Editing Catherine Yronwode

{{Short description|American comic book writer and editor}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2014}}
{{Infobox person
| name          = Catherine Yronwode
| image         = Catherine yronwode.jpg
| imagesize     =
| caption       = Yronwode in 1977
| birth_name    = Catherine Anna Manfredi
| birth_date    = {{birth date and age|1947|5|12}}
| birth_place   = [[San Francisco, California]], U.S.
| death_date    =
| death_place   =
| occupation    = Writer, editor, publisher
| alias         =
| signature     =
| notable works = [[Eclipse Comics]] editor-in-chief
| awards        = [[Inkpot Awards|Inkpot Award]] 1983
| spouse = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage|[[Dean Mullaney]]|1987|1993|end=divorce}}
* {{marriage|Nagasiva Bryan W Yronwode|2000}}
}}

}}
'''Catherine Anna Yronwode''' ([[Married name|née]] '''Manfredi'''; May 12, 1947) is an American [[writer]], [[editor in chief|editor]], [[graphic designer]], [[typesetter]], and [[publisher]] with an extensive career in the [[comic book]] industry. She is also a practitioner of [[folk magic]].

==Early life==
Catherine Anna Manfredi was born in 1947 in San Francisco. Her father was Joseph Manfredi, a [[Sicilian American]] abstract artist, and her mother, Liselotte Erlanger, a writer, was an [[Ashkenazi Jew]]ish [[refugee]] from [[Nazi]] Germany.<ref name="yronwode.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.yronwode.com/catherine.html|title= More About Cat|author=Catherine Yronwode|publisher=yronwode.com|access-date=2006-09-25}}</ref> She is a cousin of the composer [[Franz Reizenstein]] and the economist [[Otto Eckstein]].<ref name="kunstvilla">{{cite web|url=https://www.kunstkulturquartier.de/fileadmin/allgemein/7_Kunstvilla/Pdfs/2021_Kunstvilla_Hopf_Guide_engl_Smartphone.pdf|title=The Nuremberg Hop Merchant and Banker Family Hopf|author=Andrea Dippel|publisher=Kunstvilla Museum|access-date=2023-08-18}}</ref><ref name="kohn"> {{cite web|url=http://www.yronwode.com/kohn-erlanger-family.html|title=German Jewish Families in the Hops Trade in Franconia: Writers, Musicians, Scientists, Lawyers, Bankers, and Doctors|publisher=yronwode.com|access-date=2023-05-12}}</ref> Manfredi grew up in [[Berkeley, California|Berkeley]] and [[Santa Monica, California|Santa Monica]], and traveling abroad.<ref name="wicker">Wicker, Christine (2005). ''Not in Kansas Anymore – A Curious Tale of How Magic is Transforming America,'' Harper: San Francisco. ISBN 0-06-072678-4</ref> 

She attended [[Shimer College]] in [[Illinois]] as an early entrant, but dropped out.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.yronwode.com/catherine.html |title=more about cat |work=yronwode.com |year=2013 |access-date=October 17, 2015}}</ref> Returning to Berkeley, she sold the ''[[Berkeley Barb]]'' underground newspaper on the streets and catalogued rare books for her parents' bookstore. In 1965 she left urban life for rural places.<ref name="wicker"/>

