So, what is Hothead Paisan? Well, she's homicidal, yes. And she's lesbian, in between being homicidal. But a terrorist? only if you consider the war between the sexes literally. Which Hothead does. The entire male half (or 48%, or whatever) of the human race is an Evil White Oppressor, without exception. And Hothead fights back, with knives, bombs, and whatever else comes to hand. The violence is only when provoked by a male doing something to deserve it, such as existing. The violence keeps up for 170 pages, with an occasional respite for someone to try to talk some sense into Hothead. It's a balanced book in that respect, in that it's made clear (by women) that men aren't entirely terrible, and that Hothead's response is, basically, wrong. But the violence goes on.
Diana DiMassa does make the point, in her introduction, that this strip is cathartic for her, a way of getting a part of her mind on paper, and wasn't initially intended to be published. As therapy it does stand up well, but as entertainment, it fails badly. The plot is monotonous, the comedy is the dumbest kind of slapstick; seeing someone killed by a shooting in broad daylight is funny in a black way, seeing it happen 39 times is, uh, overkill. The art is uninspired, if functional. If you're feeling oppressed, you might like this. If, on the other hand, you're White, Male or Possessing a Sense of Humour, you'll probably be happier without.
Andrew
From: Erika Kretzmer <kretzmer@students.wisc.edu> Hello, I'd just like you to know that I think your review of Diane DiMassa's "Hothead Paison" comic really sucks. Yeah, OK, so she carrys misandry to an extreme. But if you're a lesbian, or a woman, or a feminist, or a person who understands anything about the State of the Universe, you should find Hothead fairly amusing. Why am I excited that SOMEONE is screaming about "fighting the penis people"? Maybe it's because a nasty whitle male middle-adged fat asshole terrorist freak was parading around at the _Madison, Wisconsin, USA_ farmer's market/festival this morning with a big sign telling me that my 18 years and my dreams of exploring the interface between biology and mind are less important than a little bloody mass of non-cognisant cells which theoretically could implant itself without my permission inside my body. Maybe it's because the boys at my elementary school got to stay inside and play with the computers but all of the girls got to go outside and look at the flowers. Maybe it's because I'm tired of hearing about "doctors" and "woman doctors" -- as separate and distinct categories. Yeah, not all men are bad. My favorite penis-equipped human actually showed me my first Hothead comic book. (He's also an "Honorary Lesbian"... heehee!) On the other hand, lots more men are assholes. There's my unsolicited $0.02, --Erika (bisexual. nontheist. libertarian. And Goddess of Parentheses!)These reviews are copyright the authors