You’d actually be surprised. This traveling exhibit (it originated in New York at the Yeshiva University Museum) may seem a little small at first, but as soon as visitors begin to explore it, does it richness and diversity become apparent.

It may not cover the depth of comics being created by women (even Jewish women) but that’s not the point — it’s meant to be about Jewish women and their stories and why they’ve chosen to tell them in the form of comics.  There’s a delightful range, from legends like Aline Kominsky-Crumb, Diane Noomin and Trina Robbins to the younger generation of artists like Sarah Glidden and Miss Lask0-Gross.  Some have specific stories to tell about their lives while others just seek to capture moments.

I was awed at the different styles and techniques of the artists on display. Some have loose, open styles that are then reduced down to the printed page. Others draw in tiny refinement. Blue pencil marks can still be seen, as well as sections of White-Out and other corrections. I love looking at original art anyway because hidden process behind creating comics becomes much clearer. It’s fascinating and beautiful to see these pages as they are.

No, it’s not a huge exhibit, but I don’t think it needs to be. After spending quite a bit of time feeling jealous that my New York friends had this and I wasn’t going to get to see it, I was more than excited to see it was going to be in D.C. I was not at all disappointed. I’m only sad it’s only up through Sept. 2, which means that people in the area for Small Press Expo won’t get a chance to check it out.

I am, however, sending everyone I know in the area to it. It’s absolutely worth seeing and I’m quite proud D.C. is one of the places that gets to have it.

Graphic Women
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Hilary Chute’s Graphic Women (2010, Columbia University Press) isn’t necessarily the sort of book you read for fun (unless you are the sort who reads these sorts of books for fun) It’s dense and academic and intended for that audience.

But it’s amazingly in-depth, smart, engaging and important. It’s not light reading but it’s far from boring.

Chute devotes a chapter each to Aline Kominsky-Crumb, Phoebe Gloeckner, Lynda Barry, Marjane Satrapi and Alison Bechdel. These five creators cover a fairly broad range in terms of style, certainly, but Chute’s focus is more what they have in common — all tend to interpret the trauma of their lives in a graphic narrative format (not that I’d expect anything less, but I do applaud Chute for not referring to these books as “graphic novels” because they’re not).

While Satrapi and Bechdel are fairly well-known, even outside of comics, I think Gloeckner and Barry are two important creators and I love their inclusion here. Kominsky-Crumb’s work isn’t exactly to my tastes, but her influence is obvious.

If you’re familiar with these creators’ works, much of this book may be obvious to you, but Chute’s insights and interpretations are always smart. She never over-explains her subject matter and mostly she lets the work speak for itself (many images from these creator’s comics are included) and just adds context.

Still, if you’re picking it up for a pleasure read like I did, it can be slow going. The more interesting chapters for me where on the creators I was less familiar with because I felt like I got more out of them. I already felt like I knew about Satrapi and Persepolis so I admit to skimming portions of that chapter. I don’t think that’s a reflection on Chute’s writing or research — both of which are excellent — but more that the nature of this book not quite being suited to leisure-time reading.

I guess my feelings about this book comes down to these things: Is Graphic Women a great book to read on a Sunday afternoon? Maybe not, but that depends on what you do on your Sunday afternoons. Is it incredibly cool that this book exists? Yes. Am I happy that I read it? Absolutely. I hope it makes its way onto all kinds of bookshelves — even if it’s more suited ones in a university library rather than at home.

Review copy provided through NetGalley.