Dykes To Watch Out For by Alison Bechdel

(The edition/s available now may well look different to the one/s I'm displaying here because the publisher has changed since I purchased my copy).

Dykes To Watch Out For may well be familiar to many of you as it has been syndicated in a number of magazines over the years. I remember seeing it in The Pink Paper and Diva here in the UK, so it's possible you already know about Dykes To Watch Out For in some form.

This is where Alison Bechdel, the author of Fun Home, made her bread and butter, in strips (which later became pages) following the lives of a group of lesbians based in the US. Although it centres around the character relationships, it also frequently comments on the current politics of the time, giving Dykes To Watch Out For a historical chronology, as well as something topical for the characters to discuss.





It's interesting to see how Alison's drawing has progressed over the years, not to mention the characters - although many have a similar style that they've always had, some have been tweaked and updated, just as if you read back through the older strips some things are eerily the same, politics wise, where other rights have come on leaps and bounds.

Dykes To Watch Out For is another collection that covers a wide range of topics and representations, from Lois and her butch packing to the more recent transgender child Janis to dependable Mo, the Everywoman of the lesbian scene who I can't help but relate to (even if she's far more political, not to mention successful in her romantic liaisons than I have ever been). The characters have grown up over the years (albeit slowly) and that marks it out, along with Love and Rockets, as showing progressive characters, unlike most comics and strips you read.

I don't pretend to understand all the cultural references and politics - naturally a lot of the American political references I just don't get because candidates and policies didn't always get that much coverage this side of the pond - and as usual with Alison Bechdel, sometimes there are things that just seem far over my head on an intellectual level. I still enjoy the character driven plot lines though and the twists and turns of the relationships. There are ex-lesbians in the story as well as bisexuals and as I previously mentioned now transgender characters. Dykes To Watch Out For does seem to cover a far wider range of 'types' you encounter in real life than most comics and certainly very few others go out of their way to 'represent' certain areas of the community as this strip does. There's almost certainly likely to be one character somewhere you can relate to - and the cast has grown considerably since it's origins.

Does show plenty of lesbians kissing, in bed together, nakedness etc - but do be warned it also occasionally shows Stuart in the nude, which is enough to make any lesbian swear off men forever.

Alison Bechdel's official website is: www.dykestowatchoutfor.com

- Purchase Dykes To Watch Out For and Invasion of Dykes To Watch Out For from Amazon UK.
- Purchase Dykes To Watch Out For and Spawn of Dykes To Watch Out For from Amazon US.