Dykes to Watch Out for: Cartoons

Reading Alison Bechdel's first collection of DTWOF was a surprise, but a pleasant one. I just assumed that the on-going storylines and regular characters that made up later volumes would have an explicit beginning in this one. Wrong. Although some of the later characters and themes might be here in utero (especially Mo), none of them have been quite born yet. Instead, what Ms. Bechdel offers is a number of witty, sometimes hilarious, and usually insightful independent vignettes. One thing that comes through clearly in this early collection is how much of an iconoclast Bechdel was and will become in her later work. There are no sacred cows. She pokes fun at lesbians who romanticize the virtues of relationship over singledom, and ironically comments on first dates, the trajectory of romances, and political zealotry. But she always does so in a compassionate way that suggests she speaks from the sort of personal experience that encourages kindness as well as a bit of wariness. Probably the very best strip in the collection is an allegory called "Politi-cola; or, the Birth of an Activist," in which a fantasized political rivalry between Pepsi-cola and Coca-cola symbolizes the utter lack of distinctiveness between democratic and republican presidential rivals in the 1988 election. It's really a brilliant (and, alas, far-seeing) piece of political satire. Less effective (but not displeasing) is the lesbian alphabet series that punctuates the collection. I suspect it was drawn especially for this volume as filler. All in all, a fine start of what has become the career of one of our very best social and cultural commentators.

I first found Ms. Bechdel's work in, of all places, a science fiction bookstore. I was in the mood for cartoon books, picked up hers, and noticed that her characters had four fingers to go with their thumbs, were mostly female, had women of all races and shapes, and they were drawn in a reasonably anatomically correct manner.Although I am not a lesbian (but am a friend of the family), I was drawn to the richness and humanity of Bechdel's characters. When I saw the drawing of one woman cowering under the bedcovers and her partner going after a stray bat (animal) with a tennis racket, I roared with laughter and took the book to the checkout line.If you are straight and want a gentle and humorous look into lesbian life or are lesbian and just want a warm "me too" kind of chuckle, this is the book for you.

When I first read this book I became fascinate with the story, the characters seems to be very representative of the so call "Lesbian Nation" about the sisters and queers. Also establish the transformation suffer by the lesbian "type" between the decades of 1960, 1970,1980 and 1990.

I borrowed this book from a friend and finally had to buy my own copy because I liked it so much. I sometimes miss these "standalone" cartoons, even though I really like her later works with Mo and the gang. I now have all of Alison Bechdel's books and can't wait for the next ones