Dykes
To Watch Out For |
The first collection of Alison Bechdel's lesbian feminist
comic strip; not yet the established series. |
|
More
Dykes To Watch Out For |
Introducing Mo and the rest of the gang at Madwimmin
Books. |
Pic Not Currently Available |
New!
Improved! Dykes To Watch Out For |
Mo in therapy.
Among other things. |
|
Dykes
To Watch Out For: The Sequel |
Includes "Serial Monogamy", an essay/reflection on lesbian
interpersonal issues; funny, touching, and,to a great extent,
gender-transcendant. |
Pic Not Currently Available |
Spawn
of Dykes To Watch Out For |
Clarice and Toni's bundle from heaven finally arrives. |
Pic Not Currently Available |
Unnatural
Dykes To Watch Out For |
This is the one with the "extra added story" section at
the end that details how everybody met everybody and how they all wound
up where they are... |
Pic Not Currently Available |
Hot
Throbbing Dykes To Watch Out For |
Wicked Sydney hits town;
Ginger {gasp} finishes her dissertation;
A financial crisis at Madwimmin Books leads to an erotica sale. |
|
Split
Level Dykes To Watch Out For |
Everybody's on the move --
Ginger buys the house;
Clarice & Toni move to suburbia
and Jezanna's father needs a place to stay;
And Sydney moves in with Mo.
((And guess who's got a
boy-friend?)) |
|
The
Indelible Alison Bechdel |
Autobiography, background and glimpses behind the
scenes.
((Includes the illustrations
from all of the "Dykes to Watch out For" calendars, which is just about
enough reason to buy it right there..)) |
|
Why
is a
Straight White Male
recommending that you purchase
"PG" or even "R"-rated
collections of
lesbian feminist cartoons?
There are two answers to that:
(1) They are Very Very Funny.
That's one reason, and ought to be sufficient, really.
But, if you need more:
I first encountered Alison Bechdel and "Dykes To Watch Out For" in the pages
of a gift subscription to
"The Funny Times"
given to me by a friend.
In particular, i remember that the first strip i read involved Ginger, Lois
and Sparrow and a bouquet that Ginger had received from a woman she had met
at a gender-issues conference in another state. I didn't know who any of
these women were, but, given the title, their interplay, and my own familiarity
with the roommate phenomenon, i had little trouble figuring out enough to
get the joke.
And what was important was that, despite the lesbian/feminist setting and
setup for the joke, the joke -- as so many of Bechdel's -- transcended the
relatively narrow bounds of its setting and soared into a perceptive comment
on The Entire Human Condition ((if i may be so pompous)). I could easily
imagine any of a number of combinations of myself and/or my friends (male
and female, straight or gay) who could be slotted into that storyline and
that dialog with only minimal changes (if any) and produce a result that
would ring absolutely true to anyone who knew us/them.
I began looking forward to DTWOF monthly in "Funny Times", and passing them
on to my friends. Some of them "got it", some did not. I recall one [male]
friend who asked me "As a [male reproductive organ]-posessing human being,
why do you like this lesbian comic strip so much?"
"Because, Dennis," i replied, "It speaks to me of things i have felt and
thought and seen and wondered. It tells me that humanity is something that
all humans share -- and that the problems and the joys that go with that
humanity are things we all share, too." And then i thought for a moment and
said "And because it's funnier than 'Doonesbury', which is the next-nearest
contender for whatever this strip is the best at."
Eventually i chanced on the collection "DTWOF: The Sequel", which contains
the graphic essay "Serial Monogamy" as well as many brilliant reprinted strips.
And i was hooked. Even today, several years later, whenever i enter any
decent-sized ((and open-minded)) book store for the first time or the first
time in a while, i tend to gravitate to the "Gay/Lesbian/Gender Studies"
shelves and to look under "B" to see if another volume has sneaked out when
i wasn't looking.
They speak to me; they make me happy, they make me sad -- they make me proud,
they make me ashamed -- they make me serene, they make me angry.
So the second reason is:
(2) They speak to me.
And they are very, very funny.
Click Here To Return To Top. |