Monday, 31 July 2000
.....
The arrival of a new Dykes To Watch Out For (DTWOF) collection is an event heartily celebrated in my circles. Alas, I seem to be the only one who buys them, so I end up either sharing my copy (and watching my popularity increase) or buying copies for folks (which, oddly enough, doesn't increase my popularity).
DTWOF is a very, very funny, engaging strip even before it hit its stride over ten years ago. Since then, it's been nothing short of consistently brilliant. (Keep an eye on the newspaper headlines and book titles...there are a some real gems there!) More than amusing, Alison Bechdel has developed an engaging world with characters who manage to be both caricature and three dimensional (much as most of us actually are).
DTWOF generally appears as two lengthy strips a month (carried in such periodicals as off our backs, and online by comicazee.com) sometimes standalone, but more often as part of a longer story arc (or set of intertwined story arcs). One of the special delights of the books is the special extended story at the end. Often these stories resolve long standing issues from the prior year (for example, both of Mo's long term relationships were consumated in end-of-the-book stories), and they always provide intriguing depth to the DTWOF world.
I've developed a little ritual for acquiring the newest DTWOF book. Our local independant bookstore seems to get it before anyone else, so I check it's Gay & Lesbian section every now and again and buy the new book as soon as I see it (and I don't look anywhere else). My friends know a new one has popped up by the goofy grin I wear for the rest of the day.
What's lovely about this ritual is that it makes supporting Bechdel and the store absolutely mindless. I'm sure my compulsive purchasing at this store has something (however small) to do with their exemplary stocking. Similarly, I reflexively seek out woman medical professionals. Not only does it help support women's presence in the medical profession/industry, I've found that the odds of getting the kind of medical care I want has been much higher. I feel better when I get ice cream at my local woman-owned dessert shop, rather than Ben & Jerry's. It is by such small habits, spread over time and lives, that we can nourish a culture we need not be so very ashamed of.
This is Just out: post-Dykes To Watch Out For <http://monkeyfist.com/articles/613>