Ultima-Woman

Bursting onto the independent comics scene in 1995, Ultima-Woman is a creation of Ron Wilber published by the always-adventurous Fantagraphics — a house known for championing distinctive, creator-driven voices at the edges of the mainstream. She headlined her own self-titled series, a bold move for any character in the competitive mid-nineties market, and carries the unmistakable energy of that Copper/Modern Age moment when indie publishers were eager to forge new heroic icons on their own terms. Rare in the catalog and ripe for discovery, she's exactly the kind of hidden gem that makes digging through back-issue bins so rewarding.