Alison Bechdel

American cartoonist Alison Bechdel is known for her desire to bring queer stories, especially lesbian stories, into the light. Born in 1960, Bechdel graduated from Oberlin College in 1981 with a degree in Art History and Studio Art. Bechdel's long-term comic  “Dykes to Watch Out for” began being published in WomaNews, a feminist newspaper, in 1983. The comic ran successfully in several newspapers until 2008. The comic focused primarily on lesbians, as well as other queer characters, in their life in modern-day America based on Bechdel’s own experiences. Bechdel has also published three graphic memoirs, Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic, published in 2006, for which the musical is based, and Are You My Mother?, published in 2012, and The Secret to Superhuman Strength in 2021.