?I?m so excited to be a professor at large! Kind of like a serial killer,? cartoonist Alison Bechdel said during her talk Feb. 11. Bechdel was recently inducted into the James Marsh Professor at Large program, which brings internationally distinguished individuals to campus. Throughout the talk, Bechdel spoke on her comics and newest memoirs. She also gave a demonstration on the process of putting together a comic strip.Bechdel said that she began the comic strip ?Dykes to Watch Out For? shortly after realizing that she was a lesbian and that she could combine her talents as a writer and artist.Bechdel said that she made no attempt to hide any part of her life or her beliefs, often finding inspiration from the quote ?political is personal.?Her first memoir, ?Fun Home,? was published in 2006. The book was highly personal, as it told the story of her dad, who had never made peace with his own sexuality, she said.Throughout the book, Bechdel focuses on the similarities and differences of the two of them growing up gay.She also mentioned the haunting guilt that her own coming out at the age of 18 may have contributed to her father?s suicide.?I?m reading her book in class and it?s really inspiring to meet her in person,? senior Jennifer Dunn said.In the wake of the memoir?s success, Bechdel began writing a book about her mom called ?Are You My Mother??Bechdel had meant for the book to be about her past girlfriends, but found it evolving to be more about the very foundations of relationships and eventually her relationship with her mom.She also spoke about the repercussions of publishing such personal stories. However, Bechdel said she never wanted to fictionalize any of it, feeling that real people have a bigger impact. The talk ended with a short question and answer session, where Bechdel admitted to working on another project, but refused to give more details.