==Career==

===Early writing===
Yronwode began writing while in her teens, contributing to [[science fiction fanzine]]s during the 1960s. She was a member of the Bay Area Astrologers Group, co-writing its weekly astrology column for an underground newspaper, ''[[San Francisco Express Times]]''. She produced record reviews on a freelance basis for the nascent ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' magazine, and short articles on [[low-tech]] living for the ''[[Whole Earth Catalog]]'' and ''Country Women'' magazine. While in jail for growing marijuana, she wrote about her experiences ("Letters from Jail") for the ''[[Spokane Natural]]'' an [[underground press|underground newspaper]]. With her mother Liselotte Glozer, Catherine co-wrote and hand-lettered the faux-medieval [[cookbook]], ''My Lady's Closet Opened and the Secret of Baking Revealed'' by Two Gentlewomen (Glozer's Booksellers, 1969).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bibliomania.ws/shop/bibliomania/author/GLOZER%2C%20L%5Biselotte%5D%20and%20Catherine%20Manfredi.html?id=RkDC2qri |title=Search Results for GLOZER, L&#91;iselotte&#93; and Catherine Manfredi - Bibliomania - Carefully packing & shipping books worldwide for forty years |work=bibliomania.ws |year=2015 |access-date=17 October 2015 |archive-date=January 10, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160110110030/http://www.bibliomania.ws/shop/bibliomania/author/GLOZER%2C%20L%5Biselotte%5D%20and%20Catherine%20Manfredi.html?id=RkDC2qri |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Describing herself as "one of those girls who took a look around at what the boys were doing", she quickly became an avid reader of [[Marvel Comics]]' [[Silver Age of Comic Books|Silver Age]] material, beginning with ''[[Fantastic Four (comic book)|Fantastic Four]]'' and ''[[The Amazing Spider-Man]]''. ''[[Doctor Strange (comic book)|Doctor Strange]]'' soon became her favourite, and when the initial series was cancelled in 1969 she gave up reading comics for several years.<ref name=AH141CY/> The same year, she and her then-partner Peter Paskin created the joint name "Yronwode" and all of her subsequent work has been published under that surname.<ref name="wicker"/> She generally styles her name in lower case, as "catherine yronwode."<ref name="yronwode.com" /> or even "cat [[Circled plus (disambiguation)|⊕]] yronwode" (pronounced 'iron-wood').<ref name=AH141CY>{{cite magazine|date=May 15, 1988|title=Cat Yronwode - Editor in Chief|author=[[Heidi MacDonald]]|magazine=[[Amazing Heroes]]|publisher=[[Fantagraphics Books]]|number=141}}</ref>

===Comics career===
====Early comics work====
The 1974 revival of ''Doctor Strange'' drew Yronwode back to comics. While unemployed in 1977, Yronwode created a [[magico-religious]] index to the comic called the ''Lesser Book of the Vishanti''; she later published parts of it in various small presses and it is posted on her website in updated form. Marvel writers are said to have consulted it.<ref>{{cite book |author=Douglas Wolk |title=Reading Comics: How Graphic Novels Work and What They Mean |url=https://archive.org/details/readingcomicshow00wolk/page/ |url-access=registration |quote=Lesser Book of the Vishanti. |location=Cambridge, Massachusetts |publisher=Da Capo |year=2007 |isbn=9780306815096 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/readingcomicshow00wolk/page/ n.p.] }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author1=Catherine Yronwode |author2=Nagasiva Yronwode |title=The Lesser Book of the Vishanti |url=http://www.luckymojo.com/vishanti.html |website=Lucky Mojo.com |year=2010 |access-date=August 13, 2018 }}</ref> She wrote a lengthy letter to the title in 1978, which took over nearly the entire column; Yronwode's address was printed in the column; she received large amounts of fan mail, including a [[marriage proposal]]. At this point she had separated from Paskin and was living alone in a [[log cabin]] in [[Missouri]], so she wrote back to many of the letters and would keep in touch with many of the writers.<ref name=AH141CY/> Yronwode began a career as a freelance magazine writer while also continuing to contribute to fanzines.

In 1980, Yronwode began work at [[Ken Pierce Books]], editing and writing introductions to a line of [[comic strip]] reprint books. Titles included ''[[Modesty Blaise]]'' by [[Peter O'Donnell]] and [[Jim Holdaway]], ''[[Mike Hammer (character)#Comics|Mike Hammer]]'' by [[Mickey Spillane]], and ''[[The Phantom]]'' by [[Lee Falk]].<ref name="msu-y">{{cite web|url=http://www.lib.msu.edu/comics/rri/yrri/yp.htm|title=Special Collections Division Reading Room Index to the Comic Art Collection "Yps" to "Yugoslavia"|author=Michigan State University Libraries |publisher=lib.msu.edu|access-date=2007-10-31 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070807085033/http://www.lib.msu.edu/comics/rri/yrri/yp.htm <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = August 7, 2007}}</ref>

