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Alison Bechdel Announces “The Secret to Superhuman Strength”

By | October 22nd, 2020
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Cover Alison Bechdel

Alison Bechdel’s new graphic memoir focuses on a different subject than her usual works: exercise. Specifically, the relationship between exercise and creativity. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and due out on May 4, 2021, “The Secret to Superhuman Strength” will explore the influence the cartoonist’s fitness routines have had on her success in the medium. The book will also examine the development of fitness culture alongside her career.

“What I try to do in the book is go in and look at exactly how these two strands intertwine over the course of my whole life, six decades so far,” Bechdel tells the The A.V. Club. “And it’s a long, strange trip.”

The memoir will explore Bechdel’s influences both physical and artistic as she develops her craft. These influences range from eastern philosophy and beat poetry, to Jack LaLanne and Shaun T. Fitness.

Bechdel is one of the most significant figures in modern comics and cartooning. The Harvey Awards inducted her into their Hall of Fame at the 2019 New York Comic Con. Her 2006 memoir “Fun Home” was listed as one of Time magazine’s 10 Best Books of the Year, and would go on to win the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Comic Book, the Lambda Literary Award for “Lesbian Memoir and Biography,” two Eisners for Best Reality-Based Work and Graphic Album (in addition to a Best Writer/Artist win for Bechdel), among many others. “Fun Home” was turned into a stage musical in 2013, which won multiple awards, including the Tony for Best Musical in 2015.

But Bechdel is perhaps best known for the test that bears her name. Inspired by dialog from her long running 1983 strip “Dykes to Watch Out For,” the Bechdel Test is often used as a quick rubric for examining gender representation in film and media. The test consists of four simple questions: Is there more than one female character? Do they have names? Do they talk? Do they talk about something other than a man?

“The Secret to Superhuman Strength” can be preordered here.


Chris Cole

Chris Cole lives in a tiny village built around a haunted prison. He is a writer, letterer, and occasional charity Dungeon Master. Follow his ramblings about comics and his TTRPG adventures on Twitter @CcoleWritings.

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