Alison Bechdel

When I was growing up in the 1960s, there was starting to be more books geared towards young adults.

I probably read Harriet the Spy about 70,000 times.

One of them is already having some menopausal symptoms. I'm working on that. I'm giving them all little lines under the eyes, trying to sort of make them age gracefully.

And partly, the worst thing you could do in my family was need something from someone. So physical strength represented an avenue of self-sufficiency to me.

I never really read superhero stuff as a kid.

Partly I resented being perceived as weak because I was a girl.

I don't know, maybe it's because I was raised Catholic. Confession has always held a great appeal for me.

I get a lot of mail from men who really identify with Stuart, you know, Sparrow's boyfriend. I love that. Even though I used to say I wanted men to read the strip even though there weren't any men in it, so they'd be forced to identify with the women.

I love Jules Feiffer. I didn't discover him until I was a little older.

But mostly, it's a book about my relationship with my father.

Autobiographical comics, I love them. I love them.

Writing this book feels like a completely different activity from writing my comic strip because it's about real life. I feel like I'm using a part of my brain that's been dormant until now.