====''Fit to Print''====
Also in 1980 Yronwode succeeded [[Murray Bishoff]] as news reporter for [[Comics Buyer's Guide]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cbgxtra.com/information-please/tbg-news-columnist |title=TBG news columnist &#124; CBGXtra |last=dgabbard |work=cbgxtra.com |year=2015 |access-date=17 October 2015 |archive-date=September 19, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150919225930/http://www.cbgxtra.com/information-please/tbg-news-columnist |url-status=dead }}</ref> and began a long-running column "Fit to Print," presenting a variety of industry news, reviews, obituaries, and opinion pieces. ''[[Tales of the Beanworld]]'' creator [[Larry Marder]] credits her positive review for his title's success.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.proaxis.com/~half/BeanWeb/Miscellany/Larry_Marder_Interview_pt1.txt|title=Larry Marder interview|author=Jeremy York|publisher=Gunk'L'Dunk e-zine|date=November 9, 1991|access-date=2006-09-26 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060726063430/http://www.proaxis.com/~half/BeanWeb/Miscellany/Larry_Marder_Interview_pt1.txt <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = July 26, 2006}}</ref> Similarly, when [[Dan Brereton]] received a poor review from Yronwode for an early project, he felt his "promising career in comics was over."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nocturnals.com/old/interview/interview.htm|title=Interview with Dan Brereton|author=Rick Beckley|publisher=themestream.com (defunct, via Brereton's website)|date=May 25, 2000|access-date=2006-09-26 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060911235529/http://www.nocturnals.com/old/interview/interview.htm <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = September 11, 2006}}</ref> The column, and her work with the [[amateur press association|APA-I]] comic-book indexing cooperative, led to freelance editing jobs at [[Kitchen Sink Press]]. She wrote ''The Art of [[Will Eisner]]'' in 1981 and produced several other books for Kitchen Sink over the next few years.<ref name="gckdb">{{gcdb|type=credit|search=Catherine+Yronwode|title=Catherine Yronwode}}</ref><ref name="msu-e">{{cite web|url=http://www.lib.msu.edu/comics/rri/erri/eclipso.htm |title=Special Collections Division Reading Room Index to the Comic Art Collection "Eclipse Extra" to "Écluses"|author=Michigan State University Libraries|publisher=lib.msu.edu|access-date=2007-10-31 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070812050319/http://www.lib.msu.edu/comics/rri/erri/eclipso.htm <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = August 12, 2007}}</ref>

====Eclipse Comics====
{{main|Eclipse Comics}}
[[File:Cat Yronwode and Dean Mullaney (1117251043).jpg|240px|thumb|left|Yronwode and Dean Mullaney at the 1982 [[San Diego Comic Con]].]]
While working at Eisner's archives in December 1981, she met [[Dean Mullaney]], the co-founder of [[Eclipse Comics|Eclipse Enterprises]], a [[graphic novel]] publisher. Yronwode recalled that Eisner and his wife Ann "hosted a party for me with all these comic book men I was flirting with. All these men came up; they all wanted to meet Will. One of them was Dean Mullaney, the co-owner of Eclipse Comics, a small independent publishing house. He was the most flirtatious."<ref>{{cite book|first=Bob|last=Andelman|title=Will Eisner: A Spirited Life|publisher=M Press|location=[[Milwaukie, Oregon|Milwaukie]], [[Oregon]]|year=2005|isbn=1-59582-011-6|page=[https://archive.org/details/willeisner00boba/page/220 220]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/willeisner00boba/page/220}}</ref> As well as beginning a romantic relationship, the pair also began working together; Dean and his brother Jan were looking to expand beyond graphic novels to regular comics while retaining the [[Creator ownership in comics|creator-owned]] ethos, and Yronwode's knowledge of comics and wide list of contacts saw her effectively become the company's editor-in-chief, starting with ''[[Destroyer Duck]]''. She was in the post unofficially for around a year; she and Mullaney also kept their relationship private to avoid accusations she had only gotten the job because they were lovers.<ref name=AH141CY/>

When Yronwode officially took over as Editor-in-Chief in October 1984, Dean Mullaney moved over to the role of publisher. She quickly became the public face of the company at conventions and other events, and began a column called ''Penumbra'' that was printed on the inside cover of all of Eclipse's comic books, while continuing to write ''Fit to Print''. ''Penumbra'' would mix promotion of Eclipse's titles with industry musings and other topical comment.<ref name=AH142ETP/> She remained outspoken, often criticising the editorial and business policies of both Marvel and [[DC Comics]]. At her instigation, Eclipse ran a series of full-page advertisements during 1986 (Marvel's much-publicized 25th anniversary) featuring a large portrait of [[Jack Kirby]] and the text "What About Jack?", in reference to the company's refusal to return the artist's artwork.<ref name=AH142ETP/>

