spent by alison bechdel

Alison Bechdel comics – in full colour! Spent was a delight, through and through. This is the first of Bechdel’s books where I felt that she got to really offer alternatives to the nihilism she’s grappling with in much of her work, which was refreshing. I appreciated how grounded this book felt in the current political moment while being very funny, and without feeling out of touch (which I find often happens with stories that tackle covid).

It was also such a joy to get to follow up on some of the characters from DTWOF as they continue their messy beautiful lives! Their exploration of polyamory in this book was well-handled, and very funny in a way that can only really be portrayed from inside the queer community. I feel like this is a book that I’ll be coming back to when I need a pick-me-up – and one that would benefit from a reread in the future. I feel like there were some themes I’d like to get a second look at from the beginning, like the analysis of wealth that is obviously peppered throughout the book – I felt I didn’t quite absorb it the first time!

- Dec. 2025