Spent

In this self-deprecating and delightful graphic novel from Eisner winner Bechdel (Fun Home), an archly fictionalized Alison finds herself flummoxed by commercial success. After her memoir, Death & Taxidermy, is adapted as a prestige show on a streaming platform, Alison and her partner Holly—a goat farmer with a popular YouTube channel—navigate the absurdities of the American economy (such as rounding up their $479 purchase of “wild-foraged” mushrooms to donate to charity) alongside their like-minded but less well-off friends. Alison wants to “stick it to the man” with a new book titled $um—“I just might put the final nail in the coffin of late-stage capitalism!” she dreams. “But first... what is late-stage capitalism?” Though each “episode” of the graphic novel shares the title of a chapter in Marx’s Das Kapital, Bechdel’s alter ego is alternately too confused, distracted, despairing, or creatively blocked to start a revolution. Meanwhile, her diverse crew of friends explore polyamory, and their college-age children emerge as the next generation of activists. The bold, full-color art displays Bechdel’s signature style: detailed characters, assured panel work, and welcomely realistic representations of queer and older folks’ naked bodies. Bechdel takes a gentle approach toward her well-meaning characters, but wields a razor-sharp scalpel when it comes to the indignities of modern life. For Bechdel’s fans, it’s a dream to see her skewer fame with such hilarious precision. Agent: Sydelle Kramer, Susan Rabiner Literary. (May)