Alison Bechdel
Other Works and Contributions
Dykes to Watch Out For was first published in 1986 by Firebrand Publishers. It was a collection of her early comics that were featured in WomaNews and a compendium of other newspapers which Alison personally approached via letter to allow her comics to appear in them.
More Dykes to Watch Out For was Bechdel's second volume of cartoons that were assembled from her other assorted comic strips from various newspapers. Half way through this collection, we are introduced to the character Mo, whom Alison builds the world and central storyline of DTWOF for many years, and that continues through to this day. It is often said that Mo is a characterization of Bechdel herself, and this evidence is supported by both their striking resemblence and some affirmations by Bechdel.
Are You My Mother? is a companion graphic novel to Fun Home, and is an examination of her relationship with her Mother, Helen. Bechdel was praised for her intricate storytelling and weaving of psychoanalysis, alongside analysis and comparisons of other famous women writers, such as Virginia Woolf. She supports her own conjectures with those of Donald Winnicott. It is a New York Times Bestseller.
The comic strip that Bechdel wrote in 1985 called "The Rule" started a conversation in film and amongst feminist circles. Now used as a true test that a movie either passes or fails. There are three criteria for the Bechdel Test: 1) it has to have at least two women in it, 2) who talk to each other, 3) about something other than a man.