"Sexism subjects women to many tyrannies, but intersectionality ensures that all women are not subjected to the same ones. That America recognizes Michelle Obama as the black mother of black children, that she is comfortable and able to make the personal decision to choose motherhood for a time, I think, is a good thing. It represents a step outside of the stereotype trifecta of Mammy, Sapphire and Jezebel that is the black woman’s burden."--Tami Winfrey Harris, editor, AntiRacistParent

1935 was an interesting year, to say the least. Capitalism, the industrialization of the labor market, and, most importantly, the Great Depression, had combined to create a perfect storm that left American workers and their families facing unprecedented hardships with little help from the government to overcome them. President Roosevelt faced the gargantuan task of coming up with solutions to these problems, and to help him he appointed the first-ever female cabinet member, Secretary of Labor and mother of the American welfare state Frances Perkins.  Thanks to her, that year also got to see the passage of the Social Security Act.

This past weekend was the fifth annual Stumptown Comics Fest in Portland, and while I won’t spend too much time on the rather decentralized and chill atmosphere of the festival, the focus on independent and alternative comics, and gorgeous weather from the weekend, I would like to showcase some of the women comic artists there! April is Comics Month (at least in this town), so this week I’ll profile one woman comic artist a day who was at this weekend’s fest and who was RAD. It’s called "Rad Ladies Who Draw Comics."
Today is all about Hellen Jo, who was a featured artist at the fest. Bay Area-Based, Jo’s first comic book Jin & Jam, about quirkily disaffected teens navigating San Jose (Jo’s hometown), is out now from SparkPlug comics. Before her big small-press debut, Hellen self-published a three part autobio comic called Komiches Buch a "teenage horror story" called Paralysis: A Romance, and a serial comic Blister. More after the jump!!