I never got to read Doucet in a dedicated fashion, but saw bits and pieces enough to recognize her style instantly.

While I was disappointed not to see more of her work reprinted in this book, that quickly faded. Moore describes strips well and the book was a great read. The critical treatment was done extremely well and I didn't want to put the book down once I started it. Moore's writing is accessible, funny, and her knowledge is wide enough to cover a lot of ground in a short book.

Recommended for anyone who was into alternative/underground comics in the 1990s. ( )

Although I am a fan of feminist comics and graphics novels, and wanted to learn about Julie's work as I was unfamiliar with it, I could not get beyond the Introduction. The style, tone, and, particularly, the use of the intro as more of an autobiography of the critic rather than outlining the artist under scrutiny, left me uninterested. Paging through the rest of the book, what stood out to me was a lot of description of Julie's works but not as much analysis as expected. There are a few examples of Julie's graphics scattered throughout as well as direct quotes via an interview (included in Appendix A). Alas, this one did not resonate with me.

My review copy of this book comes courtesy of LibraryThing Early Reviewers. ( )

I'm going to be frank; I briefly flipped through the book instead of reading it, mostly to get an idea if it was something I really wanted to sit down and fully put my energy into. I can't say it is, but one thing that does stand out to me is that it's a book discussing a cartoonist without really showing us any of her art. There are a few panels sprinkled in the book, but for someone who has no idea who Julie Doucet is, there's very little to show us. I would recommend it if they know the artist and are a fan, but for those of us who aren't, it's rather like trying to describe work to the blind.

Despite my converging interests in comics and feminism, I'd never encountered Julie Doucet's work. If Anne Elizabeth Moore's critical survey of Doucet's oeuvre had done nothing more than introduce me to such phenomenal comics as "My Most Secret Desire" and "My New York Diary," I'd consider it time well spent. But Moore's book offer so much more - it's funny, sharp, and insightful, grappling with Doucet's place in the male-dominated space of 80s/90s indie comics and situating her within a cultural web of woman artists. Moore's fandom for Doucet's work is obvious throughout, but it never distorts her vision - she writes with clear eyes and an unrelenting intellect. Highly recommended for anyone interested in indie comics and zine culture. ( )

I'm only withholding a fifth star because, admittedly, the works of Julie Doucet and the 80's zine-comic scene were entirely unfamiliar to me before reading "Sweet Little Cunt". Without prior context, it took me some time to really get into reading the book and it started off feeling almost clinical. Having said that, Anne Elizabeth Moore has done a wonderful job in putting forth how important Doucet was in regards to female comic artists and even underground comic artists in general. For one like myself, with little to no exposure to the genre/artist, Moore's writing can seem a bit too praising at times.I thought it was simply her dumping the praise onto Doucet, but within a chapter, I was able to tell it was a profound respect for Doucet's work and achievements. Moore writes about Doucet the same way a literature professor would talk about Shakespeare. If you have even a glimmer of interest in Doucet or zine comics at all, this book will be like having a detailed discussion with an impassioned fan. That makes it easy to read if you have that glimmer, but a bit tough if you do not.

Moore's choice to split chapters into titles like "Imagined Self", "Real Self", and "Not-Self-At-All" is very fitting to the heavier themes in Doucet's comics and a nice touch. I also think putting two interviews at the end of the book serves well to give the reader some direct insight from Doucet herself; it's not all filtered through Moore's interpretations. As I'm unfamiliar with Doucet's works, I'd have liked a few more comics to be sprinkled throughout the book, but what ones are included are likely enough for anyone reading it that knows her work. This is a must buy for anyone that's a fan of Julie Doucet's comics and a should buy for anyone with an interest in underground comics. I was glad to get the chance to learn about Julie Doucet and appreciate how deeply Moore explores her works. ( )