Primahood: Magenta

by Tyler Cohen

Primahood: Magenta blends memoir and surrealism to tell the story of a bisexual mother raising her biracial daughter in a world fraught with restrictive gender roles and challenging racial politics.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, LGBT

164 pages, Paperback

Published September 17, 2016

About the author

Tyler Cohen (She/They) is a cartoonist, graphic designer, and educator.

Their most recent work, Feather, is "[a] lyrical and poetic exercise in wordless storytelling," published by Fieldmouse Press. Tyler's comics can be found in their book, Primahood: Magenta (winner of the 2017 Bisexual Book Award for Graphic Memoir); at MuthaMagazine.com; PEN Illustrated; and in numerous anthologies, including the Eisner Award-winning Drawing Power and Ignatz Award-winning Qu33r.

"My art style ranges from sketchy to finely detailed compositions that play with memoir and surrealism. I love to make use of the comics medium's capacity to simultaneously express a multiplicity of voices, thoughts, and visual communications. Art is a means of engaging in conversations and contemplations. With this in mind, I like to take readers on a journey, to raise questions, and to stimulate thoughts and feelings. I'm not here to provide answers. As with all dialogue, the take-away is collaborative."

Reviews

[MariNaomi · Rating 5 out of 5]

As I said in my blurb: "Tyler Cohen is a pro at tackling the sticky subjects of gender identity, sexuality, motherhood, and what exactly it means to be a girl. I've been a fan of her nuanced comics and surreal illustrations for years, and I'm glad to see them collected in a book."

[Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Engaging memoir about queer parenting, identity, race and sexuality, interspersed with fantastical sequences about the author's other creation, the Primazons. The Primazons are a tribal society, most of whom appear to be female and all of whom have faces like early masks and possess no clothing. They engage in their own activities after each section on Cohen's parenting adventures, sometime tying the the text together, sometimes as an interlude. I liked the artwork and found the story telling held together quite well for me. If you looking for a gift for the new (or not so new), queer parent on your list, this is a fine choice. Recommended!

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tyler Cohen is an artist/cartoonist with a singular, unique vision. As Roberta Gregory states in her introduction, "(Cohen's) artwork and storytelling would never be mistaken for anyone else's." This first collection of Cohen's work is well-produced and beautifully crafted and edited, resulting in a full out Artist's Statement on womanhood, motherhood, feminism, & sexuality and gender, that is both thoughtful and entertaining without being didactic/preachy. Brava!

[Maia · Rating 4 out of 5]

A set of wonderful, queer, feminist tales of mothering a wild daughter. I started reading this book while on the bus and became so engrossed I missed my stop. Highly recommend!