Spent

“Color? It’s the first sign that something new is afoot in a book full of familiar flourishes [including] the figure of Bechdel herself, drawn as a bit of a cross between Tintin and Waldo, vibrating with anxiety, doing her best to flee herself on bike or skis or simply afoot….It’s [an] accumulating ease we feel in this book–a supple, loose-limbed grace; an absence of fear that translates into simplicity, discipline and modesty.” – New York Times on The Secret to Superhuman Strength

“Astonishing … utterly absorbing” – The Atlantic on The Secret to Superhuman Strength

”[Bechdel] set out to write a light book about her lifelong commitment to exercise, including stints as a cyclist, climber, skier and yogi. As usual, her story and art are about so much more–the realities of aging, the quest for transcendence and the drumbeat of mortality.” – Washington Post on The Secret to Superhuman Strength

”[Bechdel’s] work is known for its unique style of combining incisive insight, humor, emotional resonance, queer ethos, and visually stunning illustration. She brings all of that to her new graphic memoir, The Secret to Superhuman Strength.” – Shondaland

“Graphic storytelling at its most profound.” – Los Angeles Times, Favorite Book of the Year, on Fun Home

”[S]elf-deprecating and delightful … Bechdel takes a gentle approach toward her well-meaning characters, but wields a razor-sharp scalpel when it comes to the indignities of modern life. For Bechdel’s fans, it’s a dream to see her skewer fame with such hilarious precision.” – Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Thoroughly wonderful … Alison and her friends are beautiful and ridiculous and ridiculously beautiful, and Bechdel is such a master of her craft that it might take a little while to appreciate what she does here. Bechdel is incisive, tender, and funny–often at the same time.” – Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Alison Bechdel’s cult following for her early comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For expanded wildly for her family memoirs, the New York Times bestselling and Time magazine #1 Book of the Year graphic memoir Fun Home, adapted into a Tony Award-winning musical, and Are You My Mother? Most recently, The Secret to Superman Strength was named a New York Times Best Graphic Novel of 2021. Bechdel has been named a MacArthur Fellow, among many other honors.