Spent A Comic Novel

From the New York Times bestselling author of Fun Home comes a wickedly funny, razor-sharp work of autofiction that skewers our modern anxieties with brilliant wit and unflinching honesty.

Meet Alison Bechdel—yes, that Alison Bechdel—running a pygmy goat sanctuary in Vermont while the world teeters on the edge of climate catastrophe and civil unrest. Can writing a brutally self-critical memoir about her own complicity in consumer capitalism save humanity from its death spiral? Probably not, but watching her try is absolutely delicious.

Meanwhile, her first graphic memoir has been adapted into the Emmy-winning sensation Death and Taxidermy, transforming this once-marginal cartoonist into the object of her friends’ envy. When her partner Holly’s wood-chopping video goes viral, Alison’s own jealousy spirals into a hilarious meditation on fame, privilege, and what it means to live ethically in impossible times.

Featuring beloved characters from Bechdel’s legendary comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For—now middle-aged and navigating communal life in Vermont—Spent is both a laugh-out-loud romp and a passionate political statement. “Truthful, rueful and delightful” (LA Times), this masterful new work proves once again that nobody captures the absurdities and anxieties of contemporary life quite like Alison Bechdel.

Perfect for fans of graphic memoirs, literary satire, and anyone who’s ever wondered if their small choices matter in a world that feels increasingly unhinged.

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