. Credit: Dame Darcy

Dame Darcy is an irrevocable part of comics history. I dare those French comics dads to ignore her now.

Dame Darcy is an irrevocable part of comics history. I dare those French comics dads to ignore her now. Dame Darcy

Last January, Angoulême, the second largest comics festival in Europe, made a crazy misogynist blunder. Of 30 nominees for the Grand Prix prize for lifetime achievement in comics, they neglected to name even one woman. Angoulême’s CEO made things worse by asserting that “unfortunately, there are few women in the history of comics.” Online, people lost their minds—and roundups papered the face of the internet, proving him wrong while lauding the great women who penciled before. It was a good outcome from a bad thing. I remember breaking a pencil in my hand (no, that didn’t really happen) (CRUNCH) and vowing that if those dope dongles overlooked Dame Darcy’s Meat Cake Bible, which I knew Fantagraphics was releasing this year, I would fucking riot.

And it’s finally here! Weighing in at an impressive three pounds of hardcover teal, pink, and embossed gold, the Bible is exactly what it should be—a tome.

Suzette Smith is the arts & culture editor of the Portland Mercury. Go ahead and tell her about all your food, art, and culture gripes: suzette@portlandmercury.com. Follow her on Twitter, Bluesky,...