In 1983, after a brief stop-over in Missouri, Yronwode and Dean Mullaney relocated Eclipse's publishing operations to [[Guerneville, California]]; in early 1984, Jan Mullaney sold his interest in the company to the pair in order to concentrate on his music career.<ref name=AH142ETP/> Eclipse's output rapidly grew, and by the mid-1980s they were the third-largest company in the American comics industry, despite only selling their titles via the [[direct market]].<ref>{{cite book| title=Overstreet Comic Book Marketplace Yearbook 2015-2016| first=Robert M. | last= Overstreet| author-link=Robert Overstreet| publisher= Gemstone Publishing |year=2015| isbn= 978-1603601801|page= 77}}</ref> Through a mixture of a booming industry, a growing creator-owned movement, Dean Mullaney's business acumen, and Yronwode's intricate knowledge of the market, the company published numerous award-winning titles, including [[Scott McCloud]]'s ''[[Zot!]]'', [[Mark Evanier]]'s ''[[The DNAgents]]'' and [[Alan Moore]]'s ''[[Miracleman]]'', as well as importing numerous titles from the [[United Kingdom]] and [[Japan]] for the American market.<ref name=AH142ETP>{{cite magazine|date=June 1, 1988|title=Enlarging the Penumbra|author=Bob Hughes|magazine=[[Amazing Heroes]]|publisher=[[Fantagraphics Books]]|number=142}}</ref> In 1983, Yronwode won an [[Inkpot Awards|Inkpot Award]], given for lifetime achievement in comics and related areas.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.hahnlibrary.net/comics/awards/inkpot.php |title=Inkpot Awards |work=hahnlibrary.net |year=2015|access-date=17 October 2015}}</ref>

Yronwode and the cartoonist [[Trina Robbins]] co-wrote ''Women and the Comics'' in 1985; the book was a history of female comics creators.<ref name=AH065NF>{{cite magazine|date=February 15, 1985|title=Newsflashes|magazine=[[Amazing Heroes]]|publisher=[[Fantagraphics|Redbeard, Inc]]|number=65}}</ref> As the first book on this subject, its publication was noted both by the mainstream press and the fan press.<ref>"Women in the Comics: Assertive and Independent Women Make a Comeback," ''Miami Herald'', December 1, 1988</ref><ref>"Comic Books Are For Adults Too" by William Singleton, Scripps Howard News Service, ''Chronicle-Telegram'' (newspaper), January 7, 1988</ref><ref>"Funny How Things Change," ''Daily Herald'' (newspaper), December 28, 1988</ref> Yronwode was writing another non-fiction book, a biography of [[Steve Ditko]], but the work was lost when Eclipse's offices were flooded in February 1986.<ref name=AH090NF>{{cite magazine|date=March 1, 1986|title=Newsflashes|magazine=[[Amazing Heroes]]|publisher=[[Fantagraphics Books]]|number=90}}</ref> Yronwode covered the events - which included herself and Mullaney losing most of their possessions when their house also flooded - in ''Fit to Print'' and ''Penumbra'' columns.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.luckymojo.com/vishantiprolepsis.html |title=The Lesser Book of the Vishanti: A Companion to the Dr. Strange Comic Books |last1=Yronwode |first1=Catherine |last2=Nagasiva |first2=Nagasiva |year=2002 |publisher=LuckyMojo.com |access-date=September 28, 2010 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120913190726/http://www.luckymojo.com/vishantiprolepsis.html |archive-date=September 13, 2012 |url-status=live  }}</ref> The events would be alluded to in a tongue-in-cheek framing sequence Yronwode wrote for ''Miracleman'' #8.<ref>{{Cite comic|writer=[[Cat Yronwode|Yronwode]]|artist=[[Chuck Austen|Beckum, Chuck]]|story=''(untitled framing sequence)''|title=[[Miracleman]]|issue=#8|date=June 1986| publisher=Eclipse Comics}}</ref>

