''Jane's World'' was a comic strip by cartoonist

Paige Braddock Paige Braddock is an American cartoonist best known for her Eisner-nominated comic strip, '' Jane's World'', the first gay-themed comic work to receive online distribution by a national media syndicate in the U.S. Braddock concluded the comic st ...

that ran from March 1998 to October 2018. Featuring lesbian and

bisexual Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, wh ...

women characters, the strip stars Jane Wyatt, a young lesbian living in a trailer in Northern California with her straight male roommate, Ethan, and follows her life with her circle of friends, romances, and exes. Shortly after celebrating its 20th anniversary, publication ended with Jane marrying Dorothy. The comic strip is notable for being the first gay-themed comic work to receive online distribution by a national newspaper

syndicate A syndicate is a self-organizing group of individuals, companies, corporations or entities formed to transact some specific business, to pursue or promote a shared interest. Etymology The word ''syndicate'' comes from the French word ''syndica ...

in the United States. In 2006, Paige Braddock was nominated for an

Eisner Award The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, are prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books, sometimes referred to as the comics industry's equivalent of the Academy Awards. They are named in ...

as Best Writer/Artist–Humor for ''Jane's World''.

Comic strip

Braddock created ''Jane's World'' so that women, particularly lesbians, would have a comic strip character that they could relate to, though it's meant to be accessible to a wider audience. Braddock devised Jane in 1991 but never actually put her onto paper until 1998, and began publishing on the Internet in late March. In 2001,

United Media United Media was a large editorial column and comic strip newspaper syndication service based in the United States, owned by the E. W. Scripps Company, that operated from 1978 to 2011. It syndicated 150 comics and editorial columns worldwide. Its ...

's Comics.com website picked up reprints of ''Jane's World'', making it the first gay-themed work to receive distribution by a national media syndicate. In April 2002, it was picked up for print syndication by United Media's

United Feature Syndicate United Feature Syndicate (UFS) is a large American editorial column and comic strip newspaper syndication service based in the United States and established in 1919. Originally part of E. W. Scripps Company, it was part of United Media (along ...

. They began publishing new works in 2007. In addition to web and newspaper publication, Braddock published the strip in a comic book format through her own publication house, "Girl Twirl Comics". The trade paperback versions feature covers created by different artists.

Characters

Jane's World characters are all friends, to various degrees, and romantic interests of Jane; along with the occasional ex-girlfriend, coworker, and boss in the mix.

Jane

The protagonist of ''Jane’s World'' is Jane Wyatt. Her middle name, Tiberius, was given by her dad, a

Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vario ...

fan. She is a white, soft butch, lesbian, who is in and out of jobs, in and out of housing, in and out of comical blunders and cosmic dimensions, and in and out of relationships. Jane has run-ins with exes as well as the

Log Cabin Republicans The Log Cabin Republicans (LCR) is an organization within the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party which advocates for equal rights for LGBT in the United States, LGBT+ Americans. History Log Cabin Republicans was founded in 1977 ...

, The Star League of

The Last Starfighter ''The Last Starfighter'' is a 1984 American space opera film directed by Nick Castle. The film tells the story of Alex Rogan ( Lance Guest), a teenager recruited by an alien defense force to fight in an interstellar war. It also features Rob ...

, Amazon Island,

zombies A zombie (Haitian French: , ht, zonbi) is a mythological undead corporeal revenant created through the reanimation of a corpse. Zombies are most commonly found in horror and fantasy genre works. The term comes from Haitian folklore, in which ...

, to name a few.

Rusty

Jane's mixed-breed dog. He has a brown ring around his left eye. The comic strip begins with a Rusty storyline that introduces Jane and her circle of friends and family.

Dorothy

Jane's best friend, and on-again, off-again girlfriend. Dorothy runs the coffee shop, Hard Drive Cafe, where many of the comic strip's plots take place. Unbeknownst to either of them, their mothers tried to play matchmakers and arranged for Jane and Dorothy to get together one evening. Things heated up between them but Jane became confused after Skye showed her some interest. The comic strip concludes with Jane and Dorothy getting married.

Ethan

Jane's

straight Straight may refer to: Slang * Straight, slang for heterosexual ** Straight-acting, an LGBT person who does not exhibit the appearance or mannerisms of the gay stereotype * Straight, a member of the straight edge subculture Sport and games * Str ...

male roommate and best dude. Their romantic relationships with women often get in the way of their friendship. Ethan has a gay brother named Julian.

Chelle

Chelle is visually reminiscent of Trinity in

The Matrix ''The Matrix'' is a 1999 science fiction film, science fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis. It is the first installment in The Matrix (franchise), ''The Matrix'' film series, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Car ...

