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.

Wicked - The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire

Don't make the mistake of thinking this is like the musical. The plot is VERY different and it doesn't focus as much on the friendship and potential slashy relationship between the good witch Glinda/Galinda and Elphaba. That said, there IS still an undercurrent of something happening between Glinda and Elphaba, but don't expect anything explicit in regards to those two.
If you've seen the musical first, as I had, you might be a little disappointed with the ending. The musical seemed to have a far neater integration with the original Wizard of Oz film and the characters that are mentioned throughout the book and the original film. But it's still an interesting read. Partly because you spend most of the book wondering just what is the relationship between Glinda and Elphaba and what potentially may happen between them and to them.
Interestingly, the musical focuses far more on the love triangle in regards to Fiyero, and if anything the book reveals that he had a far less important role, at least in regards to Glinda/Galinda.

"Glinda was too fussed to listen that closely. The Witch in fact alarmed her a little. It was not just the novelty of seeing her again, but the strange shade. Also there was the thrill, basis indeterminable, which made Glinda shy, and caused her to rush her words and to speak in a false high voice like an adolescent. How quickly you could be thrown back into the terrible uncertainly of your youth!
For when she chose to remember her youth at all, she could scarcely dredge up an ounce of recollection about that daring meeting with the Wizard. She could recall far more clearly how she and Elphie has shared a bed on the road to the Emerald City. How brave that had made her feel, and how vulnerable too."

That is about as slashy as it gets though and it does tug at the heartstrings to know that inevitably these two may have messed up the one good thing in their lives - each other.

If you haven't seen the musical OR read the book, I personally would recommend both. I saw the musical in London with Idina Menzel when it opened in the UK and it had me in tears at the end of it (although the people I was with who were gay men and hadn't seen the original movie didn't like it in the slightest - so possibly more of a chick flick musical, if there is such a thing).

Gregory Maguire's official website can be found here: www.gregorymaguire.com/

-The US Wicked musical website is here: www.wickedthemusical.com/
-The UK Wicked musical website is here: www.wickedthemusical.co.uk/
-Purchase the book Wicked - The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire from US Amazon
-Purchase the book Wicked - The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire from UK Amazon

Let's Be Perverts Vol 3 by Youjung Lee

Let's Be Perverts is one of those stories that sort of suggests there was something lesbian in a character's past but you just know it's going to have been 'a phase'.
The story actually centres around a boy who gets accidentally labelled as 'pervert' (or Perverto) and who fancies a young lady called Hongdan, who is new to the school. Hongdan is the one who appears to have had some sort of 'closer than friends' relationship with a fellow school girl at her old school, as we discover in volume one.


Image above shows Hongdan and her ex-best friend. Click for bigger image.

Unfortunately, because we know Perverto is essentially the main character and Hongdan is clearly not that interested in her ex best friend anymore, you can pretty much sense that Hongdan is going to make a full recovery back to heterosexuality - whether that's with the real pervert (who is the school teacher), Perverto or a different male student. I suspect (although I missed vol 2), that the rumours from her old school made her move and she wants to start afresh as straight.
The book does have lots of illustrations of half-naked girls in just their knickers but it's rated 'Mature for ages 16+', so whether you'll ever get to see anything more than girls hugging and maybe kissing in a later volume is debatable.
Does have occasional rape themes, so if you're offended by those topics and situations, you may want to steer clear.

Let's Be Perverts by Youjung Lee is published by Netcomics.
You can see the official website here: www.netcomics.com/comic/letsbeperverts.htm

- Purchase Let's Be Perverts Vol 1 from UK Amazon
- Purchase Let's Be Perverts Vol 1 from US Amazon