This entry into the Alison Bechdel autobio world is just as fun and quirky as the rest. The farm life and the commentary that always comes from the heart was an enjoyable ride. I look forward to more and more.

My thanks to NetGalley and Mariner Books for an advance copy of this graphic novel that takes a look at the modern world a writer of graphic novels finds herself in, the toils of writing and creating, life among goats, and life among people just trying to get by, in life, in love, even podcasting.

The world is a mess, one doesn't need to be a seer with a crystal ball to see this. The country we find ourselves in is acting like that weird uncle, the one who blamed everyone for his failings, the one who never tried, and never will do anything except complain. Things are grubby. Dingy, dirty, falling apart in ways that will take years to be noticed, and probably never fixed. Graphic novels however are flourishing. Not just men in capes, but of all kinds. Horror, kids, classics. And lots of stories about people just talking about their lives, the ups the downs, and the normalness of being human. Much of this can be attributed to the works of Alison Bechdel. Starting with comics in strip form Bechdel has been creating works drawing on her life, her friends the changing world for quite a while. Winning prizes, being added to school reading lists, and being banned with the best of authors. Bechdel's Spent is a comic novel about a sequential arts creator with the name of Alison Bechdel who lives in rural New England, as she deals with goats, a wife, friends, and being a human post-COVID.

Alison Bechdel and Holly are happily married, running a pygmy goat sanctuary, reentering the world after COVID, and seeing their country change around them. Bechdel is also dealing with the effects of semi-fame as a streaming adaptation of Bechdel's graphic novel Death and Taxidermy is winning Emmys, gaining praise, as well as making things difficult for Bechdel in many ways. Bechdel's sister wants to write a book detailing the true story of Bechdel's father, and wants Bechdel to edit her thousand page manuscript, while at the same time banning Bechdel's book due to her conservative values. Bechdel is getting grief for not being on social media enough to push Bechdel's new graphic novel, while Holly is wining heats and minds with youtube videos on cutting trees and swinging axe. Goats are pregnant, old friends are acting life young goats, and all around them the world is changing in ways they always feared, but never thought possible.

A mix of satire, politics, and a lot about goats. Oh and human love, and companionship. The story goes to a lot of places, but one never gets lost in the narrative, and frankly one learns a lot about the many, many, many, ways of love, and how things can get complicated. Very complicated. The writing is funny, and yet there is an undercurrent that even when laughing, one gets the point. People are people. We have to let people, even people we love make mistakes and take chances, no matter what we think. We also have to stop being judgemental, even when we talk about being accepting. Well not as free as the young people here, but still that could be me and my attitudes. The story is good, strong, and gives all the characters something, leaving few changed at the end, including the character names Alison Bechdel. The art is really good. Warm, detailed, bright, funny when needed, and compliments the writing in many ways.

Fans will enjoy this, as well as new fans. Familiarity might help the enjoyment, but Bechdel does a good job of explaining the characters, their relationships and what is going. One can start here exploring the world of Bechdel, and what a world it is. One of my favorite writers graphic or otherwise. No one creates works like Bechdel, and this one delivers.

Another excellent book my Alison Bechdel! I loved the references to her own life, and the ways this “Alison” character’s life differed. The goats were adorable!

Bechdel's sharp wit and observation is back in book about current society and money. In a setting that's like her life, a cartoonist who popular book was turned into a prestige tv show. Meanwhile, the author and her friends in progressive Vermont that tries to help and stay politically active despite all that's going on in the USA. The art is crisp and detailed. The middle-aged bodies are drawn with honest indifference. The humor in the leftist kids, who left a polycule, helping on the farm with goat kids as the parents are hiding their throuple was a deliciously funny irony. There is no easy and clear way to deal with modern life except with friends and community.

The celebrated and beloved New York Times bestselling author of the modern classic Fun Home presents a laugh-out-loud, brilliant, and passionately political work of autofiction.

I'll admit I've never heard of autofiction but I have heard of AlisonBechdel. I have read "Dykes to Watch out for", so many times and still have such fond memories of the group.
Bechdel help me in my own coming out process more than I thought was possible.
So seeing a new graphic novel was exciting and I just couldn't wait.
I still love her art work, and uts both sad and satisfying to see the old gang, prayer and older than I remember then so am I

Maybe because of how bad things have become I don't come away with that same feeling ofbyears gone by. I'm not sure I buy that any protest or activism will save us this time. How many times do we have to keep.fighting for the right to simply live and love? To feed our families instead of the pockets of the meglarich?
So forgive me if I found the story itself a bit of a downer. It also moved slowly and for me took forever to get to its point if it had one.
So not the best Bechdel has ever done, but still heads above the rest.

Recommend. Expected publishing date May 20, 2025

Thanks to @netgalley and Mariner Books for the opportunity to read this eArc in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

To me, reading this graphic novel was like watching a sitcom. I got to catch up with the different characters in different scenes and there were several points where I chuckled out loud. I love the two main characters and how they look at the world, and of course I love their goats.

Spent transported me into a different place that I am unfamiliar with, leading to the discovery of new people, ideas, and goals. I enjoyed reading this graphic novel, though the foreboding bleakness of society today makes "enjoyed" a difficult word to use. I appreciated Bechdel's focus on different generations and how they address social activism but ultimately how we are all in the same situation and doing the best we can to manage the stress of current events, our families, and our desires.

