I picked up DYKES TO WATCH OUT FOR on a whim, and I enjoyed it so much that I decided to explore Bechdel's other works. ARE YOU MY MOTHER? was quite the tailspin.

One of the reasons I adored DYKES and FUN HOME was because of rigorous thought and academic intelligensia behind them: the personal twined with the political; the old myths twined with Bechdel's family life. In MOTHER, Bechdel lays a blanket of psychoanalysis & child development theory over her relationship with her mother, with Dr. Donald Winnicott's theories taking centerpoint. This intersection of psychoanalysis/child development theory and Bechdel's mother Helen is so tightly woven that the chapters are organized by dreams, which Bechdel spends the chapter free-associating and analyzing in a swirling vortex of memory and fiction.

I confess I had to re-read sections, or only read the overarching narrative and go back to read the comic characters' speak bubbles. A whole lot happens at once, and Bechdel skips all over her personal timeline to connect abstract feeling to abstract thought. It didn't help that I'm only familiar with Freud's psychoanalysis method and works, so Bechdel was driving through new territory for me. Almost needless to say, MOTHER was not a good book to read while sipping summer martinis, which I may or may not have been doing while reading it.

After finishing the book (and the martinis), I felt poetically enlightened, but concretely confounded. I had the distinct impression that Bechdel had reached a point of peace with her mother, had recognized her flaws, and forgiven her for them. However, without a lot of diagraming and careful re-reading, I couldn't tell you how I arrived at this impression. It's sort of like, after a lovely dream, you feel peaceful when you awake, but can't place why you're in a peaceful mood because you've forgotten the dream.

All and all, I know instinctively that ARE YOU MY MOTHER? is an important, feminist work and perfect for the classroom. On the other hand, I'm frustrated that the "plot" of the memoir is a mess, that there are no straightforward answers, that sometimes the psychoanalysis sounds like psycho-babble navel-gazing, and that Helen as a person is just as mysterious as at the beginning as the end. I agree with other reviews that Winnicott's work was a less accessible lens to look through than FUN HOME's classic literature. With MOTHER, the lens had fly in the ointment, or the blanket forming a stranglehold if we go back to that metaphor.

ARE YOU MY MOTHER? is a book to pay attention to, to take a class about, to pick apart and re-read over and over and over again. I wish everyone, especially the casual reader, best of luck.

G. Willow Wilson did it again, guys. I'm in writer-love. This series just has everything I want in my life right now. Somehow, with her magic, G. Willow Wilson made a superhero comic about police profiling, fascism, police state, racism, civil wars, family, and friendship. AND THERE WAS A SURPRISE LESBIAN. So, you know, I was a very happy camper reading this. It's a perfect read for this time and this place, with gorgeous, cute art to boot.

There are other reviews that go into more detail here, so I'm content with my posting my 5 stars and ridiculous amount of squee about Kamala.

DO YOU LIKE STAR WARS-ESQUE PILOT-ING BADASSARY?

DO YOU LIKE ROBOTS WHO TRY TO HUMOR?

DO YOU LIKE OLDER LESBIAN MENTOR FIGURES WHO MENTOR FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE WITH SPECIAL GUEST APPEARANCE OF THEIR WIFE?

IF YOU ANSWERED YES TO ANY OF THE ABOVE, READ. THIS. CAPTAIN MARVEL SERIES.

Haha, all caps aside, this was a very fun space romp with lots of weaponized feminism and girl power to boot. It made me feel victorious, happy, and powerful, which is pretty much one of the high points of reading comics. I'm glad I picked up this series on a whim, and I hope some elements of DeConnick's run make it into the Captain Marvel movie.

After reading the first "The Five Nightmares" arc of INVINCIBLE IRON MAN, I knew I was hooked. Reading this compendium both sated my hunger for good Iron Man story and whet my appetite for more.

The first half of the book I'd already read: during "The Five Nightmares" arc, we have Tony at his best and brightest. Stane successfully embodies and teases out Tony's fears, and Tony comes out the other side triumphant. At the end, I was partying, celebrating, and squeeing over how awesome Tony Stark is. "The Five Nightmares" is a feel good superhero story, where, though the battle was hard, Good won.

And then there was a Skrull invasion apparently, and the next arc is all about stripping Tony down, down, dooooowwwwwnnnnn until he isn't Tony anymore. Not recognizably, anyway. Fraction built Tony Stark almost to the level of Engineering God and then tore him down to a husk of flesh. I cannot begin to describe how freaking amazing the writing is, how vulnerable and tender and tragic. The plot is well-put together and doesn't miss a beat. The only reason I ever stopped reading was because I had to cry.

Norman Osborn as the slithering villain blew my mind and reminded me what pure hate felt like. Pepper Potts came into her own, becoming a super in her own right. Maria Hill's character was torn apart like Tony's was, and I loved that Fraction acknowledged that he didn't have time to properly put her back together, but Maria could do it. As much as INVINCIBLE was Tony's story, it was also Maria and Pepper's, and I really liked it that way.

I was a little confused as to why Rhodey didn't play more of a role: he appears and drops out rather abruptly. Fraction was also a tiny bit clumsy with Black Widow, but I forgive him for doing so well with Pepper & Maria.

All and all, the sparkling character work and excellent, above-and-beyond plot earned a 5 star rating. Fraction's another Marvel writer that I'm keeping an eye out for.

