The title “Dykes To Watch Out For” doesn’t even begin to describe Alison Bechdel’s hit comic strip: it would be better known as “People You Personally Know To Watch Out For.” Your neighbor, friend, arch nemesis, mailman, waitress—the characters of Dykes To Watch Out For (DTWOF) are so quirky and real that they may as well be wandering the streets.

The bi-weekly comic (also now available in book form) contains a multitude of moods: alternating between op-editorial and soap-operatic; humorous and gripping; realistic and satirical. Bechdel’s artistic style is simple, yet realistic and interesting enough to provide good, intimate visuals. A panel is often packed with detail that won’t be noticed until the second, or third, time around: t-shirt logos change; the headlines of newspapers mutate; the radio playing in the background proclaims world domination for the Republican Party.

Bechdel began DTWOF in 1983. The idea grew from some rough sketches drawn in the margins of letters she was writing to a friend: single panels encompassing deranged women, with subtitles of the source of their derangement. The actual strip began in the feminist monthly Womanews, and by 1985, Bechdel was self-syndicating the strip, which now runs in over 70 publications.

While not entirely appropriate for a local newspaper setting, DTWOF reaches more than just a lesbian audience. The majority of the characters are indeed gay, but the situations they find themselves in are strikingly broad. From financial problems to dissertation deadlines, the diverse cast deals with life on a day-to-day basis that is almost eerily similar to that of real life. It is almost impossible not to become emotionally attached to these characters: they are too much like real friends.

The characters represent an amazing range of social and political backgrounds. Mo, the quasi-main character, sports a strong political dogma and cutting edge cynicism, yet has enough flaws and gentleness to her that she gains a reader’s love. She often acts as the one to spur a political conversation, questioning either the morals of herself or her close friends. Her current lover, Sydney, is the complete opposite of Mo: she acts as a good balance to Mo’s intensity, nonplussed by, even encouraging of, Mo’s bouts of rambling worries, though Sydney herself does not share the same gung-ho.

Other main characters include the three housemates Ginger, Lois, and Sparrow. Ginger, in a constant state of procrastination, is the intellect of the household. She teaches freshmen at the local university, while she struggles to keep on track with writing her dissertation. Lois, the “sex-positive”, identity-accepting of the bunch, seems to bump from woman to woman, and event to event. She’s often pummeling Mo with gender-bending issues, or trying to convince her employer, Jezanna, that the Madwimmin bookstore needs sex toys to raise sales. Sparrow is on the constant trek for inner growth: she mercilessly plunders on, searching for inner depth not only within herself but those around her. Often her advice to others pertains to her friends spiritual state, as opposed to their mental.

Clarice, Mo’s first lover, and her monogamous partner Toni are the full-fledged family of the cast. Clarice acts as the breadwinner, working as an environmental lawyer, often forgetting to maintain a steady balance between work and home. Toni, mother of the artificially inseminated, inquisitive Rafael, often uses her skills as a C.P.A. to save either a friend or Madwimmin books from ruin. The most stable couple in the comic, Clarice and Toni meet quite an amount of marital problems along their travels, including in-your-face parents, marriage laws, and monogamy.

There is a slew of characters that make up the wondrous cast of DTWOF, too many to name, far too many to go into depth with. Bechdel works within a very fluid medium, whether she is bringing in new love interests and old friends, introducing problematic parents, or rounding out the development of the waitress next door.

Overall, Dykes To Watch Out For is a witty, sparkling read, guaranteed to cause a smile. As Bechdel’s artistic style grows, the story and characters grow with it, creating a great dynamic that hits so close to home, it may as well be true.

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