. She rides a motorcycle, has a

special ops Special operations (S.O.) are military activities conducted, according to NATO, by "specially designated, organized, selected, trained, and equipped forces using unconventional techniques and modes of employment". Special operations may include ...

background, and a past she is trying to get away from. Despite her coolness, Chelle dates Jane, and remains a good friend post breakup.

Dorrie

Jane's co-worker at ''The Daily News'' and friend. Dorrie is African American, a lesbian, and has a crush on Chelle.

Archie

Jane's co-worker at ''The Daily News'' and friend. Archie is Asian American, straight, and is not amused by Jane's antics at work or in her relationships.

Skye

One of Jane's love interests who works at The Garden of Vegan diner. She unsuccessfully tries to get Jane to eat healthier while they're dating. She's also a surfer.

Jill

Chelle's on-again, off-again girlfriend. She was Chelle's former partner on the police force, and prior to that, a

United States Navy diver A United States Navy diver refers to a service personnel that may be a restricted fleet line (Engineering Duty) officer, civil engineer corps (CEC) officer, Medical Corps officer, or an enlisted (ND or HM rating) who is qualified in underwat ...

. She is often portrayed as Jane's nemesis. Jill never has a problem attracting women.

Talia

An ex-girlfriend of Jane's that pops in and out of the strip. She's bisexual and went to college with Jane.

Bud

Jane's laid-back cousin and car mechanic.

Shallow Breast Guy

Based on cartoonist

Stephan Pastis Stephan Thomas Pastis (; born January 16, 1968) is an American cartoonist and former lawyer who is the creator of the comic strip ''Pearls Before Swine''. He also writes children's chapter books, commencing with the release of ''Timmy Failure: ...

, creator of ''

Pearls Before Swine A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle) of a living shelled mollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pearl is composed of calcium carb ...

'', this character appears only occasionally as a breast-obsessed,

male Male (Mars symbol, symbol: ♂) is the sex of an organism that produces the gamete (sex cell) known as sperm, which fuses with the larger female gamete, or ovum, in the process of fertilization. A male organism cannot sexual reproduction, repro ...

. Shallow Breast Guy is drawn to look like Pastis. He once took control of the strip and drew ''Jane's World'' in the style of ''Pearls Before Swine'', endowing the women with large breasts and portraying them as hyper-sexualized, thereby earning his nickname. In turn, Pastis has featured Braddock's

wiener dog The dachshund ( or ; German: " badger dog"), also known as the wiener dog, badger dog, and sausage dog, is a short-legged, long-bodied, hound-type dog breed. The dog may be smooth-haired, wire-haired, or long-haired, and comes in a variety o ...

Andy Andy may refer to: People * Andy (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters *Horace Andy (born 1951), Jamaican roots reggae songwriter and singer born Horace Hinds *Katja Andy (1907–2013), German-American pianist and pian ...

(and, less frequently,

Olive The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'', meaning 'European olive' in Latin, is a species of small tree or shrub in the family Oleaceae, found traditionally in the Mediterranean Basin. When in shrub form, it is known as ''Olea europaea'' ...

) in his strip.

Books

*''Love Letters to Jane's World'', Lion Forge, 2018 *''Jane's World: The Case of the Mail Order Bride'', Bold Strokes Books, 2016 *''Jane's World, Volume 11'', Girl Twirl Comics, 2014 *''Jane's World, Volume 10, The New Frontier'', Girl Twirl Comics, 2011 *''Jane's World, Volume 9'', Girl Twirl Comics, 2009 *''Jane's World, Volume 8'', Girl Twirl Comics, 2008 *''Jane's World, Collection 1'' (first 15 issues), Girl Twirl Comics, 2007 *''Jane's World, Volume 7'', Girl Twirl Comics, 2007 *''Jane's World, Volume 6'', Girl Twirl Comics, 2006 *''Jane's World, Volume 5'', Girl Twirl Comics, 2006 *''Jane's World, Volume 4'', Girl Twirl Comics, 2006 *''Jane's World, Volume 3'', Girl Twirl Comics, 2005 *''Jane's World, Volume 2'', Girl Twirl Comics, 2004 *''Jane's World, Volume 1'', Girl Twirl Comics, 2003

References

External links

''Jane's World''
at

GoComics GoComics is a website launched in 2005 by the digital entertainment provider Uclick. It was originally created as a distribution portal for comic strips on mobile phones, but in 2006, the site was redesigned and expanded to include online strip ...

Paige Braddock's website
* * (book review) {{DEFAULTSORT:Jane's World 1998 webcomic debuts 2018 webcomic endings 1990s webcomics 2000s webcomics 2010s webcomics 1990s LGBT literature 2000s LGBT literature 2010s LGBT literature Comics about women Feminist comics Fictional lesbians Lesbian feminist mass media Lesbian fiction Lesbian-related comics LGBT-related webcomics Lesbian-related mass media in the United States LGBT literature in the United States