Alison Bechdel — cartoon chronicler extraordinaire — continues to leave a permanent mark on contemporary lesbian life.

With seven "Dykes To Watch Out For" collections in print (an eighth is slated for late in 1998), and her strips syndicated in over fifty U.S. and Canadian publications, the time is right to ask: who is this indefatigable doodler and what makes her draw? Even better, how is she able to create and keep up with the daily lives of her burgeoning cast of characters: Lois, Jezanna, Clarice, Toni, Ginger, Sparrow, and — most obsessively — Mo.

The Indelible Alison Bechdel: Confessions, Comix, and Miscellaneous Dykes To Watch Out For takes you behind the pen and into the psyche of lesbiana's most quick-witted and incisive social commentator. The book combines material from the author's childhood (Do you have the drawings you did when you were three years old?); hair-raising autobiographical tales morphed into real-life cartoon scripts; collaborative work with other cartoonists; cartoons not included in the on-going strip; old faves from the calendars; and much, much more. In short, enough insider info to titillate and delight until the next book is ready.

Here is a chance — fifteen years after Alison Bechdel's first cartoon was published — for both loyal fans and newfound friends to celebrate and gossip with this don't-just-connect-the-dots dyke to watch out for.