With the comic market contracting in the late 1980s, Eclipse developed a new line of non-fiction, non-sports [[trading cards]], edited by Yronwode. Controversial political subjects such as the [[Iran-Contra scandal]], the [[Savings and Loan crisis]], the [[AIDS]] epidemic, and the [[Kennedy Assassination]], as well as [[true crime]] accounts of [[serial killers]], [[mass murder]]ers, the [[mafia]], and [[organized crime]] were covered in these card sets. Yronwode was widely interviewed in the media about her role in their creation.<ref>
*"Trading Card Fame for S&L Scoundrels" by Judith Crossen, Reuters, ''[[Philadelphia Daily News]]'' (newspaper), September 9, 1991
*"A Full Deck of Scandals at a Glance" by Susan Trausch, ''[[The Boston Globe]]'' (newspaper), September 18, 1991
*"Insider Trading with Keating, Milken", ''[[Los Angeles Daily News]]'' (newspaper), October 20, 1991
*"Price tag on JFK intrigue Assassination aficionados spawn cottage industry" by Kathryn Jones, ''[[Dallas Morning News]]'' (newspaper), November 22, 1991
*"Kennedy Assassination is an Industry with Growing Market", Associated Press, ''Elyria Chronicle-Telegram'' (newspaper), November 28, 1991
*"Ban Urged on Sale of Crime Cards", ''The Record'' (newspaper), April 30, 1992
*"'True Crime' Cards Thriving Despite Outrage", ''[[The New York Times]]'' (newspaper), June 16, 1992
*"Killer Cards Hit Capital Stores Amid Criticism", ''Sacramento Bee'' (newspaper), June 19, 1992
*"Killer Cards: Two groups trying to deal fatal blow to criminal cards", ''[[The Oregonian]]'' (newspaper), August 18, 1992
*"AIDS cards to include condoms", ''[[Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel]]'' (newspaper), September 23, 1992
*"AIDS Awareness is in the cards", ''Dallas Morning News'' (newspaper), July 7, 1993
*"AIDS Activism turns to cards", ''Dayton Daily News'' (newspaper), July 13, 1993
*"Ban Sought on Cards depicting AIDS victim", ''The Boston Globe'' (newspaper) January 15, 1994</ref>

In 1993, Yronwode and Mullaney divorced, at which point the company's finances disintegrated, leading to bankruptcy for the company in 1995.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Newswatch: Eclipse Files for Bankruptcy|journal= The Comics Journal| number= 174 |date=February 1995|page=25}}</ref>

=====Legal cases=====
During her time at Eclipse, Yronwode was involved in three court cases related to [[free speech]]/[[free expression]] under the First Amendment.
*In the 1986 ''Illinois v. Correa'' obscenity case, which led to the founding of the [[Comic Book Legal Defense Fund]],<ref>{{cite web |url= http://cbldf.org/about-us/case-files/cbldf-case-files/correa/ |title=CBLDF Case Files — Illinois v. Correa &#124; Comic Book Legal Defense Fund |work=cbldf.org |year=2015 |access-date=17 October 2015}}</ref> Yronwode was an expert witness for the defense.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cbldf.org/research/biblio-80s.html |title=Censorship of Comics Bibliography: 1980s |publisher=[[Comic Book Legal Defense Fund]] |access-date=2006-09-26 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060912133322/http://www.cbldf.org/research/biblio-80s.html |archive-date=September 12, 2006 }}</ref>
*In 1992, the convicted [[serial killer]] [[Kenneth Bianchi]], one-half of the pair known as the [[Hillside Strangler]]s, sued Yronwode for [[USD]]$8.5 million for having an image of his face depicted on a trading card; he claimed his face was his trademark. The judge dismissed the case after ruling that, if Bianchi had been using his face as a trademark when he was killing women, he would not have tried to hide it from the police.<ref>"Serial Killer Sues Trading Card Maker", ''San Jose Mercury News,'' December 18, 1992</ref><ref>"Card-Carrying Rebels: Two Guerrilla Journalists Turn Crime and Crises into Camp Collectibles" by Kathleen Donnelly, ''San Jose Mercury News'' (newspaper), January 10, 1993</ref>
*Also in 1992, Eclipse was a plaintiff when [[Nassau County, New York]], seized a crime-themed trading card series of theirs under a county ordinance prohibiting sales of certain trading cards to minors.<ref>"Nassau County Limits Sale of Crime Trading Cards". ''The New York Times'' (newspaper), June 16, 1992</ref> The case, in which Yronwode testified and the [[American Civil Liberties Union]] provided Eclipse's representation, reached the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit|2nd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals]]. It ruled against the county, overturning the ordinance.<ref>"Nassau Is Faulted for Law Over Killer Trading Cards", ''The New York Times'' (newspaper), October 17, 1995</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/Speech/arts/topic.aspx?topic=comix |title=Arts & First Amendment Issues: Comic Books |publisher=[[First Amendment Center]] |access-date=2006-09-26 |url-status=dead |archive-url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20041221024840/http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/speech/arts/topic.aspx?topic=comix |archive-date=December 21, 2004 |df=mdy }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= https://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-2nd-circuit/1129335.html |title=ECLIPSE ENTERPRISES INC v. GULOTTA &#124; FindLaw |work=caselaw.findlaw.com |year=2015|access-date=17 October 2015}}</ref>

