The Essential Dykes To Watch Out For: An Award-Winning Graphic Narrative of Twenty-Five Years of LGBTQ+ Life, Love, and Politics

I’ve spent many hours enjoying this wonderful compilation of Alison Bechdel’s “Dykes to Watch Out For” cartoon series. Drawn between 1987 and 2008, the “Dykes” strip focuses on the misadventures and foibles of a group of close-knit LGBT friends as they pursue education, work and love affairs while debating personal politics and political correctness. The strip is funny but also thoughtful in tone. It’s unique in that it features multi-sexual, multi-racial, multi-ethnic characters and continually comments on the culture and politics of the times: lesbian and gay rights, the AIDS epidemic, the wars in Iraq, 9/11, celebrity culture, transgenderism, the financial crisis, etc. The characters attend many an anti-war protest, Pride parade and women’s music festival. They debate and spoof the latest twists in gender theory. The feminist bookstore owner Jezanna rails against “Bunns & Noodle” stealing her business. The protagonist, Mo, is forever analyzing and second-guessing herself (like a lesbian Woody Allen). Her pal Lois is sexually omnivorous and proud of it. Other characters include Harriet, Sparrow, Ginger, Malika, Clarice and Toni and their kid Raffi. They are a lovable, oddball “Our Gang” whose friendships, arguments, love for and exasperation with each other blend into an astute, layered saga of a modern family, with all its warmth and complications. I read this toon when it first ran in alternative newspapers back in the 1990s. Reading it again still made me laugh and think. This would be a great gift for an LGBT or feminist friend.

Wonderfully expressive and subtle drawing is just one of the pleasures of this splendid compendium of Alison Bechdel's DTWOF series from the beginning. Reading her multiple histories of the gals, guys and kids she clearly has such sharp-eyed affection for is also a run-though of world events (but more specifically US politics, not the same thing) over these many years. I couldn't help but feel very downcast to be reminded that plus ça change in so many areas of US social and political life - shooting rampages, cuts to welfare, education and arts funding - it's all still happening. That Bechdel has retained her mischief, her wit and her generous humour for all these years is a tribute to her and a very great blessing for her readers.

Wonderful cast of characters; great facial expressions, personalities, peccadillos, relationship realities. These stories could have been written now in the _rump era. Repeating republican propaganda syndrome examined. Yikes.

Whether you've been anxiously awaiting the next installment after Invasion of the Dykes to Watch Out For, or have lost track of our favorite lesbian heriones and want to get caught up, this is the book for you. Hardcore fans will be delighted to see that we have an entire new book's worth of fresh, unpublished comics to get us up to date. I looked at how many comics each of the previous books has had, and we have an equal amount of new content in this one. But, for only a little bit extra, you get this thick, glorious retrospective which takes us through the entire series, giving us clips and the best highlights from over the years. If you missed the last couple books - no worries - this will catch you up enough to enjoy the latest comics at the end. And if you've read everything and just want the latest book - you won't be disappointed with everything else included. I've read every book multiple times, and I enjoyed reading the entire thing as a lead-up to the new comics at the end. Bechdel is my number one favorite cartoonist ever, and I'm not even a lesbian - I just find her characters are so human and so interesting that I connect with their lives deeply. So if you read Fun House and aren't sure if you might like to move on to this series, I'd encourage you to pick up this book and give it a try.

Love this compilation except that several panels are missing that cut out Mo and Lois' use of Prozac. Legal issues? Regardless, it is wonderful compendium. It's so cool to see the characters change and grow as new ones enter the fray. I noticed that reading the series years later I tend to not read the "background" chatter about current affairs coming from radio/TV in the strips and focus more on the story of the characters. Bravo!

Whether the LGBT movement should fight to be more fully integrated into society (e.g., via marriage rights) or should try to change that society more radically; transgender identity, particularly around children; whether a self-identified lesbian can sleep with a man; the fate of brick-and-mortar stores against the onslaught of the internet...it's scary how relevant some of Bechdel's strips from the 1980s and 1990s still are. The strips manage to be laugh-out-loud funny while still thought-provoking. And the attention to detail is wonderful: if there's a newspaper on the coffee table where a character happens to be sitting, even the headline is witty. This collection is well put together. It's very interesting to see how characters change and develop over the course of the strip.

And there they are on pages 76-77, the first DTWOF strips I ever saw. They were in a student run women's paper in the Fall of 1991, I had just arrived at the university and my life was about to change for the better. Therefore, it's impossible for me to be completely objective when I talk about this strip and its brilliant creator (channeler?), Alison Bechdel. At first I didn't know what to make of the strip - I feel like I walked through my first two decades in a haze because I was not used to a comic strip dramedy. It didn't take me long to fall in love with it. I bought all the collections that were available at the time (three books!), saw Bechdel's slide show when she came around to my school and even wrote her a letter - and she responded. I still have that letter. It's great to see so many strips reproduced here, forming a running narrative of twenty years in the lives of the characters. Not all of the strips are here nor are the nifty little supplements that the older books included but for the first time reader, I don't think they'll feel the loss. They can also go and seek out some of the older books for completion. This is one of the best graphic arts collections of the year.

I bought two - one for my house, and one for my car. Alison Bechdel is smarter and funnier than most of the people you know. Seriously, if you're on the fence about this - I'm not gay, you say, or smart, or funny - I have taken samples from a variety of my friends who are not in some target demographic. They think this is funny stuff. And there's a ton of it. Basically, it's like Calvin and Hobbes - you don't have to be a kid (or a stuffed tiger) to enjoy it. What can I say? Buy the book already. And as a bonus, if someone disapproves of the title, tell 'em to open it at random and check it out. They will think you are subversive and cool, and hey, what's that worth?

I bought this after stumbling across one of the old cartoons online. Ordered this and was not disappointed. It's funny and heartwarming and you really feel yourself getting involved with the characters lives. There are A LOT of cartoons in the book it't very addictive reading. Well worth the money. Bechdel's humour is in the little things, be sure to look at the titles of books or newspaper headlines in the background of each cartoon- they are very witty. Also don't worry about the other review which says some of the cultural references will go over British people's heads, it's no worse than Friends!

Divertido culebrón lésbico editado en una magnífica edición que recopila la larga trayectoria de la tira cómica de Alison Bechdel. Decenas de personajes interaccionando de forma real, con un toque cómico, y un análisis de las relaciones sentimentales, de amistad y laborales conforman el 'Moeverso', la parcela de realidad que rodea a la protagonista Moe, alter ego de la autora. En definitiva, obra recomendable para cualquier amante del cómic independientemente de su inclinación sexual.

So many lesbian life insights in an engaging and fun format with interesting (although sometimes detestable) characters. Highly recommended. Whenever I pick it up I spend at least an hour reading it!

A lire et à relire, surtout en anglais pour celles/ ceux qui peuvent, c'est fin, décapant, souvent hilarant ! N'hésitez pas !

Alison Bechdel ist eine Klassikerin des lesbischen Cartoons. Sie schafft Figuren, die man trotz (oderh eigentlich gerade wegen) ihrer menschlichen Schwächen einfach lieben muss. Sie räumt mit Klischees auf und bezieht Stellung. Das wichtige ist aber, dass die jeweils eine Seite langen Cartoons auch aus dem Zusammenhang gerissen einfach nur Spaß machen. Ein Buch zum drin-rum-Schmökern, aus dem ich immer wieder gut gelaunt herausgehe.