“BITCHY”

Bitchy “Strip of the Month,” from Bitchy Strips

From Bitchy Strips, a collection of weekly comic strips that ran for two years or so (until I got tired of drawing them) in Seattle Weekly, Portland’s Willamette Week, and other papers.

I will put new strips up on this page, uhmmm... periodically, but the book is still available (and only $7) if you want to read them all at once. They are hilarious, were great fun to draw (hopefully it shows!), and are a good introduction to my notorious “Bitchy Bitch” character!

FOR PREVIOUS BITCHY STRIPS, CHECK OUT THE ARCHIVE!

MEET BITCHY BITCH, my most well-known cartoon character: a short-tempered, foul-mouthed middle-aged  “everywoman.”  When I first started drawing her about 20 years ago, many of my readers were put off by her harshness, the frankness (and dark humor) of the stories and the scratchy artwork. Soon, most of my readers became Bitchy’s fans! She did start out as a one-note joke, but went on to star in 40 issues of my Naughty Bits comic books  and several trade paperback collections (published by Fantagraphics until 2005) with a storyline that made her into a very human character, through all the stages of her life-- people still write to me saying they miss her! Fortunately, I am writing (and will hopefully soon draw) an original graphic novel starring Bitchy. So, be patient....

I loved writing and drawing these stories--I don’t always like my artwork, but there was no way to draw Bitchy ‘wrong.” Plus, I had a blast letting my sense of humor run riot in stories dealing with many things people “don’t talk about”-- which I thought were hilarious. I got several Eisner (comics industry award) nominations for the stories in the series’ early days, so I was not the only one having fun with Bitchy!

Menopause? BRING IT ON, says Bitchy!

Besides the Bitchy  comics stories, which were also published in collections in France, Germany, Spain and Sweden, Bitchy has starred in stage plays in Seattle (three separate productions in the year 1995 alone, with the talented Maggie Bloodstone portraying Bitchy with passion!) and several animated cartoons, (“Bitchy Bits” shorts and the series “Life’s a Bitch”) produced by Cinemaria and broadcast on Oxygen Network and internationally--unfortunately they are currently not available on DVD.

However, almost all of the comic books ARE still available, some in limited quantity, (mainly from me) and most of the trade paperback collections are available too, also mostly from me-- see BUY ROBERTA’S BOOKS. Many of the stories are not for the faint of heart, or easily offended, but I think these are some of the best stories I have written, and years later, they still make me laugh. I hope it’s OK to say that!

Excerpt from the last Bitchy story, just for now (issue #40, 2004). Young Midge (her “real name”) has her first period, in the 1960s. At the end of the story, Adult Midge realizes she’s had her last!  Women appreciate my humorous take on “girl stuff” --and many male readers have expressed their appreciation of my reader-friendly window into, ummm... “girl stuff” as well! (Click on first page to enlarge story.)

Bitchy decides she is going to eat “healthier” from now on, at least in theory....