I Just Read About That…

SOUNDTRACK: BATTLES-Live from Chicago (2007).

This is the very rare online soundtrack that I am actually listening to as I type this. My friend Lar sent me a link to the concert, and since I’m at home with a computer with speakers instead of my silent “work world” I can actually enjoy the tunes. I’d never heard of this band, and upon reading up, I see that the drummer is from Helmet, and one of the other guys is from Don Caballero. Its very noisy and math rock-y. Very, very cool and unorthodox. Thank you, Lar. I’ll definitely be checking these guys out some more!

[ACTION: Today] I went to BEA today. It was simultaneously over- and underwhelming. There was much to see, but also so many people, that it was all just kind of a muddled mess. One highlight for me was meeting Alison Bechdel, author of “Fun Home.” I have enjoyed her comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For since I first discovered it in the Boston Phoenix in 1992 or 93. I can’t get over that she’s been doing it for that long or that she was able to get a mainstream publisher to release her book, which is excellent. The story of Dykes to Watch Out For follows a group of lesbian friends and their daily lives in real-time America. As you can imagine, the 2nd Bush administration has been quite tough on many of them.

The “main” character Mo is very politically active and is pretty frequently apoplectic. But what has become increasingly great about the cartoon is that she has really broadened the scope of the characters. Not that there’s anything wrong with it just being about a group of lesbians, but the fact that she has introduced so many different aspects of not only lesbian life, but also trans-gendered, and formerly gay and now-in-a-hetero-relationship-but-still-identifying-as-gay characters, as well as the steadfast main crew, adds a lot more depth and interesting storylines to an already great series.

Sadly, I only really keep up with the story line when the books get released every cople of years, so the last one I read got me up through to Bush’s re-election. I miss being able to get the ‘toon every two weeks, but that’s life. Here’s a link to her blog, dykestowatchoutfor.com which has a great many old toons and other fun stuff as well.

[READ: January 2007] Fun Home.

So, Fun Home. My mother in law gave this to me for Christmas. And she had no idea that I was a fan. There’s just so much that’s funny about that and the serendipity is really great. I’ve always loved Alison’s drawings. She says an awful lot with relatively few lines. Plus she has a very clean style that appeals to me very much. I have very diverse tastes in art; I really enjoy avant garde and “weird” art, but when it comes to ‘toons, I really don’t like a lot of “sloppy” art like R. Crumb and Roz Chast (just two who spring to mind, don’t take it personally). I really appreciate a fine, clean pen line, and Alison’s got it.

This story is also really very moving. It’s a memoir of growing up in a Funeral Home (wonder is Six feet Under made her Tivo list) and of having a closeted gay father. Alison herself was in college struggling with her own decision to come out (not knowing that her dad was gay) but her own self-realization is basically hidden when her father is killed by a truck (in a possible suicide). The story is poignant and powerful, and like life, leaves a lot unanswered. But we can thank our lucky stars that we have a great artists to tell the story, and I can thank mine that I got her autograph. (In my utterly hilarious way I suggested that since she is now with a mainstream publishing house, her next book should be about straight superheroes. Maybe she’ll take me up on it! Wow, I hope not.)