Lily Renée, Escape Artist: From Holocaust Survivor to Comic Book Pioneer
Graphic Universe
This true story of a Jewish survivor of the war with a different sort of journey includes insight into World War II history from Anschluss to the Blitz. Lily Renee's story has only been told in articles for adults. Young comic book readers are naturally interested in the artists who create the books they love.
In 1938, Lily Renee Wilhelm, a 14-year-old Jewish girl, is living in Vienna when the Nazis march into Austria. Lily's mother finds her a sponsor in England for the Kinderlransporl evacuating refugee children. After England declares war on Germany, the Kinderlransporl children are considered enemy aliens who must report to the police. Once again Lily makes an escape, living in hiding until she learns that her parents have safely evacuated to the United States. After a ship voyage fraught with danger from Nazi torpedoes, teenage Lily reunites with her parents in New York and helps her family earn a living by painting designs on wooden boxes. One day she sees an ad in the paper: a comics publisher is looking for artists. Lily has never drawn comics before, but teaches herself how they work. She is hired to draw the character Senorita Rio, a beautiful spy fighting the Nazis., During the 1940s, Lily Renee was also the artist for the series The Lost World and Werewolf Hunters, and was one of the few female artists of the time who regularly drew comic book covers. Author Trina Robbins has built her book around extensive interviews with Lily Renee and extensive research to make sure the details are factually correct.