A comics pioneer, Marie Severin was one of the very few women working in the industry during the Gold Age and Silver Age, first as a colorist at EC and then as a penciler, inker and colorist at Marvel. Now she's the subject of TwoMorrows Publishing's upcoming book, aptly titled Marie Severin: The Mirthful Mistress of Comics.

Written by Dewey Cassell and Aaron Sultan, it's a compendium of Severin's art, from classic covers and stories to rare, unpublished sketches; it also includes an expansive interview with the 84-year-old artist.

Severin got her start coloring her brother John's work at EC Comics, but her best-known work was for her Marvel, where she was employed for 30 years as a production artist, penciler, inker and head colorist. She co-created Spider-Woman, and provided cover and interior art for such titles as The Avengers, Captain America, Conan the Barbarian, Crazy Magazine and The Incredible Hulk.

TwoMorrows' Marie Severin: The Mirthful Mistress of Comics has insight on her as a artist, co-worker and friend from comics greats like Stan Lee, Jack Davis and Gene Colan, as well as full participation by Severin herself -- who not only cooperated in the interview, but also provided a wealth of artwork for the book from her personal archives.

Here's a sample of the covers she's created in her career, to give you an idea of what Severin can do.

(Full disclosure: I wrote a book for TwoMorrows which was published earlier this year, but I have had no communications with the company regarding this book or covering any of its publications.)

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