That’s not to say there are no comics that touch on this horror theme (amusingly enough, one of the biggest offenders of the gender-switch-for-humor theme did briefly give us a glimpse of the less pleasant aspects of gender-swaps). Unfortunately, I can’t give a full review on She !s me! (Oh no! I’m a girl!) for one fundamental reason: the comic is in German. And my grasp of the German language is limited to a bare dozen words (considering I flunked out of it in high school, along with Spanish, French, and eventually Latin). Fortunately, the first seven chapters have been translated into English, for those of us who either proved inept at learning German, or who never had the opportunity.

First, I have to state this: the navigation system is suboptimal. If you have JavaScript disabled on your computer, you’ll be forced to open each thumbnail independently, and then back out of the image to go to the next. I suspect this is an aspect of the webcomic service that S!M is a part of, but I must say that not everyone will realize this is a JavaScript issue and could just give up on the comic. (Hell, it took me a while to realize that NoScript was preventing the system from operating properly, and I’m used to the quirks of the system. Some people may not even realize their system has JavaScript disabled.)

The comic itself takes a refreshingly honest look at the psychological aspects of an unwanted gender change, and as more than just the psychology of transsexualism. While S!M does indulge in some traditions found in many TG comics (such as the protagonist taking time to “explore” her new body, though the screen is blacked out in both the original German and in the translated comic, and the character refreshingly feels sickened afterward at what “she” did), the story also follows some realistic progressions: the protagonist decides to “sleep it off” at first only to wake up still a girl, and she even contemplates suicide but botches the job. When she tells someone she trusts about what happened, the response is also refreshingly honest, with the doctor in question refusing to believe and accusing her of being involved in a prank.

Sadly, the German-to-English translation has only been of the first 131 comics; there’s over 400 additional comics in German that have not been translated. As the last update in the English-language section was over two years ago, I suspect we won’t be seeing updates for English readers anytime soon (unless someone were to volunteer to do the translation and alter the existing text bubbles). That said, S!M is a refreshing and disturbing examination of what would happen if a gender transformation occurred in real life, and (assuming you activate JavaScript for the site so you can use the comic’s navigation) one I recommend reading.

Lizzy stands out from its brethren through its use of Flash animation. While other comics have experimented with HTML coding (like Damonk’s surreal comic Framed!!! did eight years ago) or shifting beyond the fourth wall (the most recent updates at Footloose are a prime example), there are few Flash comics out there. Fortunately for those readers on dial-up or with a slow DSL connection, the comics are included in a non-flash format. Naturally, a lot of the impact is lost with the JPEG comic; readers are also forced to travel through the Flash pages to reach non-Flash content, but the pages load considerably faster than the Flash content.

The main character of Lizzy is a young lady (named, naturally enough, Lizzy) who is looking forward to moving away from her home to New Urbia City, a megalopolis that can be viewed via telescope due to the vagaries of the world Remco “ChainiaC” Ketting dreamed up of. From the very start, when three teens drug Lizzy so to “have their way” with Lizzy, the comic proves to be for the less squeamish out there. (Needless to say, this comic is Not Safe For Work or for children.) Lizzy does escape being raped thanks to some not-benign rescuers who are apparently experimenting on the girl without her knowledge. From there, things take a decidedly bizarre turn with a combination of hallucinations and dreams that not only promise to puzzle readers, but leave Lizzy’s own experimenters scratching their heads as well.

If I were feeling charitable, I’d describe Lizzy as a deconstruction of the Cyberpunk genre. I’m going to be more honest; Lizzy often feels like it skirts the edge of a bad drug trip. There are several scenes where I’m unsure if the main character is hallucinating, displaced in time, or being made to see things. Her finding a band of misfits to join up with and befriend would smack of Mary Suedom if Lizzy weren’t so refreshingly flawed. (As an aside, I must applaud ChainiaC for his design of Lizzy; she’s short, plump, and fairly plain-looking. That alone would help this comic stand out from so many of its brethren.)

While the story in Lizzy feels slapdash at times and tends toward the confusing more often than not, ChainiaC deserves full kudos for his artwork. While the backgrounds tend to be somewhat minimalistic more often than not, his work on character designs is phenomenal. Each character shown has proven to be fairly unique in body-type, posture, and even to some extent facial features, rather than carbon copies only identifiable through hair and clothes. While the comic is admittedly better read in Flash, there’s enough to the story and characters that both formats are enjoyable.

I’m making an exception for the graphic novel reMIND as cartoonist Jason Brubaker (who is a professional storyboard artist and compositor who has worked on over a dozen major films and in print comics) is documenting the process of creating this graphic novel and giving some excellent advice that both print and web cartoonists will find helpful. While the comic aspect of reMIND has only had fifteen updates, each update is a double-page spread that tells a story that is graphically pleasing and quickly catches your interest even as it gradually builds the story and setting.

The comic is about Sonja, a young lady inventor whose cat Victuals goes missing one day… and turns up a week later with the ability to talk, manipulate objects with his paws, and comprehend things. As there have been only fifteen updates, it’s difficult to determine the gist of the story, but it appears to involve stories of lizard men (in what is either a contemporary fantasy or science fiction setting), missing animals, odd bubbling waters, and the uplift of at least one feline. From what Brubaker has said in his blog, I half-suspect that Victuals is the real protagonist of the story, and that Sonja will be playing more of a narrative role in telling Victual’s tale.

While the comic itself promises to be a fascinating tale well worth reading (both in a virtual format and when Brubaker eventually has it published), it is the research Brubaker has compiled and documented that I suspect many web cartoonists will find of use, both for online venues and for possible print compilations. Brubaker has done a considerable amount of research on creating graphic novels, including coloring processes, outsourcing segments of the art to reduce time spent (such as flatting colors, which can save cartoonists a couple of hours), lettering and font creation, and on internet resources that web cartoonists will find useful.

This research also includes information on promoting graphic novels (and by extension, webcomics), the use of advertising, and on active forum communities that may be of use for artists. What’s more, Brubaker also talked about a problem common with many internet resources; the majority of internet resources are out-of-date and in some cases obsolete. While the majority of this information was gathered with an eye toward getting a graphic novel into print, much of it can be adapted to web cartoonists who have no intent on print publication, either due to the animated aspects of their work or the limitations found in print venues.

What makes reMIND so effective is the marriage of comic and resources. There are a number of webcomic resources out there; some of them are even updated regularly. Likewise there is a growing number of webcomics that use blogging formats to allow the cartoonists to talk about their work and what went into each update. The marriage of these two helps show how this information can be used by creators, and allow readers to learn a little of what goes into creating a webcomic. Add in the fact that reMIND is an artistically skilled work that shows considerable storytelling promise, and you have a comic that is worth reading to both creators and fans alike.