Comedian has never been shy about allowing her personal life to become an element in her work—whether it’s her numerous stand-up albums where she talks candidly, and hilariously, about struggles with mental illness, or her recent memoir, . Now, Bamford has teamed up with her husband, artist Scott Marvel Cassidy, for a new graphic novel, , which tells the story of their relationship through the eyes of the many dogs (mostly elderly, mostly very good boys and girls) that the couple has shared together. Drawn by Cassidy, and published this week by FantaGraphics, the book is a lovely, digression-filled expression of the couple’s relationship, and their shared, hilarious love of candor.
Last month, we sat down for a conversation with Bamford and Cassidy about the book, the issues that crop up when half of a couple has already exposed the vast majority of her dirty laundry on albums and YouTube, and the inspirational power of an extremely chill senior dog. Well, the dogs come first, in our lives, don’t you think? You come first! Awwwwwwww. But, you know, they’re very important members of our family.
It was deliberate, the presentation. That title page is a little corny, and a little funny, as a way to present what you’re about to read. Oh, yeah, it was always the dogs, because we have ongoing narratives that all the dogs are saying to us at any given time, and we have all the different voices, and some of it got pretty intense and funny.
You give voices to your animals,.