Punked-Up Barbies and Stripped-Down Kens
I remember the first Barbie I decapitated. It was much more difficult to re-capitate her than I expected, but the whole experience made me feel delightfully bad. My sister and I gave our Barbies jagged haircuts, tattoos, and designed outfits for them out of Spider-Man Band-Aids. I’m sure we weren’t the only little terrors running around. Which limbs did you and your siblings enjoy pulling off the best?
Cartoonist Abby Denson has tapped into this world of made-over dolls and punked-up Barbies in her new graphic novel Dolltopia. Known for her queer comic Tough Love: High School Confidential, Abby Denson takes on non-conformity, freedom of self-expression, and issues like depression, plastic surgery, and gender roles in her newest bizarre venture. Illustrated in black and white (with splashes of pink), Dolltopia will delight the angsty, pimply pre-teen deep inside you. There are even rock n roll paper dolls designed into the cover flaps!
This Sunday night you are invited to the launch party at Wonderland Beauty Parlor featuring an art show, music, slide readings, local cupcakes, and even a doll contest. Creator of the coolest made-over doll wins a signed copy of Dolltopia, so get your dolls a-started! Drink up, dress up, and gallivant around in pleather and fluorescents to your heart’s content.