Alison Bechdel's
comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For has been around since 1983, when friends encouraged her to submit her drawings to
Womanews, then a
feminist newspaper in
New York City. In 1985 she began self-
syndication, and today more than sixty-five papers in the U.S., Canada, and United Kingdom carry the strip, including the
Village Voice,
off our backs,
The Funny Times, and a number of queer
newspapers. In 1994
Universal Press Syndicate offered her the chance to develop a
gay strip for
mainstream daily papers, but she turned them down. Over the years, the strip has dealt with topics including
gay parenting,
gay marriage,
monogamy in lesbian relationships, and
lesbian bed death. Characters include Mo, Sparrow, Ginger, Clarice, Thea, Toni, Jezanna, Rafael, June, Malika, Ellen, Harriet, and a host of others.
Dykes to Watch Out For Collections
- Dykes to Watch Out For (1986)
- More Dykes to Watch Out For (1988)
- New Improved! Dykes to Watch Out For (1990)
- Dykes to Watch Out For: The Sequel (1992)
- Spawn of Dykes to Watch Out For (1993)
- Unnatural Dykes to Watch Out For (1995)
- Hot Throbbing Dykes to Watch Out For (1997)
- Split-Level Dykes to Watch Out For (1998)
- Post Dykes to Watch Out For (2000)
Sources: Dyke Strippers: Lesbian Cartoonists A to Z, edited by Roz Warren; http://www.sonic.net/~goblin/9dyk.html