Linda Fite

Biography

Linda Fite was hired by Marvel as an editorial assistant/production assistant. Though she continually appealed to editor Roy Thomas for writing assignments, from 1968–1971 she was given only short back-up features in The Uncanny X-Men and Rawhide Kid. In 1972 she got her first offer to be a regular writer, on Claws of the Cat, an early and unsuccessful attempt to appeal to female superhero comic readers. Fite was selected because Marvel's editorial staff thought a series targeted toward female readers should have a female creative team.

Fite has said that she found the character unappealing: "I thought, 'A cat? Oh, my God, how original. We’ll have a woman and we’ll call her Cat and she can be in catfights.' But I was just happy to have the chance to do it." She infused the series with a woman's liberation tone, but it was cancelled after four issues due to poor sales. She had already completed the never-published fifth issue.

Other stories she wrote included a fill-in issue of Night Nurse. Fite wrote and illustrated a one-page story for an East Coast independent/underground comic published by Flo Steinberg, Big Apple Comix (Sept. 1975).

While serving as an assistant to Marvel editor-in-chief Stan Lee, Fite helped bring fledgling artist Barry Windsor-Smith to the company. After she responded with an encouraging note to art he had sent to the Marvel offices, Smith and a friend flew from England and camped out near the Marvel Comics offices, seeking work.

Fite works for the Times Herald-Record, a daily newspaper based in Middletown, New York.

Fite was married to Marvel Comics artist Herb Trimpe. They had three children together.