The Essential Dykes To Watch Out For - LGBTQ+ Graphic Novel for Pride Month Reading & Book Club Discussions

I’ve spent many hours enjoying this wonderful compilation of Alison Bechdel’s “Dykes to Watch Out For” cartoon series. Drawn between 1987 and 2008, the “Dykes” strip focuses on the misadventures and foibles of a group of close-knit LGBT friends as they pursue education, work and love affairs while debating personal politics and political correctness.The strip is funny but also thoughtful in tone. It’s unique in that it features multi-sexual, multi-racial, multi-ethnic characters and continually comments on the culture and politics of the times: lesbian and gay rights, the AIDS epidemic, the wars in Iraq, 9/11, celebrity culture, transgenderism, the financial crisis, etc. The characters attend many an anti-war protest, Pride parade and women’s music festival. They debate and spoof the latest twists in gender theory. The feminist bookstore owner Jezanna rails against “Bunns & Noodle” stealing her business.The protagonist, Mo, is forever analyzing and second-guessing herself (like a lesbian Woody Allen). Her pal Lois is sexually omnivorous and proud of it. Other characters include Harriet, Sparrow, Ginger, Malika, Clarice and Toni and their kid Raffi. They are a lovable, oddball “Our Gang” whose friendships, arguments, love for and exasperation with each other blend into an astute, layered saga of a modern family, with all its warmth and complications. I read this toon when it first ran in alternative newspapers back in the 1990s. Reading it again still made me laugh and think. This would be a great gift for an LGBT or feminist friend.