Help us pay for in-depth stories like this one by becoming a Seven Days Super Reader. Spent: A Comic Novel by Alison Bechdel, Mariner Books, 272 pages. $32. Credit: Courtesy The Bolton cartoonist’s ...

Alison Bechdel wanted to write a book about exercise. It would be fun, she thought, to tackle a lighter subject — to dwell on decades of American fads, from cycling to spinning, jogging to HIIT — ...

There are times when being a member of the LGBTQ+ community—and a lesbian in particular—feels like an Easter-egg hunt for representation. Queer women are used to mining everything from a cryptic ...

No artistic border is more poorly defended or muzzily mapped than the wavy line that separates self-consciousness from self-parody. Too many of the greats stumble unintentionally across the divide, ...

GHENT, N.Y. — There was a moment during rehearsals for the Ghent Playhouse production of the musical “Fun Home” when cast member Helen Annely suddenly had one of those flash feelings. Note: Mature ...

The consumer critique of “Spent” is one that punches primarily sideways, highlighting how readily Alison betrays her own high ethical and political standards and how reflexively she uses an ...