I’m generally pretty grateful for the aging process, as I was definitely not the sort of person who peaked in my younger days. (I’d like to think I’ll peak in my forties, that seems like a great time to peak.) However, this is one instance where I truly wish I was a teenager again because my teenage self would be shitting herself over this news.
Are you ready? Okay, deep breaths: Alison Bechdel’s beloved comic strip, Dykes To Watch Out For, is getting a voice adaptation on Audible. And the adaptation’s main stars are Roxane Gay, Carrie Brownstein, Roberta Colindrez, and Jane Lynch.
My 18-year-old, newly-out-and-bisexual, Sleater-Kinney-loving, graphic-novel-devouring self is living right now. The organizers of this project truly knew who their audience was, not even just with the cast. Per Autostraddle‘s Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya:
Playwright and writer on Only Murders in the Building Madeleine George adapted the Audible version, and it’s director by stage director Leigh Silverman. Original music will be provided by Alana Davis, Faith Soloway, and Bitch, and there will be a soundtrack, too, with music from lesbian artists like Ferron, Holly Near, and Cris Williamson.
Christ alive, are they trying to make us combust or something? This is almost too much. I welcome it, of course, I welcome it and then some, but after so many recent disappointments in entertainment, this is truly a heavy dose of positive whiplash.
If you’re not in the know, Alison Bechdel is the oft-lauded author of several award-winning graphic novels, including Fun Home (which was so applauded, it was turned into a musical, as well as course material for college students—that’s how I found her). Dykes To Watch Out For, however, was her penultimate collection of serial comics following the lives of a diverse cast of queer people, mostly lesbians. It’s an incredibly fun series that I’m now super tempted to reread for the umpteenth time, even knowing that this Audible release is on the way.
If you’re wondering what the big deal is … well, either go read the strip for yourself, familiarize yourself with the upcoming cast, or get OUTTA here, because this one’s for us!!!!
(Just kidding, of course, but really, go read it!)
(Featured Image: Alison Bechdel)
