A review by dominic_t
The Essential Dykes to Watch Out for by Alison Bechdel

challenging emotional funny sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This was a challenging read. The characters were sometimes insufferable, but I grew to really like them. I wasn't a fan of the ending. It was pretty abrupt because the author went on hiatus. I didn't like that
Sydney and Mo stayed together and Clarice and Toni split up. Sydney was shitty to Mo, and I didn't see why they stayed together. I didn't like Sydney at all. Toni and Clarice clearly had lingering feelings, and I would have liked to see a resolution to that. They were still apart at the end of the book. I would have liked to see them either resolve their feelings or get back together.
But it was very true to life. Sometimes your friends make decisions that you disagree with, and sometimes you don't get a tidy resolution to your conflicts.

I absolutely loved
the relationship between Sparrow and her partner (I can't remember his name). It was a great example of how bisexual women with male partners can be part of the lesbian community. I loved seeing them parent together. I also loved the storyline with the trans girl, Janis.


Sometimes it was hard to read because of all the political content, but that content was so important. It was just hard to see how we are still struggling with a lot of the same issues. It was hard to see how little progress we've made in some areas. I think reading all of the strips together in a relatively short period made that tougher to handle. I think reading them as they came out would have made that less difficult. 

This is such an influential collection and such an important snapshot in time in a queer community. It's worth reading.

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