So we’ve spent the last two months of the Heroes Discussion Group “on the continent” with Brits Moore and Gibbons on “Watchmen” followed by Italian master Gipi’s Notes For a War Story. It was an entertaining and enlightening sojourn but now it is time to come home….

Please join us on October 13 at 7:00pm in the back of Heroes for a lively discussion that will center on Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic. This is the graphic novel that Time Magazine named number one of its “10 Best Books of the Year” for 2006. Not number one graphic novel or comic, but number one BOOK OF THE YEAR!

Topic will include, but certainly will not be limited to the following:

—The role of the narrator in autobiography?
—Where does autobiography end and biographical fiction begin?
—How does Ms Bechdel’s cartoony style affect the story and the reader?
—How do any pre-conceived notions of the book or the genre affect your reading experience?
–Lastly, but certainly not least: With all the awards this book has garnered, do you feel the urge to overly criticize books like Fun Home, Persepolis and Maus since they seem to be so universally lauded?

I am really excited–more so than usual. And don’t forget, after we analyze the book on Monday evening , we will have not one but two opportunities to get the author’s take on our discussions: the following Friday (Oct 17), Heroes will be hosting Alison Bechdel and Harvey Pekar in a store signing, from 4 to 5.30 pm. AND at 7pm that night, the two incredibly acclaimed graphic novelists will appear at the ImaginOn uptown as part of the Novello Festival. Tickets for that lecture are on sale at Heroes for $15 apiece, although the comic store appearance is free. You can also purchase tickets through the Novello website!