RUTH ROCHE: THE PHANTOM HAND OF COMICS
Mad Cave Studios Brings The Untold Story of a Woman Who Helped Build Comics From the Shadows
This fall, Mad Cave Studios brings long-overdue focus to Ruth Roche, a defining voice of the Golden Age who helped shape comics from behind the scenes.
Announcing RUTH ROCHE: THE PHANTOM HAND OF COMICS, a graphic biography written by Eisner-nominated editor Joe Corallo (DC Pride: To The Farthest Reaches, Archie Horror Presents: Chilling Adventures) and artist Meghan Hetrick (Bodies, Red Thorn), with colors by Dee Cunniffe (Marvel Rivals, DareDevil: Woman without Fear) and letters by Morgan Martinez (Galaxy of Madness), bringing a long-overlooked figure in comics history into view, told in the medium she helped shape.
Finally, a book that highlights the pioneering, yet too often overlooked, comics career of Ruth Roche using the medium she most closely worked in as a writer, editor, and business partner to the legendary Jerry Iger. Following Ruth’s journey from a young woman with a penchant for storytelling, through the Golden Age of comics, where Ruth worked in the midst of the action–until the fateful Wertham Trials brought all of it to an end.
For Corallo and Hetrick, bringing Ruth Roche’s story forward meant confronting both her absence and her impact.
“As a lover of both comics and history, I made it a point years ago to explore the Golden Age of comics,” said writer Joe Corallo. “One name that I would see pop up over and over again was Ruth Roche, but when I would try to look more into her, there was very little information available despite her being a major player for most of that era. Years of looking into her revealed one known photo and a handful of people acknowledging her work. It really frustrated me, which motivated me to dive deep into this research and write the most comprehensive story that could be told about Ruth at this point. I hope people who read this come away having a deeper understanding of comics, of Ruth, how women have played a pivotal role in comics from the very early days of the medium as we know it, and, unfortunately, how the more things change in comics, the more things stay the same.”
“Ruth Roche’s story feels both inspiring and sobering to me,” added artist Meghan Hetrick. “As a woman working in comics today, I’m acutely aware of how many women helped shape this industry, only to have their names fade from the conversation over time. Ruth’s work is a reminder that the history of comics is far broader and richer than we often acknowledge. I hope readers come away not only appreciating her contributions but also feeling a renewed curiosity about the creators whose voices have been overlooked.”
A biography with historical reconstruction, Ruth Roche: The Phantom Hand of Comics restores a key creative force to the broader history of comics, aligning with titles like Tell Me a Story Where the Bad Girl Wins: The Life and Art of Barbara Shermund by Caitlin McGurk and the influential historical work of Trina Robbins, underscoring a growing interest in biographical and archival comics scholarship.
Ruth Roche: The Phantom Hand of Comics goes on sale October 13, 2026, in paperback (ISBN: 9781545812624 | $19.99) and hardcover (ISBN: 9781545827376 | $29.99) formats. Final order cut-off is September 21, and it is now available for preorder at your favorite bookstore, comics shop, and directly from Mad Cave.
Brian Isaacs - Executive Editor / Publisher