Week 12: Women in Comics

Fun Home by Alison Bechdel is an autobiographical contemporary graphic novel focusing on themes of sexuality, gender, abuse, and familial roles. Bechdel has become a major figure in the world of literature as a whole -- specifically in comics, women's representation, and queer representation. Fun Home has garnered critical success and has since even been turned into an award-winning musical.

Fun Home tackles a variety of difficult subjects as aforementioned, but manages to do so in a way that balances not taking itself too seriously while also speaking very earnestly. Overall, Alison's representation of her story feels very real. Her relationship to her father is the most prominent focus of the work, and, needless to say, it's a highly complicated relationship. In many ways, they share a lot of similarities -- but Alison struggles between empathy and resentment for him for nearly her whole life, and is practically relieved when she learns of his death. Balance in general is a common theme for Fun Home.

I'd say the strength of this comic is the story itself, but the illustrations are also highly effective and impactful. I personally love the style and the intricacy linework, and the limited color palette used helps to keep the focus elsewhere, especially in more striking moments.

As a whole, Fun Home is an effective piece and an example of a comic that focuses on women's issues (alongside many other issues) gaining mainstream success. This success definitively proves that comics and graphic novels can be taken seriously by wider audiences.

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