You can now read a compilation of Patricia Highsmith's comics.
Though I love a good Writer Day Job, and am currently in the middle of Ripley Under Ground, I had no idea until this morning that Patricia Highsmith worked as a comic book scriptwriter from 1942-48. Highsmith initially worked in a bullpen at the office of comic book publisher Ned Pines, but eventually went freelance, writing comic book profiles of historical figures as well as more standard crime-fighting fare. (Apparently an editor once tried to set her up on a date with Stan Lee??)
I learned this excellent bit of trivia from the Caustic Cover Critic on Twitter, who helpfully compiled a PDF of all the comics “reliably attributed to Highsmith.”
I made this for myself, and I’m not pretending it’s a major part of her oeuvre, but if anyone wants all the comics that have been reliably attributed to Patricia Highsmith, I made a compilation of them you can download here:https://t.co/I4epJnW03y pic.twitter.com/cCxf2HaovS
— Caustic Cover Critic (@Unwise_Trousers) August 10, 2022
It’s a pretty fascinating relic overall, but my personal favorite is her biography of Catherine the Great, complete with ads for War Stamps:
Fine, Twitter, you did one good thing.
Jessie Gaynor
Jessie Gaynor is a senior editor at Lit Hub whose writing has appeared in McSweeney's, The New Yorker, The Paris Review, and elsewhere. Her debut novel, The Glow was published by Random House in 2023. You can buy it here.
