The PopCulteer
April 12, 2024

We lost one of the great comic book writer/artist/editors and historians Wednesday.

Trina Robbins passed away after suffering a stroke in February.

I’ve been a fan of Robbins’ work for at least fifty years, but I had no idea how wild of a life adventure she’d lived until I read her autobiography back in 2017.  She was very happy with my review, and we struck up a casual friendship via Facebook. I’d go on to review several more books by her over the years.  I’ve remained a fan since I discovered her work in Comix Book back in 1974.

In her book, Robbins tells of her upbringing as a poor Jewish girl during World War II, and her association with early science fiction fandom, before she fell into the world of Hippies, Comix and Rock and Roll. Famous and notable people come and go through her story at a rapid pace. I can’t recall reading another biography that mentions Harlan Ellison, C.C. Beck, Jim Morrison, Bob Dylan, Robert Crumb, Alan Ginsberg and other semi-mythical beasts in the context of real people in the subject’s life.

Her comics career spanned Underground Comix, The National Lampoon, DC’s Wonder Woman, Misty and Barbie for Marvel, and several incredible works for independent publishers in recent years.  She also designed the outfit for Vampirella, which Frank Frazetta painted for the cover of the first issue of her magazine back in 1969.

As has has been pointed out in several obituaries this week, she was name-checked in the first verse of the Joni Mitchell song, “The Ladies of the Canyon.”

My interactions with her were always pleasant, and I can’t stress enough how important she was, not just as a cartoonist and a feminist, but also as a historian, preserving the legacies of unjustly overlooked female creators. She was a truly remarkable woman and she will be greatly missed. Condolences to her family and her partner, Steve Leialoha.

New MIRRORBALL On The AIR

Your humble blogger is still a bit gutted by the passing of Trina Robbins, as well as recovering from a day spent doing our taxes, so the rest of this week’s PopCulteer will star the playlist for today’s new episode of MIRRORBALL on The AIR. The AIR is PopCult‘s sister radio station. You can hear our shows on The AIR website, or just click on the embedded player found elsewhere on this page.

Friday at 2 PM on The AIR, Mel Larch devotes her hour of Disco to a well-curated assortment of classic dance tracks from the golden age of Disco. She opens the show with a from Kleer, then mixes big hits from Sister Sledge and The Spinners with hidden classics from Timmy Thomas, The Undisputed Truth and more.

IIt’s a wild assemblege of crafty dancefloor motivationals. Check out the playlist…

MIRRORBALL 097

Kleer “Tonight’s The Night (Good Time)”
Aquarian Dream “You’re A Star”
Foxy “Hot Number”
Timmy Thomas “Touch to Touch”
The Natural Four “Try To Smile”
The Spinners “Rubberband Man”
T Connection “Saturday Night”
Sister Sledge “We Are Family”
“Jimmy Castor Bunch “Space Age”
The Undisputed Truth “Let’s Go Down To The Disco”
Goody Goody “#1 Dee Jay”
Deodato “Whistle Bump”

You can hear MIRRORBALL every Friday at 2 PM, with replays throughout the following week Monday at 9 AM and Tuesday at 1 PM and a mini-marathon Saturday nights at 9 PM

At 3 PM we bring you  an encore of a birthday salute mixtape edition of Sydney’s Big Electric Cat from the Summer of 2022. Sydney Fileen delivered a special mixtape edition of her show that presents two full hours of the New Wave era music of Siouxsie & The Banshees, including tracks from their first ten studio releases.

Peruse this here playlist for a preview…

BEC 092
Siouxsie’s Birthday Party

“Helter Skelter”
“Jigsaw Feeling”
“Nicotine Stain”
“Premature Burial”
“The Lord’s Prayer”
“Hybrid”
“Spellbound”
“Night Shift”
“She’s A Carnival”
“Painted Bird”
“Dear Prudence”
“Belladonna”
“Red Over White”
“Cities In Dust (Eruption Mix)”
“The Unrest”
“Candyman”
“This Town Ain’t Big Enough For The Both of Us”
“Hall of Mirrors”
“Strange Fruit”
“The Passenger”
“The Killing Jar”
“Carousel”
“Turn to Stone”
“Peek A Boo”

Sydney’s Big Electric Cat is produced at Haversham Recording Institute in London, and can be heard every Friday at 3 PM, with replays Saturday afternoon,  Monday at 7 AM, Tuesday at 8 PM, Wednesday at Noon and Thursday at 10 AM, exclusively on The AIR. Classic episodes can be heard Sunday morning at 10 AM.

That’s what’s new on The AIR Friday, and that is this week’s PopCulteer. Check back for our regular features every day.