Review by Frank Plowright

Girlsplaining collects comics originally produced for the Frankfurter Allgemeine newspaper, which means nothing in English, but which is a massive deal in Germany. It’s like having your comics commissioned by the Washington Post or The Times, with all the consequent acclaim.

Given that opportunity, Katja Klengel almost blows it with the first of seven chapters being a self-indulgent fantasy about the possibilities of an illustrated newspaper column, comparing herself to Carrie from Sex in the City. The drawing is cute, but the theme wears thin.

Thankfully it’s a false start, as when Klengel finds her niche she’s a constantly engaging companion offering thoughts via an appealing random process. Her specialist subject is topics concerning women still almost taboo, wittily and openly discussed accompanied by well considered illustrations prompting laughter, along the way serving up fine metaphors such as chocolate cake equating to a baby. You’ll only know if a slice of expensive chocolate cake is worth the price after you’ve taken the plunge, paid and consumed it. Be aware, though, that universal solutions to problems society poses aren’t on the agenda, just what works for Klengel.

She’s excellent at recontextualising illustrations. The cover illustration is first seen opening the third chapter, imaginatively titled ‘The Ghost of the Rusty Razor Blade’. When younger Klengel is the first of her peer group to grow pubic hair, and when she shows her friends they have varying opinions. When the picture is seen again a dozen pages later the point being made is completely changed. Klengel then reuses every subsequent illustration from the chapter accompanied by what she ought have said when younger. It’s simple, effective and very funny.

Klengel, though, is using humour as a weapon, pointing out how suppressing discussion of women’s body parts, and in worst cases demonising them – thank you, Sigmund Freud – continues to repress women as a whole. Her comparisons are so well conceived, reaching a peak with a series of cartoons about the vulva being compared to Harry Potter because it should never be named or discussed. One subject leads naturally to another, culminating in Klengel using her childhood dolls as models to illustrate the disturbing games she played when younger, although distressingly for a European graphic novel Lego is referred to as “Legos”.

Irrespective of your gender or sexual inclination, Girlsplaining is a solid dose of common sense and a barrel of laughs.