Home Literary Studies 26 Alison Bechdel: Dykes to Watch Out For
Chapter
Licensed
Unlicensed Requires Authentication

26 Alison Bechdel: Dykes to Watch Out For

  • Erin La Cour
Become an author with De Gruyter Brill
Explore this Subject How to publish with us
Handbook of Comics and Graphic Narratives
This chapter is in the book Handbook of Comics and Graphic Narratives

Abstract

In a field that is more and more concerned with promoting comics auteurs, it is striking that Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic is largely praised and studied on its own. The fact that its discourse on archiving, visibility, and sexual identity are its most celebrated aspects, coupled with Bechdel’s pre-Fun Home status as a celebrated underground comics artist, make the lack of attention paid to her earlier work, Dykes to Watch Out For, as well as her subsequent Are You My Mother? A Family Drama, all the more surprising. Through an examination of possible explanations, this chapter posits that rather than genre or form, literariness or timeliness, Bechdel’s “lesser” two works have been neglected due to their focus on women’s and lesbians’ stories. Rather than simply calling for a redress, this chapter argues that a critical reevaluation of these works is politically necessary due to their discursive questioning of archival erasure.

Abstract

In a field that is more and more concerned with promoting comics auteurs, it is striking that Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic is largely praised and studied on its own. The fact that its discourse on archiving, visibility, and sexual identity are its most celebrated aspects, coupled with Bechdel’s pre-Fun Home status as a celebrated underground comics artist, make the lack of attention paid to her earlier work, Dykes to Watch Out For, as well as her subsequent Are You My Mother? A Family Drama, all the more surprising. Through an examination of possible explanations, this chapter posits that rather than genre or form, literariness or timeliness, Bechdel’s “lesser” two works have been neglected due to their focus on women’s and lesbians’ stories. Rather than simply calling for a redress, this chapter argues that a critical reevaluation of these works is politically necessary due to their discursive questioning of archival erasure.

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter i
  2. Editors’ Preface v
  3. Contents vii
  4. Comics Studies: Survey of the Field 1
  5. Part I: Systematic Aspects
  6. 1 Comics Terminology and Definitions 11
  7. 2 History, Formats, Genres 35
  8. 3 Text-Image Relations 81
  9. 4 Comics Narratology 99
  10. 5 Seriality 121
  11. 6 Adaptation 141
  12. Part II: Contexts and Themes
  13. 7 Politics 167
  14. 8 World-Building 181
  15. 9 Life Writing 201
  16. 10 Gender 219
  17. 11 Queerness 231
  18. 12 Science Comics 247
  19. 13 Postcolonial Perspectives 265
  20. 14 DocuComics in the Classroom 289
  21. 15 Superheroes
  22. 15.1 Historical Overview 311
  23. The Golden Age: Batman 317
  24. 15.3 The Silver Age: Nick Fury 331
  25. 15.4 The Dark Age: Superheroes in the 1980s 343
  26. Part III: Close Readings
  27. 16 Richard F. Outcault: The Yellow Kid 361
  28. 17 George Herriman: Krazy Kat 379
  29. 18 Winsor McCay: Little Nemo in Slumberland 387
  30. 19 Dave Sim: Cerebus 405
  31. 20 Will Eisner: A Contract with God 431
  32. 21 Raymond Briggs: When the Wind Blows 451
  33. 22 Art Spiegelman: Maus 467
  34. 23 Robert Crumb 481
  35. 24 Alan Moore: From Hell 499
  36. 25 Neil Gaiman: The Sandman 513
  37. 26 Alison Bechdel: Dykes to Watch Out For 529
  38. 27 Chris Ware: Jimmy Corrigan – The Smartest Kid on Earth 545
  39. 28 Daniel Clowes: Ghost World 561
  40. 29 Martin Rowson: The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman 573
  41. 30 Marjane Satrapi: Persepolis 589
  42. 31 Grant Morrison: Flex Mentallo 601
  43. Index of Subjects 619
  44. Index of Names 629
  45. List of Contributors 635
https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110446968-030

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter i
  2. Editors’ Preface v
  3. Contents vii
  4. Comics Studies: Survey of the Field 1
  5. Part I: Systematic Aspects
  6. 1 Comics Terminology and Definitions 11
  7. 2 History, Formats, Genres 35
  8. 3 Text-Image Relations 81
  9. 4 Comics Narratology 99
  10. 5 Seriality 121
  11. 6 Adaptation 141
  12. Part II: Contexts and Themes
  13. 7 Politics 167
  14. 8 World-Building 181
  15. 9 Life Writing 201
  16. 10 Gender 219
  17. 11 Queerness 231
  18. 12 Science Comics 247
  19. 13 Postcolonial Perspectives 265
  20. 14 DocuComics in the Classroom 289
  21. 15 Superheroes
  22. 15.1 Historical Overview 311
  23. The Golden Age: Batman 317
  24. 15.3 The Silver Age: Nick Fury 331
  25. 15.4 The Dark Age: Superheroes in the 1980s 343
  26. Part III: Close Readings
  27. 16 Richard F. Outcault: The Yellow Kid 361
  28. 17 George Herriman: Krazy Kat 379
  29. 18 Winsor McCay: Little Nemo in Slumberland 387
  30. 19 Dave Sim: Cerebus 405
  31. 20 Will Eisner: A Contract with God 431
  32. 21 Raymond Briggs: When the Wind Blows 451
  33. 22 Art Spiegelman: Maus 467
  34. 23 Robert Crumb 481
  35. 24 Alan Moore: From Hell 499
  36. 25 Neil Gaiman: The Sandman 513
  37. 26 Alison Bechdel: Dykes to Watch Out For 529
  38. 27 Chris Ware: Jimmy Corrigan – The Smartest Kid on Earth 545
  39. 28 Daniel Clowes: Ghost World 561
  40. 29 Martin Rowson: The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman 573
  41. 30 Marjane Satrapi: Persepolis 589
  42. 31 Grant Morrison: Flex Mentallo 601
  43. Index of Subjects 619
  44. Index of Names 629
  45. List of Contributors 635
Sign up now to receive a 20% welcome discount
Institutional Access
How does access work?
Have an idea on how to improve our website?
Please write us.
© 2025 De Gruyter Brill
Downloaded on 31.10.2025 from https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110446968-030/html
Scroll to top button