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Paige Braddock Collection of Jane's World

 Collection
Identifier: MS-3910

  • Staff Only

This collection documents the work of artist Paige Braddock. The bulk of the collection is made up of material relating to her comic Jane's World, such as original sketchbooks, written drafts, final copies and distribution material. Also included are drafts of unpublished works, artwork from her time at UT, pieces of art she collected, and materials given to her by other artists. The collection is divided into four topical series; Jane's World; Sadie; Other Projects; and Personal Materials.

Series I is dedicated to materials documenting Braddock’s seminal work, Jane's World. This series is broken down into five topical sub-series. Series I, Sub-Series A consists of materials related to the earliest version of what would become Jane's World, titled "See Jane." Drawings, prints, promotional materials, and compilations of items in the "See Jane" era range from 1994 to 1999. Series I, Sub-Series B houses all original comic drafts, or strips, of Jane's World. The strips are dated from 1999 to 2018, but the bulk are from 2000-2004 when Braddock created a strip almost daily. There is a gap from 2005 to 2007. Folders labeled "Jane's World Strip Materials" include extra items that were sent in with the strip itself. Series I, Sub-Series C contains sketchbooks and notebooks in which Braddock drafted parts of Jane's World. Some of these contain strips, but they have been separated due to the fact that many notebooks also contain other sketches and personal writings. All strips are either located in Sub-Series B or Sub-Series C. Series I, Sub-Series D holds published material. This includes most of the Jane's World comic books and their drafts along with Jane's World: The Case of the Mail Order Bride. Series I, Sub-Series E consists of oversize projects relating to Jane's World. Some comic strips were drafted on oversized paper, but this series also includes prints of the comic book covers in color.

Series II, "Sadie," contains drafts, strips, prints, and portfolios of Braddock's comic "Sadie" that ran in the University of Tennessee student newspaper The Daily Beacon from 1982 to 1986.

Series III, Other Projects, documents other projects taken on by Braddock and is organized by publication. Sub-Series A contains materials related to the unpublished comic strip "Ultra Violet." Sub-Series B, the smallest in Series III, contains a single draft of a short project titled "Urban Coffee Shop." Sub-Series C, The Martian Confederacy, consists of drafts of volume 1 of this comic and final publications of volumes 1 and 2, in addition to early sketches. Sub-Series D holds all Stinky Cecil items, including sketchbooks, drafts, and final copies of the children's book.

Series IV, Personal Materials, houses all other items donated. These range from comic con convention autograph books to certificates of achievement to photographs of Braddock's parents' home in Georgia.

Series V, Oversize Material, contains all large format items.

Dates

  • 1933 May 8 - 2018 November 6, undated
  • Majority of material found in 1982 - 2018

Language of Materials

The majority of the materials in this collection are in English. There are a few of Braddock's publications that are in French, Spanish, and Swedish.

Conditions Governing Access

Collections are stored offsite, and a minimum of 2 business days are needed to retrieve these items for use. Researchers interested in consulting any of the collections are advised to contact Special Collections.

Conditions Governing Use

The copyright interests in this collection remain with the creator. For more information, contact the Special Collections Library.

Extent

8.5 Linear Feet

Overview

This collection documents the work of artist Paige Braddock. The bulk of the collection is made up of material relating to her comic Jane's World, such as original sketchbooks, written drafts, final copies and distribution material. Also included are drafts of unpublished works, artwork from her time at UT, pieces of art she collected, and materials given to her by other artists.

Biographical / Historical

Paige Braddock is an author and illustrator, well-known for her comic Jane's World. Born in California, Braddock moved around the United States with her family as a child and knew she wanted to be a cartoonist from a young age. Braddock published her first comic in her local newspaper, the Transylvania Times, as a junior in high school. While studying at the University of Tennessee, Braddock ran a comic titled "Sadie" in the student newspaper The Daily Beacon from 1982 to 1986. Upon graduation, Braddock illustrated for several newspapers, including The Orlando Sentinel, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and the Chicago Tribune. An accomplished artist, Braddock began work on a comic titled "See Jane" in 1994. After several years of development, "See Jane" became Jane's World. The comic follows Jane, a thirty-something lesbian and her circle of friends that try, and fail comedically, to navigate life. Jane's World is the first widely-circulated comic to feature a lesbian main character. Jane is partially modeled off of Braddock, a member of the LGBTQ community. Outside of writing comics, Braddock achieved success in her career as an artist in other ways. She became the Chief Creative Director for the Charles M. Schultz Creative Associates studio in 1999, working on the world-renowned Peanuts brand. In 2001, Braddock started her own publishing company, PB9/Girl Twirl Comics. Jane's World has millions of readers around the world. In 2018, Braddock released the last Jane's World publication, a compilation entitled Love Letters to Jane's World. Braddock has worked on several other projects while writing Jane's World, including a children's book series titled Stinky Cecil and a sci-fi comic co-created with Jason McNamara titled The Martian Confederacy. Braddock lives in Northern California with her wife.

Processing Information

Not all donated newspapers were kept, but a complete list of donated newspapers is available. Newspapers that only contained art or an article by Braddock had only the art photocopied for preservation purposes.

Repository Details

Part of the Betsey B. Creekmore Special Collections and University Archives, University of Tennessee, Knoxville Repository

Contact:
University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Knoxville TN 37996 USA
865-974-4480