The Essential Dykes to Watch Out For

Starred review from November 17, 2008
This ongoing comic strip chronicles the lives of a tight-knit group of lesbian friends over an astounding 21 years of life, work, love, boredom, political activism and countless reversals of fortune. At its heart are six women: the promiscuous Lois, a feminist bookstore clerk with a penchant for gender-bending; her two roommates, the overworked academic Ginger and self-identified “bisexual lesbian” Sparrow; their domestically partnered friends Clarice and Toni; and Mo, who despite (or perhaps because of) her frequent politically charged outbursts of neurosis is the hub of her circle. These characters, flawed but endearing, are brought to life by Bechdel’s quirky artistic sensibility. Facial expressions are carefully nuanced, and she seems to take great joy in using small details to differentiate emotions. Late in the collection, when a character receives treatment for cancer, a tiny caret in her cheek is enough to transform her from a fresh-faced mischief-maker into a sallow and frightened chemo patient. What cannot be overemphasized is the sheer scope of the collection, which follows these women from idealistic young adulthood to contentedly disillusioned middle age and, for some, parenthood. All eventually end up a little more haggard than they began, but there isn’t one whose Bechdel-illustrated bags under her eyes were not hard fought for and hard won.

June 8, 2009
For over 20 years, Dykes to Watch Out For has followed an endearingly individual group of lesbians and their friends-some straight and male-in a humorous yet poignantly human soap opera with an op-ed edge and wide following. The core cast includes prickly, hyper-politically conscious Mo (Monica) as the hub; Mo's current lover, pomo-academic Sydney; long-term partners and harassed parents Toni and Clarice; new parents Sparrow and Stuart; bed-hopping bookstore clerk Lois; and overworked teacher Ginger. The characters age in real time through reversals in love, fortune, and self-understanding. Winner of numerous awards and carried in over 50 publications, DTWOF is a real masterpiece that sparkles with wit and wry commentary. Eleven collections are available, plus this omnibus volume that includes selections from the entire run. Ages 18 up.-Martha Cornog, Philadelphia

Copyright 2009 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from November 1, 2008
The greatestlesbian soap opera527 episodes and, though suspended at the moment, countingis Bechdels miraculously well-sustained chronicling of a circle of friends over the course of 20 years, Dykes to Watch Out For. Like its only possible peer among current comic strips, Lynn Johnstons For Better or Worse, and its great forebear, Frank Kings GasolineAlley, Dykes plays out in real time. Characters age, change, see their parents die, and have children. Basically, everything revolves around erstwhile radical lesbian Mo, whose worries for the future persist as she and herfriends realizetheir dreams. Life does get better for gay people, though struggles continue, as the determined-to-be-transgender preteen son of a newer cast member and the dissolution of two long-lived lesbian marriages remind them and us. Mos kvetching centrality is complemented by the chorus of skewed radio and TV commentary and headlines that strikingly often intones a satirical leitmotiv under the characters conversation, which is always pitch-perfect for the highly intelligent, well-educated, earnestly committed, and witty bunch they are. Bechdels comics autobiography Fun Home (2006) has brought her much greater general attention than Dykes ever did, but make no mistakethe strip is her masterpiece.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)