====Claypool Comics====
Following the end of Eclipse, Yronwode joined [[Claypool Comics]]. In 1998, she was joined at Claypool by Tyagi Nagasiva. They married in 2000, at which time he changed his name to Nagasiva Bryan W. Yronwode. Both Yronwodes continued to work for Claypool until that company ceased print publication in 2007.

===Other work===
During the 1990s, Yronwode was a staff editor and contributor to [[Rodale, Inc.|''Organic Gardening Magazine'']] and wrote ''The California Gardener's Book of Lists'' (Taylor, 1998). Other subjects she has covered include [[collectible]]s, popular culture,<ref name="msu-y"/> rural acoustic [[blues]] music, early [[rock'n'roll]], [[sexuality]],<ref name="yronwode.com" /> [[magic (paranormal)|magic]], [[sacred architecture]],<ref>"Finding the Unexpected on www.ididn'tknowthat.com", ''The New York Times'' (newspaper), July 21, 1991</ref> the worldwide use of charms and talismans, African American [[Hoodoo (folk magic)|hoodoo]], and other [[folklore]] subjects. She runs the websites luckymojo.com, herbmagic.com, southern-spirits.com, and missionaryindependent.org, which deal with these and other topics, including comic books.

She is the co-proprietor, with her husband Nagasiva Yronwode, of the Lucky Mojo Curio Company, an occult shop, spiritual supply manufactory, book publishing firm, and internet radio network for which she writes, edits, and produces graphic label art. She is on the board of the Yronwode Institution for the Preservation and Popularization of Indigenous Ethnomagicology (YIPPIE), a 501(c)3 not-for-profit foundation that archives the material culture of 19th and 20th century folk magic and divination. Since 2006, she has been a pastor at Missionary Independent Spiritual Church. Under the imprints of the Lucky Mojo Curio Company, Missionary Independent Spiritual Church, and YIPPIE, the Yronwodes edit and publish books by a variety of other authors as well as their own works.<ref name="wicker" /><ref name="long">Long, Carolyn Morrow (2001) ''Spiritual Merchants: Religion, Magic, and Commerce''. University of Tennessee Press. {{ISBN|1-57233-109-7}}</ref><ref name=WSJ>{{cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748703989004575653102537901956|title=Need a Job? Losing Your House? Who Says Hoodoo Can't Help? Tough Times Boost Sales of Spider Dust, Spells for Good Fortune, Mojo Powders |author=Cameron McWhirter|newspaper=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |date=December 28, 2010 |access-date=2010-12-28}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.luckymojo.com/publishing/ |title=Books Published by Lucky Mojo Curio Company: Lucky Mojo Curio Co. catalogue |work=luckymojo.com |year=2015 |access-date=17 October 2015}}</ref> Extensive interviews with the Yronwodes can be found in Christine Wicker's survey of early 21st-century magical practitioners, ''Not in Kansas Anymore,''<ref name="wicker" /> and in Carolyn Morrow Long's academic history of 20th-century occult shops, ''Spiritual Merchants: Religion, Magic, and Commerce''.<ref name="long"/>

==Personal life==
From 1965 to 1980, Yronwode lived as a rural [[back-to-the-land]] [[hippie]] at Tolstoy Peace Farm, an anarchist [[Commune (intentional community)|commune]] in [[Washington (state)|Washington]]; the Equitable Farm commune in [[Mendocino County, California]], and the Garden of Joy Blues commune in [[Oregon County, Missouri]].<ref name="communes">Miller, Timothy (1999) ''The 60's Communes: Hippies and Beyond (Syracuse Studies on Peace and Conflict Resolution)'', Syracuse University Press.</ref> 

