Morgan Calabrese: The Movie

by N. Leigh Dunlap

Book by Dunlap, N. Leigh

Genres: Queer, Graphic Novels, Comics

150 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1987

Reviews

[Sandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

4-panel comic strips from 1987, depicting lesbian life with a recurring cast of characters, including some gay men. The art is awesome. Morgan, the central character, goes around dressed like a cowboy most of the time, with a very wide-brimmed, low-fitting hat and a handkerchief around her neck. The situations are familiar in the way of "what goes around comes around," the queer folks in here are worried about Republican politicians. They play baseball, go out for coffee, have crushes and relationships. A couple of strips talk about navigating Christmas as gay non-Christians.

Recommended if you like "Dykes to Watch Out For." I am just old enough to understand most of the references but some will inevitably be confusing to 21st century readers.

The copy I read is falling apart.

[Karen-Leigh · Rating 3 out of 5]

October 2009
I'm saddened this comic strip isn't well known; it's a witty presentation of lesbian and gay life in the 1980s, with one of the best cartoon protagonists I've ever encountered. Open the pages and travel back to a time of Ronald Reagan, Miami Vice, punk, feminism, Jerry Falwell, the E.R.A., AIDS, Georgia's sodomy law, Ollie North for President, girls who play sports, and - memorably - "A Support Group for Non-Christian Lesbians and Gays Surrounded by Christmas Mania."

[Penny · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection and its sequel were some of the earliest queer comics I ever encountered, and they remain some of the best, an absolute 80s classic in the best way.

[Lex · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a bit like Dykes to Watch Out For, but doesn't take itself quite so seriously. Beyond exploring many of the same themes, the two comics also share a drawing style which represents diverse body types and looks (the Black people are not just white people with their faces shaded - *cough* Small Favors *cough*).

I read this at one in the morning so maybe I had some kind of hyper-romantic fuzz over my brain, but I thought that the drawing of Morgan jumping on her girlfriend to hug her was the sweetest thing ever.

As a child of the Internet (born a couple of years after the first iPhone was released - hah), this just made me nostalgic for a time when we all interacted with each other in real life rather than paying lip service on Instagram to [insert group] and making zero effort to speak with anyone from it. Although I guess we've always had people who do that - Internet or not - so I can't be too pessimistic about my own generation.

[Sheherazahde · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm surprized more people have not heard of this artist/author. Morgan Calabrese is that rare thing - a lesbian cartoon that is funny, political, and well drawn. The art and the humor are reminiscent of Gerard Donelan's work but for lesbians. [return][return]I highly recommend this book