Bookslut reporter caught up with Alison Bechdel, creator of the memoir Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic, for a quick chat during the New York Comic Con. Some notable comments…
Breaking into comics… And then when I was older, like after college and after I came out as a lesbian, I discovered things like Howard Cruise’s Gay Comix. That was a pivotal moment because I discovered all these gay and lesbian cartoonists who were writing about their own experiences. It made me realize I could do that too, and that’s when I started my strip. But it was the early ’80s, and comics were geared more towards little boys than they are now, so it never occurred to me to try to pursue a career in the comics world.
Will Bechdel ever end her signature strip Dykes to Watch Out For? Well, it’s true that it’s not as financially viable as it would be to devote myself completely to books. It might be a smart thing, actually, but somehow I don’t think so. I feel Dykes is like a steady investment. A municipal bond. It has supported me for many years, not just financially, but as a really great outlet — especially during the Bush administration. I think I would go insane without somewhere to vent this stuff.
About her next book? Well, the next book is about relationships. What I really want to write about is self and other, which seems like a very vexing problem. I’m just interested in why people get into relationships. What is it that we want, and are there really other people or is it just me?
BTW, Bechdel is also in the running for a National Book Critics Circle Award in the autobio/memoir category, with the winners to be announced tomorrow night.
Watch this space for, hopefully, some good news…
