604 SUMMER OF LOVE, THE
of the fi nal printed art appear to be hand rendered. Th is is signifi cant in that Drechsler
began using a precision tool, the computer, with her subsequent commercial artwork.
Th e appearance of handwork also reinforces the childlike (though not childish)
nature of the art, reinforcing the intimacy of the narrative. As is the case in Barry’s
work, the story is concerned with the emotional state of its protagonist, and told in
omniscient fi rst person and past tense. Th e narrative parts company with Barry’s work
in its addressing of teenage concerns, where Barry’s characters were slightly younger for
the majority of her primary work, Ernie Pook’s Comeek. Drechsler has cited Barry as
her primary infl uence in comics (Comics Journal 249). Th e tone of Th e Summer of Love
is also reminiscent of the 1995 fi lm Welcome to the Dollhouse, in that both works are
unrelenting in their depiction of the traumas of female adolescence.
Th e title of Th e Summer of Love has two signifi cant references. It refers to a teenage
girl’s fi rst exposure to the myriad forms of physical love and sexuality. It also refers to
its setting in the year 1967. In Th e Summer of Love, ninth-grader Lily is confronted
with moving, the need for isolation, her own sexual awakenings, and her sister Pearl’s
experimentation with lesbianism. Th is confrontation is presented externally more
than internally. While readers are privy to Lily’s thoughts, the story is driven more by
actions than reactions. Several introspective moments, such as the fi nal two panels of
Book Th ree, are wordless. Th e reader is left to infer Lily’s thoughts in these situations
rather than being told those thoughts outright. Th is increases the level of involvement
with Lily, requiring the reader to sort through the character’s feelings in the complex
situation along with the character.
Era-specifi c icons permeate the narrative. Th e boys in the neighborhood have a ga-
rage band that plays ersatz psychedelic rock. Th e eponymous Jeff erson Airplane album
is new, and a topic of conversation. Th e girls wear granny dresses, miniskirts, beehive
hairdos, and cutoff s. Th e boys sport short hair, but there are hints of the length chang-
ing. Th ese trappings have an air of authenticity, consistent with Drechsler’s age. She was
14 in 1967, so it is clear that she is versed through personal experience in the motif of
the era, though she has never claimed Th e Summer of Love as autobiography or memoir;
but her age does speak directly to the authenticity of her depiction of the period.
However, this is not a simple period piece. Th e period trappings are just that, and no
more: the real focus is on Lily’s personal experience, not her historical context. While
this work can be distinguished from Drechsler’s previous graphic novel Daddy’s Girl by
its calmer demeanor and subject matter (Daddy’s Girl was a story of incest), it maintains
the sense of urgency of its predecessor, despite the comparatively tame subject matter.
Th e placidity of the subject matter is deceptive. Th e reader is taken with Lily on her
missteps through the treacherous path of ninth grade and its betrayals, nuanced, and
contradictory relationships.
Lily’s experiences are not ominous or threatening in the sense of suspense or terror.
However, the level of empathy created by this approach is consistent with a neglected
aspect of events in the comic book marketplace of the time. Self-published zines bur-
geoned in the early 1990s. Many of these were by young women, and were published
