Call number
Publication
Boston : Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2008.
Pages
xviii; 392
Description
Comic and Graphic Books. Fiction. HTML:From the author of Fun Home�??the lives, loves, and politics of cult fav characters Mo, Lois, Sydney, Sparrow, Ginger, Stuart, Clarice, and others For twenty-five years Bechdel's path-breaking Dykes to Watch Out For strip has been collected in award-winning volumes (with a quarter of a million copies in print), syndicated in fifty alternative newspapers, and translated into many languages. Now, at last, The Essential Dykes to Watch Out For gathers a "rich, funny, deep and impossible to put down" (Publishers Weekly) selection from all eleven Dykes volumes. Here too are sixty of the newest strips, never before published in book form. Settle in to this wittily illustrated soap opera (Bechdel calls it "half op-ed column and half endless serialized Victorian novel") of the lives, loves, and politics of a cast of characters, most of them lesbian, living in a midsize American city that may or may not be Minneapolis. Her brilliantly imagined countercultural band of friends�??academics, social workers, bookstore clerks�??fall in and out of love, negotiate friendships, raise children, switch careers, and cope with aging parents. Bechdel fuses high and low culture�??from foreign policy to domestic routine, hot sex to postmodern theory�??in a serial graphic narrative "suitable for humanists of all… (more)
Media reviews
It’s a fascinating, addictive soap opera, especially as the reader grows to know all of these surprising women. Watching them move from starting their lives into becoming parents and worrying about careers is almost a generational saga; it’s distinctly the story of a community.
Awards
Publishing Triangle Awards (Finalist — 2009)
ALA Rainbow Book List (Selection — Non-Fiction — 2010)
Rise: A Feminist Book Project for Ages 0-18 (Selection — 2010)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2008
Physical description
xviii, 392 p.; 9 inches
ISBN
9780618968800
Local notes
Signed copy, sent to Jane for her submission to the "Daily Distress".
Similar in this library
Library's review
This is a nearly-complete, but not entirely complete, compendium of the wonderful DTWOF strips. The omission of a few strips is less of a loss than that of the "bonus stories" that came at the end of each of the original collections. If you can find copies of the original books, I'd recommend
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buying them as well, or instead; some of the best parts of the story are in those additions, which aren't tied to the strip format. Show Less
User reviews
LibraryThing member charbutton
The characters in a comic strip she has written for more than 20 years, Alison Bechdel's Dykes to Watch Out For are complicated women. They are political, gay, loving, selfish, funny, hurtful, seriously intelligent, sexual, sexy, annoying, bi, good parents, not so good parents, drag kings and above
Bechdel's portrayal of the east coast, left-wing, lentil eating lesbian community is always funny and often sad as the main characters grow from their politically feisty young selves into adulthood and the opportunities and responsibilities that presents.
I can't believe how much I grew to love these women (and their associated men friends, children, and parents), considering they actually say and think in much fewer words than characters in a novel. Having finished this book this afternoon I feel a bit bereft.
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all friends.Bechdel's portrayal of the east coast, left-wing, lentil eating lesbian community is always funny and often sad as the main characters grow from their politically feisty young selves into adulthood and the opportunities and responsibilities that presents.
I can't believe how much I grew to love these women (and their associated men friends, children, and parents), considering they actually say and think in much fewer words than characters in a novel. Having finished this book this afternoon I feel a bit bereft.
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LibraryThing member Citizenjoyce
I just finished The Essential Dykes To Watch Out For and feel rather bereft that I won't be spending any more time with Mo and her extended family of friends. Alison Bechdel condensed 21 years of her comic strips into one big book that follows the batch of friends through celibacy, sex, polyamory,
Now I start Digging to America for my RL book club.
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striped shirts, antidepressants, genderbending in all forms, loving and losing pets, loving and losing spouses, having or not having children (and watching those children grow), vegetarianism, slacking, working, becoming educated and educating, breast cancer, alzheimer's and over all a never ending stream of progressive politics. On the next to the last page Mo is having a Pap smear and discusses Hillary vs Obama with her gynecologist. Now what other comic strip would have that? Maybe I'll have to sleep with the book under my pillow for a while until I can force myself to give it up.Now I start Digging to America for my RL book club.
