Diane DiMassa
Encyclopedia
Diane DiMassa is an American
feminist
author and cartoonist
. Her works include comics
, illustrations, and a graphic novel
. She is best known for the character Hothead Paisan, Homicidal Lesbian Terrorist.
explosion which happened in the early 1990s, and instantly snared a loyal cult following. DiMassa published Hothead Paisan from 1991–1996; the whole series has been collected into the anthology The Complete Hothead Paisan, published by Cleis Press
. It contains all 21 issues, plus 20 extra pages. (The original issues are still available on the Hothead Paisan website.)
Hothead Paisan is rage therapy for the marginalized and disaffected, the fed up,and anyone sickened by society's ills. Her readers comprise a full spectrum of gender, orientation, race and class. Hothead literally started out as journal material to vent and deal with anger issues by DiMassa when first entering into drug and alcohol recovery. The first issue, published as a mini-comic, was twelve pages long and elicited a roaring response, giving rise to the ongoing series, and soon after, a line of merchandise called "Groovy Crapola" which included shirts, mugs, hats, rubber stamps, etc.
Hothead has no filter and reacts viscerally and violently to the injustices of the world. Her acting out of the fantasies that "normal" people have but would never act on holds her appeal; she does it for us unapologetically and uproariously. Her cat Chicken brings in a more spiritual, wise (and wise-cracking) element. Hothead's best friend Roz is an older psychic blind woman who is a pacifist and almost endlessly patient with Hothead. These and other characters make Hothead Paisan a well-rounded experience which speaks to the many facets of the reader's emotional landscape.
In 2002, a candy bar
named after Hothead Paisan — the "Homicidal Lesbian Terrorist" booster bar — sold out quickly in San Francisco, where DiMassa was living at the time.
, along with Freddie Baer (AK Press, 1995); My Gender Workbook by Kate Bornstein
; and Sexing the Body by Anne-Fausto Sterling. DiMassa illustrated Jokes and the Unconscious, a graphic novel written by poet and writer Daphne Gottlieb
, which was published by Cleis Press
in 2006.
DiMassa has contributed to numerous comic/literary anthologies from the early 1990s to the present, the most recent being Live Through This (Seven Stories Press), which is a collection of prose and art by women describing the role that art has played in dealing with issues such as addiction.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
feminist
Feminism
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
author and cartoonist
Cartoonist
A cartoonist is a person who specializes in drawing cartoons. This work is usually humorous, mainly created for entertainment, political commentary or advertising...
. Her works include comics
Comics
Comics denotes a hybrid medium having verbal side of its vocabulary tightly tied to its visual side in order to convey narrative or information only, the latter in case of non-fiction comics, seeking synergy by using both visual and verbal side in...
, illustrations, and a graphic novel
Graphic novel
A graphic novel is a narrative work in which the story is conveyed to the reader using sequential art in either an experimental design or in a traditional comics format...
. She is best known for the character Hothead Paisan, Homicidal Lesbian Terrorist.
Hothead Paisan
Hothead Paisan made its debut in 1991, and was initially published four times a year by Giant Ass Publishing (Stacy Sheehan and Diane DiMassa). The series was part of an underground 'zineZine
A zine is most commonly a small circulation publication of original or appropriated texts and images. More broadly, the term encompasses any self-published work of minority interest usually reproduced via photocopier....
explosion which happened in the early 1990s, and instantly snared a loyal cult following. DiMassa published Hothead Paisan from 1991–1996; the whole series has been collected into the anthology The Complete Hothead Paisan, published by Cleis Press
Cleis Press
Cleis Press is an independent publisher of books in the areas of sexuality, erotica, feminism, gay and lesbian studies, gender studies, fiction, and human rights. The press was founded in 1980 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, later moved to San Francisco, and is now based out of Berkeley, CA...
. It contains all 21 issues, plus 20 extra pages. (The original issues are still available on the Hothead Paisan website.)
Hothead Paisan is rage therapy for the marginalized and disaffected, the fed up,and anyone sickened by society's ills. Her readers comprise a full spectrum of gender, orientation, race and class. Hothead literally started out as journal material to vent and deal with anger issues by DiMassa when first entering into drug and alcohol recovery. The first issue, published as a mini-comic, was twelve pages long and elicited a roaring response, giving rise to the ongoing series, and soon after, a line of merchandise called "Groovy Crapola" which included shirts, mugs, hats, rubber stamps, etc.
Hothead has no filter and reacts viscerally and violently to the injustices of the world. Her acting out of the fantasies that "normal" people have but would never act on holds her appeal; she does it for us unapologetically and uproariously. Her cat Chicken brings in a more spiritual, wise (and wise-cracking) element. Hothead's best friend Roz is an older psychic blind woman who is a pacifist and almost endlessly patient with Hothead. These and other characters make Hothead Paisan a well-rounded experience which speaks to the many facets of the reader's emotional landscape.
In 2002, a candy bar
Candy bar
A chocolate bar is a confection in bar form comprising some or all of the following components: cocoa solids, cocoa butter, sugar, milk. The relative presence or absence of these components form the subclasses of dark chocolate, milk chocolate, and white chocolate. In addition to these main...
named after Hothead Paisan — the "Homicidal Lesbian Terrorist" booster bar — sold out quickly in San Francisco, where DiMassa was living at the time.
Other work
DiMassa illustrated the Pussycat Fever chapbook by the late Kathy AckerKathy Acker
Kathy Acker was an American experimental novelist, punk poet, playwright, essayist, postmodernist and sex-positive feminist writer. She was strongly influenced by the Black Mountain School, William S...
, along with Freddie Baer (AK Press, 1995); My Gender Workbook by Kate Bornstein
Kate Bornstein
Kate Bornstein is a Jewish-American author, playwright, performance artist, and gender theorist.-Biography:Born in Neptune City, New Jersey, Bornstein studied Theater Arts with John Emigh and Jim Barnhill at Brown University . Bornstein joined the Church of Scientology but later became...
; and Sexing the Body by Anne-Fausto Sterling. DiMassa illustrated Jokes and the Unconscious, a graphic novel written by poet and writer Daphne Gottlieb
Daphne Gottlieb
Daphne Gottlieb is a Queer San Francisco-based Performance Poet. She is the author of Final Girl , Why Things Burn , Pelt and Kissing Dead Girls She is the editor of Homewrecker: An Adultery Reader and Fucking Daphne: Mostly True Stories...
, which was published by Cleis Press
Cleis Press
Cleis Press is an independent publisher of books in the areas of sexuality, erotica, feminism, gay and lesbian studies, gender studies, fiction, and human rights. The press was founded in 1980 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, later moved to San Francisco, and is now based out of Berkeley, CA...
in 2006.
DiMassa has contributed to numerous comic/literary anthologies from the early 1990s to the present, the most recent being Live Through This (Seven Stories Press), which is a collection of prose and art by women describing the role that art has played in dealing with issues such as addiction.