About

     Angry Little Girls is a comic strip that began in 1994 when Lela Lee used crayola markers to draw her first character the "Angry Little Asian Girl" for a college video class. After she finished the (un)animated short, she was embarrassed by the video's anger and hid it in a drawer indefinitely.

     After she graduated from college, Lela worked at her parent's dry cleaners. To pass the time between the busy morning drop off and after work pick up, she made more episodes of "Angry Little Asian Girl."
     In the spring of 1998, American Cinemateque screened "Angry Little Asian Girl" for the first time.

     After the screening, audience members told Lela that they loved the ALAG character. Critics from the LA Times and LA Weekly gave the shorts glowing reviews. This feedback inspired her to make Angry Little Asian Girl t-shirts.

     With a credit card and gumption, Lela got 300 shirts screen printed. At first, her friends bought the shirts and the rest she sold out of her Corolla station wagon.     
     In late 1998, Lela launched a website enabling her word of mouth to grow further. The internet allowed her to expand her reach and readership for her self-published, then titled, Angry Little Asian Girl comics.

     In addition to mailing ALAG shirts all over America, Lela continued to sell shirts at events. She had many conversations which made her understand that women of all ages and backgrounds felt angry.

     Observing this common sentiment, she expanded her brand name to "Angry Little Girls."

     In 2005, her first book was published and sold out 4 times over in two months. The success of the books led to a line of tote bags that sold in malls across the US and abroad. The Angry Little Girls items were popular with females from middle school to middle age. 

     Fans wrote to tell her that Angry Little Girls' products made them feel seen. This made Lela realize that just as drawing her comics helped her find her voice, her art on products was an important way to help women find their voice too.