Fran Hopper

Fran Hopper was one of the earliest women to work in American comic books during the Golden Age. Born Frances R. Deitrick on July 13, 1922, she began her career in the late 1930s and remained active through the 1940s, primarily for the publisher Fiction House. Hopper is best known for her clean, lively linework on adventure and fantasy features, including "Jane Martin," "Glory Forbes," "Camilla," "Mysta of the Moon," and "Gale Allen and Her All Girl Squadron." She often worked as an artist and inker, contributing to titles such as *Planet Comics*, *Jungle Comics*, *America's Greatest Comics*, and *Kaänga Comics*. Her collaborations included work with writer and editor "Big" John Giunta. After her initial run in the 1940s, Hopper stepped away from the industry for decades, but returned to contribute to the 2016 collection *Lurid Little Nightmare Makers*. She died on November 29, 2017, at age 95. While she did not receive major industry awards during her lifetime, her early, sustained presence in a male-dominated field has earned her a place in the history of women in comics.