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LibraryThing member timjones
This is a generous selection, but not a complete edition, of Alison Bechdel's "Dykes to Watch Out For" comic strip. It follows the lives of a core cast of characters living in a midwestern US city - mostly, but not all, lesbians; mostly, but not all, women - from 1987 to 2008. Along the way, they
I have always liked novels of character that weave in the social and political environment within which the characters interact, and, taken as a whole, "Essential Dykes to Watch Out For" is a graphic novel of character. Plus, it's well-drawn (especially after the first few years), funny, pointed, and poignant. The humour curdles in the strips drawn during 2000-2008 - neither the characters nor their author have much love for the Bush administration. This collection ends shortly before the 2008 US election. The strip is on hiatus at the moment, but if Alison Bechdel starts it up again, it will be interesting to see whether the tone lightens again.
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age, fall in and out of love, have sex, have affairs, raise children, marry, divorce, move house, protest, kvetch, argue, discuss, discourse, and do silly things - all against the backdrop of US and world politics during that time.I have always liked novels of character that weave in the social and political environment within which the characters interact, and, taken as a whole, "Essential Dykes to Watch Out For" is a graphic novel of character. Plus, it's well-drawn (especially after the first few years), funny, pointed, and poignant. The humour curdles in the strips drawn during 2000-2008 - neither the characters nor their author have much love for the Bush administration. This collection ends shortly before the 2008 US election. The strip is on hiatus at the moment, but if Alison Bechdel starts it up again, it will be interesting to see whether the tone lightens again.
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LibraryThing member E.J
Yes. This comic strip is genius. Not all of my gay friends are quite so... feminist... but the characters came to life right before my eyes. Hilarious.
LibraryThing member JonathanGorman
I thought it might contain more of the author's essays/writings like a similar volume I previously read (The Indelible Alison Bechdel). Instead, it's a really good collection of comics to get an idea of some of the major story lines of the long running comic. Excellent collection to catch up on the
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series. I wouldn't mind going back and reading more of the collection, but I feel I can read some of the newer and probably easier to track down collections with a good sense of the history of the strip. Show Less
LibraryThing member aliay
The sad thing about DTWOF is that the only people whom I know who've read it are already in the LGBTQ community, and thus appreciate the sense of humor. That's not a big accomplishment, considering how much DTWOF reflects the LGBTQ community-- it's like saying that New York Jews are entertained by
What I find most impressive is DTWOF's appeal outside of the LGBTQ community even though most of the humor is targeted at the lesbian community. Bechdel's characters are funny and joyful companions; their personalities and their critiques can be universally applied. Unlike other comic strips found in newspapers, Bechdel's characters change and grow over time rather than exist for a punchline or two, and this volume makes their growths very clear.
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Seinfeld.What I find most impressive is DTWOF's appeal outside of the LGBTQ community even though most of the humor is targeted at the lesbian community. Bechdel's characters are funny and joyful companions; their personalities and their critiques can be universally applied. Unlike other comic strips found in newspapers, Bechdel's characters change and grow over time rather than exist for a punchline or two, and this volume makes their growths very clear.
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LibraryThing member kivarson
Collected here are Bechdel's best strips from her syndicated comic "Dykes to Watch Out For", dating back to 1987. It's great to have all of these in one volume, so readers aren't hanging on the edge of their seat to find out what happens in the lives and loves of their favorite
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lesbian/bisexual/transgender/sensitive new age guy characters. Show Less
LibraryThing member CarolynSchroeder
I learned about this book through fellow readers here at Library Thing. I had never heard of Alison Bechdel nor was I familiar with her comic strips or writing. I thought there was no way I'd be into an anthology of comic strips, or a graphic novel, or anything even close (heady novel and non
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fiction reader that I am). BOY, was I wrong! I absolutely loved "The Essential Dykes to Watch Out For." I realized it was a long time since I got so close to a bunch of characters, or even one character, in a book of any kind. Maybe it is seeing them, I don't know, but it was a new and surprisingly wonderful "real" literary experience. I almost had to ration myself because I truly couldn't put this one down. I am no stranger to alternative lifestyles, so in many ways, it felt like "home" too. But I think anyone, from any walk of life, would enjoy this (however, keeping in mind it does deal head on with sex, death, birth, transgender issues, etc.). I'm as stunned as anyone that I got so into a graphic type novel, but this really has opened my mind and heart to a whole new kind of reading. The only problem is Bechdel set the bar so incredibly high on my first time out, I am not sure where to look next. Highly recommended. Just loved it. Show Less
LibraryThing member littlegreycloud
"Have I churned out episodes of this comic strip every two weeks for decades merely to prove that we're the same as everyone else?" , the cartoonist's alter ego asks in the introduction to this volume. Well, I'm neither lesbian nor even American, and yet I can perfectly relate to Bechdel's
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characters -- their hopes and aspirations, the temptations and minor catastrophes they encounter, the compromises they make and those they don't. I'm a lot of Mo and Clarice and Toni, a bit of Stuart and Harriet (not so much Sydney, I should hope). For better or worse, I think the question has to be answered in the affirmative. Show Less
LibraryThing member subbobmail
I cannot understand why no newspaper in Portland carries the excellent, long-running comic series "Dykes To Watch Out For." Portland contains plenty of people who would enjoy Alison Bechdel's work! We have taste! We've had alternative newspapers! We have lesbians! So what's the problem?
