Hothead Paisan: Homicidal Lesbian Terrorist -- Diane DiMassa, Paperback

"Hothead is the backlash to the backlash." --Alison Bechdel

Hothead Paisan, a murderous icon of the '90s lesbian comics scene, comes roaring back into print in this fresh edition (including a new interview and supplemental materials) of one of the funniest, sharpest, and most unexpectedly warm comics of the late twentieth century, still as shocking today as it was more than two decades ago.

Hothead Paisan is an icon of the '90s lesbian DIY scene, a patron saint of those who wonder if going off the deep end is the only sane response to life in modern America.

Diane DiMassa's Hothead starts out in a murderous frenzy--taking out a variety of chauvinists and creeps--but soon deepens into a reflection on oppression, self-destruction, and living it up outside the conservative norms of the '90s. Hothead's rage is sometimes tempered with the help of Personality #2, her defensive inner demon; Roz, her friend who offers Zen wisdom and tough love; and Chicken, her cat and constant companion.

At long last, the most thoughtful homicidal maniac is back in print.

Author: Diane DiMassa
Publisher: New York Review Comics
Published: 08/26/2025
Pages: 456
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.81lbs
ISBN: 9781681378619

About the Author
Diane DiMassa is an American artist best known for her contributions to the alternative, feminist comic book sphere. She is the creator of the comic-zine Hothead Paisan: Homicidal Lesbian Terrorist, and has illustrated books such as Kathy Acker's Pussycat Fever, Kate Bornstein's My Gender Workbook, and Anne Fausto-Sterling's Sexing the Body: Gender Politics and the Construction of Sexuality. She lives in Bridgeport, Connecticut and San Francisco, California.

Sarah Schulman is a writer, activist, and historian. A recipient of both the Bill Whitehead Award and the Lambda Literary Award, she has published nearly a dozen works of fiction and several books of nonfiction, most recently the oral history Let the Record Show: A Political History of ACT UP New York, 1987-1993. She lives in New York City.

Jay Graham is a writer living in Brooklyn, New York.