Burn, Bitchy, Burn

This is a collection of Roberta Gregory’s comic book stories for the Bitchy Bitch series that originally appeared in the long running alternative book Naughty Bits, except for one story especially written for this book.  Gregory has been a pioneer for women in alternative comics, and her main character is a role model for angry bitter heroines.  The stories here are set in the past: the fourteenth century, the 1960s, and the 1970s.  The black and white artwork is crudely drawn, and a little of it goes a long way, unless the reader relishes vitriolic anger.  Although the central idea is strong, a woman who finds herself at odds with the rest of the world because of her own crankiness and powerful reactions to the stupidity and tedium of other people, I didn’t find many of the stories funny or even clever.  My favorite was the last one, St. Dominic and the Sparrow, in which the Bitchy, in medieval times, is burned as a witch and turns into a bird.  It does not make a great deal of sense, but it is so bizarre that the story makes a strong impression.  Recommended only for those with a severely warped sense of humor.

Link: Publisher's website.

© 2002 Christian Perring. All rights reserved.

Christian Perring, Ph.D., is Chair of the Philosophy Department at Dowling College, Long Island. He is editor of Metapsychology Online Review. His main research is on philosophical issues in psychiatry. He is especially interested in exploring how philosophers can play a greater role in public life, and he is keen to help foster communication between philosophers, mental health professionals, and the general public.