Early Man Was a Woman: Book 1 (Reclaiming History)

Reviews Whit Taylor | November 5, 2026 If you read any of Ulli Lust’s graphic novels, whether personal memoir or otherwise, you’ll see a consistent theme- a genuine yearning to examine what it means to exist as a woman in, and in spite of, the patriarchy. Her latest graphic novel, Early Man Was a Woman: Book 1 (Reclaiming History) takes a step back and asks us to reconsider what we have been taught: namely, what if the history of early mankind was actually driven by women? The book starts with a personal anecdote about gendered shame. Little Ulli, who grows up with two sisters in 1970s Austria, is proud to be a girl. And she is baffled at society's rigid expectations for her. She points out that (Western) history has normalized reverence for male bodies (such as the “grotesque” renderings of Jesus that she sees in church) while treating the female body as taboo. Thankfully, Lust discusses these observations in a way that avoids gender essentialism. As she comes of age, pursues the arts, and spends time in museums, she observes that the fossil record does not reflect what she has been taught. “History is written by men!” she exclaims walking past the Ancient Greek statues at the Bri...