The Secret to Superhuman Strength

The Secret to Superhuman Strength by Alison Bechdel is an illustrated memoir of her life using exercise as the viewpoint.

After a book on her father and one on her mother, Bechdel tells of her relationship to exercise as both a way of being in shape, following the latest fads, and breaking the gender norms of her childhood.

She looks for enlightenment and the exercise for her in her usual light but poignant way. 

Bechdel is the master of the graphic novel form. It is a high art to be able to convey so much in each panel - limited by space that leads to such succinct dialog.  

Bechdel, Alison. (2021). The Secret to Superhuman Strength. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Fun Home

Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic is Alison Bechdel's memoir. This is the only graphic novel I have ever read other than Maus by Art Spiegelman. I know of Alison's Dykes to Watch Out For comic. But I had never read it. The only comic I ever read with any consistency was Life In Hell.

I have to say that even in comic form, Alison Bechdel has a way with words. She conveys what she is trying to say through the text as much as through her illustrations.

Bechdel, Alison. (2006). Fun Home: A family tragicomic. New York: Houghton Mifflin Co.