If you loved Dykes to Watch Out For (DTWOF), you're in for a treat! That comic has meant so much to me and the countless other lesbians in my life. If you're in that same camp, the satisfaction of those characters' lives continuing in this book is a gift; the geeky sustained joy is unyielding.

But even if you haven't read DTWOF, or any of Bechdel's other work, you're bound to delight in this witty slice of autofiction. The humor is sparkling, the illustrations are lovely, and the characterization is perfect. Show me a better book at the intersection of modern queer experience, misanthropic pessimism, and the necessity of community! The book is truly a treat all on it's own, but you'd be a fool to not see this as another testament to Alison Bechdel being the pinnacle of charming, self-aware cartoonists.

Spent is an enjoyable return to the vibes of Dykes to Watch Out For, with the comradery and banter of a group of friends navigating all the wild ups and downs of recent years. The approach threw me off a little at first, with the two main characters being Alison and her partner Holly, but not actually based entirely on real life. Once I settled into the story and learned more about other characters I found the use of real names less distracting and took the story as it's own thing. There is plenty going on narrative wise as characters deal with relationship changes, Covid cases, internet fame, deadlines, and a trainwreck adaption of Alison's life as a TV show. I particularly enjoyed all the little details in this book that made it feel lived-in and familiar, like Alison and Holly's reaction to a goat being dumped on their property, and cats getting up to cat mischief while the plot goes on around them. A lot of the topics running through this book are the more anxiety-inducing aspects of what we are collectively experiencing (the pandemic, climate change, political upheaval, extremes of capitalism), but there are also plenty of humorous and heart-warming moments as well.

Alison Bechdel's latest graphic novel is a humorous reminder not to take ourselves too seriously. The story lines are interesting, made me chuckle, and gently poke fun at our basic flaws. I enjoyed the background drawings of the panels, as Bechdel pays to all the details and there are jokes and details not to missed. Fans of Bechdel will not be disappointed.

Oh Alison I am so glad you are back. and with Dykes to Watch out For Characters again. You made my year. Reminscing with these old friends and seeing how they are living their lives and how important community is while also bringing in todays issues.
I want more!!!!!

DYKES TO WATCH OUT FOR: WHERE ARE THEY NOW should have been the title of this book! Alison Bechdel fans are sure to enjoy this extremely autofiction graphic novel about trying to live ethically in today's messed up world. Our protagonist, a cartoonist named Alison, grapples with consumerism and political division while trying to come up with her next book idea, while her group of queer friends explore polyamory, communal living, and protesting. I wouldn't start here if you're new to Bechdel's work, but as someone who has read all of her past books, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

ARC -- I rarely give 5 stars. I loved Spent even reading it on my iPhone. Alison's art, her pacing, and her detailed panels are amazing. Her detail is down to the Blundstone's on her characters and the goat obstacle course in the background. I read DTWOF as it was published in the day. It is wonderful to see her work progress. Spent releases May 20, get a copy.

Big fan of Allison Bechde's work and look forward to reading this in print. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to see it on my devices, so I'll be careful not to request non text based ARCs going forward.

I'll read anything that the brilliant Alison Bechdel writes, and this one was especially fun. Her humor and affection for her characters (including Alison) really shine through on every page. It takes a great artist to deliver powerful messages, poke fun at just about everyone and everything, and somehow get the reader to adore the characters all on the same page!

This was so fun and such a wonderful insight into Alison Bechdel's everyday life! I loved the normalness and domesticity throughout the whole book!

I also loved her relationship with her friends and seeing into their lives as well!

As someone who's lived in Vermont for the past 4 years, I loved seeing all the places and experiences that I recognize so well! From the Burlington exit, the co-op, seven days, those damn F-35 planes, the flood in 2023, and the northern lights at the end!

Overall it felt very familiar and relatable! I think this will be a great staple in Vermont and will be a wonderful read for everyone!

Loved the illustrations and the humor throughout the book. I found myself googling things about Alison Bechdel’s family history to see if things mentioned throughout the book had actually happened or not. Some of the panels were such a stark reminder of how much changed during the early days of Covid — especially when interacting with others and all the precautions used early on in the pandemic. I loved the inclusion of all of their animals and of course the queer representation that I would always expect from an Alison Bechdel graphic novel.

Beautifully illustrated and created like all of Bechdels work with her trademark humor and wit. A bit less emotional and heartfelt than her most well known work but a nice slice of life piece. A bit of annoying generation gap humor that has been done to death but oh well.

In this heartwarming picture of Allison Bechdel's later life, you will be taken through Allison trying to figure out how to remain creatively productive, politically involved, and connected to her loved ones during the world's current descent into political and climate apocalypse, all in the wackily charming setting of uber progressive rural Vermont. I loved this book, but it was also meant exactly for my demographic--I think young lesbians will appreciate this window into what our futures could look like: the more things change the more things stay the same. I laughed aloud throughout this book and also was touched throughout. It's hard being a person, and we are all just trying our best.

I really enjoyed this graphic novel! It had me thinking a lot about how much changed during and directly following the pandemic. We all have different stories but in so many ways we had a shared experience. This book is great to recognize that with all of our differences we are all just humans trying to navigate what happens on this world! Most relatable was Alison’s challenge of trying so hard not to contribute to the problem that is corporate America…when she asks if Amazon really is delivering by drone, those were words I’ve spoken!

I also really enjoyed Sheila, I think we probably all have someone we love who is so much like her. Her quirky seed art just adds to her mystery!

Thank you to Alison Bechdel, Mariner books and NetGalley for the advanced copy!