Donna Barr

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Donna Barr bigraphy, stories - comic book author and cartoonist

Donna Barr : biography

1952 –

Donna Barr (born 1952) is an American comic book author and cartoonist.

She was born in Everett, Washington, the second child in a family of six siblings.

Common elements in her work are fantastic human/animal hybrids and German culture. She is best known for two of her series. One is Stinz (about a society of centaur-like people in a setting reminiscent of pre-industrial Germany). Originally published in 1986 as a short story in a hand-bound book, it was then serialized in the Eclipse Comics series The Dreamery, edited by Lex Nakashima. It was picked up by Albedo creator Steve Gallacci under his Thoughts & Images label, moving on to MU Press and its imprint Aeon Press. It was then self-published under A Fine Line Press.

Her other long-running series, The Desert Peach is about Pfirsich Rommel, the fictional homosexual younger brother of Erwin "The Desert Fox" Rommel. Beginning in 1987, it was set in North Africa during World War 2. The first three issues were published by Thoughts & Images. Additional issues were published by Fantagraphics Books, Aeon Press, and then self-published. Other works include Hader and the Colonel, The Barr Girls, and Bosom Enemies.

Barr has also recently published a number of novels, including Permanent Party, An Insupportable Light, and Bread and Swans. The last two of these feature Stinz and The Desert Peach, respectively. Some of her later books take advantage of the new print-on-demand technologies.

Barr has illustrated several GURPS roleplaying books, including GURPS Ice Age and GURPS Callahan’s Crosstime Saloon.

Barr also produced illustrations for the Traveller role-playing books, including Alien Module 8: Darrians, the MegaTraveller Player’s Manual and several issues of both the Journal of the Travellers Aid Society and Challenge magazine.