Woman Rebel: The Margaret Sanger Story – Peter Bagge

A comic-bio about a woman ahead of her time in so many ways…outspoken, fearless, progressive, and most notably, a relentless champion of women’s health and reproductive freedom. It’s hard to imagine what it was like before birth control. Margaret watched her mother endure 18 pregnancies…obscenity laws made it a crime to speak openly about sex or preventative methods…doctors could lost their licenses or be imprisoned for dispensing contraceptives…this story chronicles Margaret’s tumultuous life, the personal & the political. The title refers to Sanger’s zine, The Women Rebel (No Gods No Masters)

The author on why he wrote this book

‘Because Sanger lived the lives of ten people, for one thing. She led such a busy, colorful existence that my hardest task was deciding what parts of her life not to include – and so much of it was literally action-packed that all I could think was ‘comic book!’ whenever I read of her exploits. I also admire – and envy – her ability to multitask while refusing to be distracted by her numerous health issues, the constant threat of arrest and imprisonment, or the death threats she received on a daily basis. What she managed to accomplish in her lifetime is nothing short of astonishing.’

About the cover

‘Margaret Sanger was prohibited from speaking in Boston, MA, throughout the 1920s by Mayor James Curley…Finally, in 1929, the organizers of the iconoclastic Ford Hall Forum conspired with Sanger to devise a way for her to appear at their annual ‘frolic’ while still tecnnically honoring the ban: by having her take center stage wearing a gag, while historian Arthur Schlesigner Sr. read a speech she had written on her behalf.’

• Goodreads rating – 3.82
• REVIEW – Amy