This is a library find, because have 0 of the self control and very sticky fingers when it comes to picking up comics for free and vaguely supporting the library's book choices by checking out as much as I can.

For CAPTAIN MARVEL, my review can best be put in advertisement form:

HEY, KID, DO YOU LIKE SPACE (and also maybe Star Wars)? Good, because this story is in space (and there's lots of Star Wars references).

DO YOU LIKE PUNCHING THE SNOT OUT OF BAD PEEPS? Good, because this is Captain Marvel's favorite activity. There's some questionable white savior flavor to this, but Carol gets her butt handed to her and lectured about how she can't just step in and save the aliens of color. That's not how this or real life works or should work.

DO YOU LIKE THE GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY AND CATS AND KICKING PETER'S DAD IN THE (unfortunately metaphorical) GROIN AND ENVIRONMENTALISM AND ALSO UNEXPECTED SPACE LESBIANS? YES?

READ THIS BOOK. (Seriously. There are happy space lesbians. With tentacle/snake hair. I love it)

I picked WONDER WOMAN, VOL 1 at the local library to continue my quest to read more things Diana after liking the Wonder Woman movie so much. My reading order is rag tag at best, but this hasn't mattered yet. Everything's pretty understandable so far, plot-wise.

In WHO IS WONDER WOMAN? Diana begins her struggle for identity after taking a human life in the previous comic arc. There's no grandiose themes in this volume: solid arc- and world-building; introductions to the major players; and tying the last arc's loose ends fill the pages, making for a straightforward read. Well, straightforward up to a point because:

WHAT THE *BLEEP* IS UP WITH HERCULES IN THE DC UNIVERSE. *cough, cough* Really, once they explain his backstory, I'm surprised anyone decided it was okay to have him in a Wonder Woman comic. Please put him back under the earth where he belongs.

Circe, acting as Diana's shadow, brings up a much more interesting, relevant point about Diana acting for and on the behalf of the common woman. It seems a concept worth exploring, and Diana didn't respond to Circe's challenges in a way that satisfied me. At the end of the comic, I too wondered why Diana didn't fight sex traffickers, rapists, and domestic violence, especially as she's taking this time to explore the human experience. Those are human experience that crave justice, and she likes bringing the justice.

So. All and all, a good, if a little bland, start to this Wonder Woman run. I'm more interested in what happens later in the series because Gail Simone writes it and so far, she's the best WW writer I've read.

When friends noticed that I was reading Wonder Woman, they steered my rudderless ship to George Pérez, and I have been blessed by both my choice in friends and in reading this volume. This comic lives in a feminist space, though it's lack of characters of color fail to make it fully intersectional.

Pérez returns to not only Wonder Woman's origin, but also the origin of the Amazons in this volume. The writing style harkens back to ye olden times, but instead of coming off as corny, Pérez pulls his sentences off effortless wonder and with startling beauty. The art is fantastic and adds echoes upon echoes to the dialog. A lot of pieces I felt belonged in a museum. Once Diana finds herself on earth, the real fun begins, with a fascinating villain in the form of Decay. I rooted and cheered and loved that Diana used teamwork as well as her individual prowess to confront problems.

As far as diversity, the sheer number of women and the focus on womanhood was exciting. Etta's body type and Julia Kapatelis' age won points with me, because all body types and all ages can stick it to Ares. Philippus & Colonel Hillary were the lone black characters standing though, and this fact was a deep disappointment since the Amazons were supposed to represent the souls of all wronged women. Maybe there are more characters of color later, or George Pérez meant to have more, but was blocked by a higher up. I was still saddened and dropped a star.

Overall, though, this volume was a delight and exactly what I needed to read in these troubled times. Like Diana, I will fight to bring peace and equality and, of course, punch the patriarchy while I'm at it.

My library featured THE ESSENTIAL DYKES TO WATCH OUT FOR during Pride Month, and as soon as I read the first few comics, I was hooked.

As someone who lived and thrived in the feminist political space of Scripps College, reading DYKES was akin to a homecoming. I loved the hyper-intellectual, critical thinking sphere that the characters lived in, how they fused and overlapped the geo-political and the personal. I loved the themes and thought threads and diversity and cultural celebration. I loved how the characters became symbols, characters, symbols, and characters again. I finished the book and felt empowered. I felt strong. I felt like I could take on more of the world.

Bechdel's work is brilliant, fantastic, heart-warming, and addictive. I recommend it to everyone who wants to journey into a radical, intersectional, and feminist room of ink and paper, whether that's a place you've been or a place you want to be.

If you haven't noticed from my Twitter activities, I've been getting more and more enmeshed in Marvel fandom shenanigans. This has caused me to become more interested in Tony Stark, and, of course, being me, I went to the local library to see if they had any Iron Man titles. I feel I've struck gold with Matt Fraction's INVINCIBLE IRON MAN run.

I'm unsure where this comic falls along Tony's timeline, but this is Tony Stark at his hyper-thinking, hyper-caring, hyper-loving best. Fraction's use of Tony's POV thoughts adds nuance and depth to what an outsider might seem random or heavy-handed actions. Ezekiel Stane is a worthy adversary and embodiment of Tony's nightmares, effectively acting as shadow character and foil. Pepper Potts and Maria Hill are strong characters in their own right, with their own agendas. The issue at the end with Spider-man wrapped the arc up nicely, re-integrating Iron Man back into the wider Marvel universe.

I'm eager for more after this great celebration of everything a person like Tony Stark could be. This first volume was a fantastic ride.