In 1967, Yronwode began a relationship with Peter Paskin; in 1969, they devised the new surname Yronwode. In 1970, they were interviewed at length by ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' magazine for an article on hippie anarchist communes.<ref name="rollingstone">"Mendocino: Tryin' To Make a Dime in the Big Woods", text by [[Charles Perry (food writer)|Charles Perry]], photographs by Robert Altman, ''Rolling Stone'' magazine #73, December 24, 1970.</ref>

The couple had two children: Cicely (who was born in 1970 and died of [[Sudden infant death syndrome|SIDS]] the same year) and Althaea, born in 1971. In 1972, the Yronwodes relocated to the Garden of Joy Blues commune in the [[Missouri]] [[The Ozarks|Ozarks]]. Their partnership ended in 1976.<ref name="yronwode.com" /><ref name="communes" /> 

After working and living together from 1981 onward, Yronwode and [[Dean Mullaney]] married in 1987. They divorced in 1993.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.comicsbeat.com/poisoned-chalice-part-11-the-twilight-of-eclipse/ |title=Poisoned Chalice Part 11: The Twilight of Eclipse — The Beat |work=comicsbeat.com |year=2015|access-date=17 October 2015}}</ref>

Yronwode lives on an old farmstead in rural [[Forestville, California]], in "tantric partnership" with Nagasiva Bryan W Yronwode.<ref name="yronwode.com" /><ref name="wicker" /> They met in 1998 and married in 2000.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.yronwode.com/wedding.html |title=cat & nagasiva nuptials |work=yronwode.com |year=2013 |access-date=17 October 2015}}</ref>

