What Is Goth?

Simply put, a Goth is""a fan of gothic music"" (a rock-and-roll subgenre that emerged out of the late-1970s punk scene). In general, Goths wear lots of black clothing, favor pale skin and sport black lipstick. They're drawn to the darker aspects of human existence: death, romance, feelings of loneliness and isolation. Sounds like a fun bunch, huh? Voltaire, author of the comic book series Oh My Goth!, actually makes it seem so with this handy guide to Goth culture. Similar in layout to The Preppy Handbook and last year's The Hipster Handbook, the book matter-of-factly dissects a subculture, with copious photos and descriptions of various types. There's the Sad-Sack Drac, a combination of 19th-century nobleman and vampire; the""Oh Crap, I Forgot to Wear Clothing"" look, which entails looking like a cheap French hooker; and many others. Voltaire's humorous approach will lift the lid on Goth mystique for many. As he puts it,""They're basically just melancholy.... The truth is that very few Goths actually kill themselves--they'd much rather contemplate suicide and then just write a really bad poem about it.""