Readers respond to Alison Bechdel: fan letters and the emotional afterlives of Dykes to Watch Out For

Abstract

ABSTRACT This paper examines letters written to American cartoonist Alison Bechdel by fans of her now beloved comic, Dykes to Watch Out For (DTWOF; 1983–2008). These letters, written over the course of the strip’s long run, offer fascinating insights into readers’ reactions and emotional attachments to DTWOF, the diversity of the strip’s appeal, and the potential political consequences of fans’ deep affective investments. The letters show that the comic connected with readers from a variety of backgrounds, who responded to its sympathetic and multifaceted representation of lesbian lives for myriad reasons. The letters reveal how DTWOF was able to forge a heterogenous audience through fans’ affective bonds, and potentially transform ontologies and political views. Though rarely the object of investigation—particularly when dealing with a “low” cultural form like comics—these fan letters illuminate the meaningful roles seemingly ephemeral cultural products play in people’s lives.