Every year the MacArthur Foundation awards a five-year grant to individuals “who show exceptional creativity in their work and the prospect for still more in the future.” This year one of these so-called Genius Grants was awarded to cartoonist Alison Bechdel. As author of the long-running comic Dykes to Watch Out For, Bechdel gained a cult following. She broke ground with more mainstream audiences with her memoir Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic. Think a graphic novel version of Six Feet Under with a female protagonist- and all true! After analyzing the relationship with her father in Fun Home, she turned her focus to her mother in Are You My Mother? A Comic Drama. Check out what this “genius” has done and make sure to keep an eye out for what she’s going to do in the future.
P.S. Bechdel has a B.A. from Oberlin.