While we
Speaking of growth and change, Essential Dykes (ask for it by that name at the bookstore!) allows the reader to watch Bechdel grow as a writer and an artist. Amazingly, her strengths were there from the beginning -- characterization, compassion, compression -- and over the past 25 years, she has only refined them. Skip The L Word -- or at least just find the naughty bits on YouTube -- and read this book instead.
While we
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consider this question, we can curl up with The Essential Dykes To Watch Out For, an addictive compendium indeed. In one long sitting, one can now watch Bechdel's flawed-but-endearing characters navigate The Bush Years, The Clinton Years, and (ugh) The Even Worse Bush Years. You can get to know Mo (the kvetcher), Toni and Clarice (the longstanding couple), Lois (the ladykiller), Sparrow (the "bisexual lesbian"), her partner Stuart (the skirt-wearing stay-at-home dad)...it's a large gang, a community well worth getting to know. Like a TV show, a long-running comic strip has the advantage of allowing characters to grow and change over time in convincing, moving ways. Couples split, children are born, careers are changed, lesbians take boyfiends, conservative dykes sign up with the CIA -- but they all form a community that's flexible, strong and enviable.Speaking of growth and change, Essential Dykes (ask for it by that name at the bookstore!) allows the reader to watch Bechdel grow as a writer and an artist. Amazingly, her strengths were there from the beginning -- characterization, compassion, compression -- and over the past 25 years, she has only refined them. Skip The L Word -- or at least just find the naughty bits on YouTube -- and read this book instead.
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LibraryThing member wyvernfriend
Interesting selection of strips from Dykes to Watch out for, following romance and fallout within a small group of friends who happen to be lesbian, well mostly.
Enjoyable and thought provoking.
Enjoyable and thought provoking.
LibraryThing member sumariotter
This book is completely addictive. I had read bits and pieces of Alison Bechdel before and enjoyed her comics but starting from the beginning with this compendium I fell in love with her. Her comics are so detailed and so true to life and have so many back stories...I binge read this book in about
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3 days. I just couldn't stop turning the pages and stayed up late reading it. Now I am very sad that I have finished it. Show Less
LibraryThing member felixpaulsen
I've never read the strip online or in the paper, and i'm not even that lesbian (or female) but even so (or maybe because of this) I really enjoyed DtWOF. The book is big, and you get a whole lot of hours of reading for very small money - and the reading beeing of TOP quality, i'd say, there is no
By the way, Alison Bechdel is great.
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turning back. Read. This. Book. You will end up loving all the characters and their flaws and their humor - and you will quite possibly end up as an anachronistic lgtb rights fighter from the wrong century! Or maybe you will just follow the lives of Mo and the others. By the way, Alison Bechdel is great.
