Shary Flenniken

Shary Flenniken, born in 1950, is an American cartoonist, writer, and editor who emerged from the underground comix scene of the early 1970s. She is best known for her long-running strip *Trots and Bonnie*, a sharp satire of adult hypocrisy and sexual mores, filtered through the eyes of a naive eighth-grade girl, her talking dog, and their worldly friend Pepsi. The strip’s deceptively gentle, early-20th-century illustration style—reminiscent of Clare Briggs and H. T. Webster—belied its raunchy, feminist content. Flenniken became a key contributor to *National Lampoon*, serving as an editor for two years, and her work appeared in titles such as *Pox*, *Real Stuff*, and *Seattle Laughs*. A French collection, *Sexe & Amour*, was released in 1989, but an American edition did not appear until 2021, providing crucial cultural context. Her career, active from 1974 to 2007, includes work as an artist, colorist, inker, letterer, and writer across 23 cataloged issues. Flenniken is recognized for integrating feminist perspectives into underground comics, and her legacy endures as a pioneering voice in the medium.