==Publications==
* ''My Lady's Closet Opened and the Secret of Baking Revealed'', by Two Gentlewomen (with Liselotte Erlanger Glozer). Glozer's Booksellers, 1969.
* ''The Lesser Book of the Vishanti'', 1977, rev. 2002, various private publishers.
* ''Will Eisner Color Treasury'' (with [[Will Eisner]]). [[Kitchen Sink Press]],1981. {{ISBN|0-87816-006-X}}
* ''The Art of Will Eisner''. Kitchen Sink Press, 1982. {{ISBN|0-87816-004-3}}
* ''Women and the Comics'' (with [[Trina Robbins]]). Eclipse, 1983.  {{ISBN|0-913035-01-7}}
* ''The Outer Space Spirit: 1952'' (with Will Eisner, [[Wally Wood]], and [[Pete Hamill]]). Kitchen Sink Press, 1989. {{ISBN|0-87816-012-4}}
* ''The California Gardener's Book of Lists'' (with Eileen Smith). Taylor Publishing, 1998. {{ISBN|0-87833-964-7}}
* ''Hoodoo Herb and Root Magic''. Lucky Mojo, 2002. {{ISBN|0-9719612-0-4}}
* ''Hoodoo Rootwork Correspondence Course''. Lucky Mojo, 2006. {{ISBN|0-9719612-2-0}}
* ''Throwing the Bones: Foretelling the Future With Bones, Shells, and Nuts''. Lucky Mojo, 2012. {{ISBN|978-0971961234}}
* ''The Art of Hoodoo Candle Magic in Rootwork, Conjure, and Spiritual Church Services'' (with [[Mikhail Strabo]]). Missionary Independent Spiritual Church, 2013. {{ISBN|0-9836483-6-0}}
* ''The Black Folder: Personal Communications on the Mastery of Hoodoo'' (editor / contributor, with 17 other authors). Missionary Independent Spiritual Church, 2013. {{ISBN|978-0-9836483-7-6}}
* ''Paper in My Shoe: Name Papers, Petition Papers, and Prayer Papers in the Hoodoo Rootwork Tradition''. Lucky Mojo, 2015. {{ISBN|978-0996147101}}
* ''Legends of Incense, Herb, and Oil Magic: Esoteric Students' Handbook of Legendary Formulas and Facts'' by [[Lewis de Claremont]], Restored, Revised, and Edited by catherine yronwode. Lucky Mojo, 2016. {{ISBN|978-0-9961471-1-8}}
* ''This Amazing Book - Hoodoo Herb and Root Medicine - Opens the Door to Better Health'' by Sunrae Products Co., Restored, Revised, and Edited by catherine yronwode. Lucky Mojo, 2017. {{ISBN|978-0-9961471-6-3}}
* ''The Art of Making Mojos: How to Craft Conjure Hands, Trick Bags, Tobies, Gree-Grees, Jomos, Jacks, and Nation Sacks''. Lucky Mojo, 2018. {{ISBN|978-0-9997809-0-9}}
* ''Genuine Black and White Magic of [[Marie Laveau]]'' (with [[Zora Neale Hurston]], Anna Riva, Anne Fleitman ([[Henri Gamache]]), Larry B. Wright, [[Franz Hartmann]], Abe Plough, et al.). Lucky Mojo, 2018. {{ISBN|978-0-9997809-2-3}}
* ''The Secret of Numbers Revealed''. (with Dr. Roy Page Walton, Lewis de Claremont, Godfrey Spencer, and Frank Householder). Lucky Mojo, 2019. {{ISBN|978-0-9997809-3-0}}
* ''The Red Folder: Private Lessons on the Practice of Hoodoo'' (editor / contributor, with 48 other authors). Missionary Independent Spiritual Church, 2019. {{ISBN|978-0-9960523-6-8}}
* ''Secrets of the Crystal Silence League: Crystal Ball Gazing, The Master Key to Silent Influence''. (with [[Claude Alexander Conlin]] and Deacon Millett). Missionary Independent Spiritual Church, 2019. {{ISBN|978-0-9960523-5-1}}
* ''Bottle Up and Go!: The Magic of Hoodoo Container Spells in Boxes, Bags, Bowls, Buckets, and Jars''. (with Lara Rivera). Lucky Mojo, 2020. {{ISBN|978-0-9997809-4-7}}     
* ''The Stranger in the Cup: How to Read Your Luck and Fate in the Tea Leaves''. (with Gregory Lee White). Lucky Mojo, 2020. {{ISBN|978-0-9997809-6-1}} 
* ''Terrors of the Evil Eye Exposed: Protection From Evil''. (with [[Henri Gamache]] and Dr. Jeremy Weiss). Lucky Mojo, 2021. {{ISBN|978-0-9997809-8-5}}    
* ''How to Use Amulets, Charms, and Talismans in the Hoodoo and Conjure Tradition: Physical Magic for Protection, Health, Money, Love, and Long Life''. (with Gregory Lee White). Lucky Mojo, 2021. {{ISBN|978-0-9997809-9-2}}
* ''Down-Home Sex Magic: Hoodoo Spells of Bodily Love''. Lucky Mojo, 2021. {{ISBN|978-0-9997809-7-8}}
* ''Hoodoo Dolls and Effigies: How to Craft and Cast Spells with Poppets, Fetishes, and Voodoo Dolls in the African-American Conjure Tradition''. Lucky Mojo, 2022. {{ISBN|978-1-7376516-2-8}}
* ''Sneaky Tricks: How to Hide Your Hoodoo Spells in Plain Sight''. (with Miss Michaele). Lucky Mojo, 2023. {{ISBN|978-1-7376516-3-5}}
* ''Astrology for Rootworkers: Spell-Casting with the Zodiac in Hoodoo and Conjure''. (with Prof. A. F. Seward). Lucky Mojo, 2023. {{ISBN|978-1-7376516-4-2}}

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Catherine Yronwode}}
*[http://LuckyMojo.com Official site]
*{{comicbookdb|type=creator|id=2408|title=Catherine Yronwode}}
{{Eclipse Comics}}
{{Inkpot Award 1980s}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yronwode, Catherine}}
[[Category:1947 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American occult writers]]
[[Category:American people convicted of drug offenses]]
[[Category:American writers of Italian descent]]
[[Category:American Ashkenazi Jews]]
[[Category:American comic book editors]]
[[Category:Comics critics]]
[[Category:Hoodoo (spirituality)]]
[[Category:People from Oregon County, Missouri]]
[[Category:People from Forestville, California]]
[[Category:Shimer College alumni]]
[[Category:Writers from Berkeley, California]]
[[Category:Writers from San Francisco]]
[[Category:Jewish American non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:Jewish women writers]]
[[Category:20th-century American non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:21st-century American non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:20th-century American women writers]]
[[Category:21st-century American women writers]]
[[Category:20th-century occultists]]
[[Category:21st-century occultists]]
[[Category:20th-century American Jews]]
[[Category:21st-century American Jews]]