Trans Webcomics? huh?

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Well, it’s one of those special times for me that pretty much every transwoman goes through. Suddenly we feel like we’re growing in to this fat, hairy blob of man that crashes through buildings shouting “Don’t look at me!”. It’s all in our heads, but it’s a shitty thing to deal with that can be set off by nothing at all. Walking down the street and seeing a girl, talking to another transwoman friend, seeing an ad…all set something off and we go in to this poor self-esteem thing. I find it weird that we have enough bravery to face our confusions head on and do something about it but when we see a woman with a 26” waist be incredibly happy, our day is ruined.

It’s times like this where I like to look at the lighter side of being trans. Where I can laugh a little about what I’m going through as well as empathize with a character. It’s times like this where I open up my “bookmarks” folder in firefox and pull out the trans webcomics I have listed.

Trans webcomics are one of the few things out there that not many people know about. There’s a couple of reasons for that. The big one is that there are only maybe a dozen or so out there whereas the GLB comics are almost infinite (see Prism Comics at www.prismcomics.org for some great LGBT comics). And even then only a few of that dozen are any good. The other reason is that none of them advertise on any sites that aren’t other trans webcomic sites. I had to search for a good long while before I found one and their links page provided a good list to go through. Another kind of crummy thing is that only two or three do any updates anymore. It’s understandable though, since they all do this for free and have lives to live and bills to pay.

Here’s a list of a couple of good trans web comics:

Venus Envy (http://venusenvy.comicgenesis.com/) One of the most well-drawn trans comics out there. Creator Erin Lindsey is currently back from about a year’s hiatus and is posting semi-regularly. This is by far my favorite trans web comic out there. Lots of laughs, tears, and “hey, I feel like that too!” moments.

Transe-Generation (http://www.transe-generation.com/) I always manage to have a good laugh while going through the archives of Matt Nishi’s comic. He updates usually once a week. Some good lines Like: “Why do you want to lose your penis?” “because I don’t want to be a dick like you.”. The strips can be pretty hit and miss, but it’s still good.

Closet Space (http://www.dolari.org/cs/) I’ll be honest…I’m really not a fan of this comic for several reasons that I won’t bring up here. The only reason I’m mentioning this one is because the creator Jenn Dolari started up the Trans Webcomic Day Of Remembrance (http://www.dolari.org/dor/) which every year brings together web comic creators of all kinds (not just trans) to create a strip under whatever theme she decides. Like the Day Of Remembrance itself, it’s not full of laughter, sunshine and happiness. Just respectful contemplation

Lean On Me (http://jadaze.comicgenesis.com) One of the oldest trans web comics I’ve been able to find. It’s a pretty cute little comic from what I’ve read.

Second Stage (http://secondstage.comicgenesis.com) No longer running, but the archives are great to go through. Has some pretty funny nerdy jokes in it.

Grey Matters (http://greymatters.comicgenesis.com) Creator Loren Coven has taken to drawing her characters naked whilst on a hiatus, but the archives are always fun to sift through.

My Life in Blue (http://mylifeinblue.comicgenesis.com) Well drawn, well written. All in all a beautiful comic with very dry humor that is sure to get a smile from you. Updates are pretty irregular.

Hopefully I’ve turned you on to what I think are some pretty nifty webcomics. And hey, you don’t have to be trans to enjoy them! In some of them the writing is fairly universal and being trans turns into barely a secondary thing (which is how I like it with trans-related stories).

Take care,

Lenore