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LibraryThing member mirikayla
For the first 50 pages I felt like, though I was enjoying it, it was never going to end (it's one of those books that's longer than it looks, so you feel like you're not making any progress); for the last 100 pages I was hoping it never would. It's funny, really, because several of the characters
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were infinitely annoying to me—but I just didn't want to leave that world. I'm going to have to find and read the whole strip sometime, all twenty years of it. The politics in the earlier years were a little overwhelming to me, because I wasn't conscious of them when they actually happened, so I was trying to follow very detailed conversations and learn what they were talking about at the same time. It was completely fascinating. And even though half the time I wanted to slap Mo and tell her to snap out of it, in truth, she's basically me—which is kind of humbling, frustrating, and comforting all at once. Show Less
LibraryThing member csoki637
I loved the first half so much! And then it started going gradually downhill.
LibraryThing member larryerick
In the spirit of full disclosure, I am not a dyke. In fact, I'm male and straight (despite fairly often getting "bent out of shape," especially in the current political environment.) Nor have I, or do I feel a need to, "watch out for" any dykes. In my mind, they are free to roam the countryside as
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they please, without any interference or objection from me -- not that I would have any right to do so if I felt otherwise. So, here we are with a book that is a reassembly of the author's past work into a nearly seamless collective works volume, and, frankly, the 18-page introduction by the author is worth the price of admission all on its own, in my most humble opinion. But, "Wait there's more!" There are 390 daily graphic panels covering from 1987 through the election of 2008 in which a community of very distinct characters entertain and enlighten the reader. Yes, the book is nominally about lesbians and their nuclear families, but it is very much -- and arguably more -- about American liberals/progressives/leftists or whatever term suits your fancy lately. I'm not one for believing in reincarnation, but, in reading this book, I got the distinct feeling I might have been a late 20th century/early 21st century lesbian in a past life. Assuming any of the characters gave me even the time of day -- and they all seem extraordinarily free with forgiveness for past sins -- I think I would have fit in quite well. But that's just me giving myself the benefit of the doubt, I guess. So, if you happen to lean to your left when you feel the winds blowing, pick up the book and enjoy yourself. If you lean to the right, then, well, you wouldn't even be reading this review, would you? Show Less
LibraryThing member LibroLindsay
I really enjoyed this. It was incredible to read a slice-of-life type comic that ran for over 20 years and to feel like I grew along with it. In many ways, it was because of how much the news of the day factored into much of the strip. I was but a grade-schooler when this debuted, which means I
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have a vague memory of the earliest stuff, but it was also refreshing to see people--even if they're fictional--critical in ways I never experienced as an 80s child/90s young adult. In that regard, too, it was also comforting/disheartening to be reminded of "the more things change, the more they stay the same" reading this collection while living in this era. But politics aside, Bechdel does a great job at keeping up the humor and whimsy even when the characters faced dark times. I came to love them all and wish the series continued to this day. Show Less
LibraryThing member caedocyon
I can't believe I read this whole thing straight through. It's a tiny bit addictive. Oh, I started by flipping through and reading random ones, but I wasn't fooling anybody.
The introduction is the best part, so even if you're a DTWOF veteran....
Sam asked me what I found so interesting about it. On
She's so fucking smart. I want to meet her.
The introduction is the best part, so even if you're a DTWOF veteran....
Sam asked me what I found so interesting about it. On
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one level it's just a sprawling soap-opera of epic and gay proportions, so as a human being of course I'm drawn to it. Another bit is that I share Bechdel's fascination with queer people and our little worlds and worldviews.She's so fucking smart. I want to meet her.
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LibraryThing member sriemann
Stole the book from A while we were camping (pic on her blog, actually, of me reading it), and liked it so much that I stayed up waaaaaaaaay too long last night to finish it.
I know the references to current events and GLBT issues throughout the strip have been mentioned already by scads of people,
The real pull of the book for me are the DTWOF - the characters and what happens to them. You feel a pretty strong bond with them after twenty or so strips, whether it is a positive bond ornegative, and Bechdel does a fabulous job of keeping the cliffhanger motif in comics going strong.
I know the references to current events and GLBT issues throughout the strip have been mentioned already by scads of people,
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so I will only say that I enjoyed going back in time and seeing how things have changed (some for the better, some for the worse) in the events she mentions.The real pull of the book for me are the DTWOF - the characters and what happens to them. You feel a pretty strong bond with them after twenty or so strips, whether it is a positive bond ornegative, and Bechdel does a fabulous job of keeping the cliffhanger motif in comics going strong.
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LibraryThing member lschiff
What a fun, nostalgic read, just as great as I remembered!