Follow TV Tropes

Following

Webcomic / Between the Lines (2006)

Go To

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/yinandyangsmall_798.jpg

Between The Lines is a comic about a group of transgender teens. Main characters, Shay and Dani must simultaneously navigate the challenges of adolescence, while also dealing with complicated issues related to gender and identity.

The author has decided to discontinue the webcomic, but is planning to publish the series in a graphic novel. The webcomic pages can be found on their DeviantArt. As of March 2015, the strip is on hiatus and while it is unknown when it will continue, the author has stated that the comic hasn't been scrapped and that she's planning to work on different projects for the time being, although there has been hints on her Facebook page and Tumblr throughout the year about thecomic.

For the British Internal Affairs police procedural of the same title, see Between the Lines (1992). For the comic strip of the same name, see Between the Lines (2011)


Tropes:

  • Abusive Parents: Dani has parents of this kind.
  • All There in the Manual: Several characters that have not yet been introduced have art with names tagged to them on several extra areas of the comic site.
  • Attempted Suicide: Dani attempted but survived.
  • Cast Full of Gay: So far there are three reoccurring trans girls, one minor trans girl, and one cis lesbian.
  • Continuity Reboot: The comic was changed three times throughout its run. The first chapter started in 2006, although most of it was lost, excluding three pages. Then it was rebooted into 4 new chapters between 2007-2011, to which Chapter 4 was never completely finished. Between Late July and Early August of 2014, 7 pages for the new reboot were released online. As of March 2015, the series has been placed on hiatus.
  • Innocently Insensitive: On the first page of Chapter Four, Dani calls Shay an "Anglo-Latino", to which she notes that she's offended. Dani apologizes afterwards. Early on in the first chapter, Savvas (Also Dani previously) mentions that Shay bleached her skin (Given that she enjoys anything Japanese) and notes that her skin looks blotchy. Cut to Shay looking visibly annoyed.
  • Parental Fashion Veto: Shay's parents disapprove of her clothes both because they're girl's clothes and because they're too revealing for a thirteen year old.
  • Perky Goth: Pretty much all the characters are goth and most are as happy as any teenager. Dani is the main exception but she certainly has her reasons to be moody. Her gender dysphoria, abusive parents, lack of friends, and the fact she's bullied even cause her to attempt suicide.
  • Self-Harm: It's been implied that Dani has cut herself in the past and is eventually shown to be doing in at the end of the Third Chapter.
  • Slice of Life: Unlike other transgender-focused webcomics, this strip is much more down to earth and takes its issues seriously, with limited amount of humor.
  • Trans Equals Gay: Dani thought she was a gay boy before coming to terms with being trans. She's confused about her sexuality but leans on "male attracted". Shay also thought beforehand that she was at most merely Camp Gay when she was still referred to as "Kevin", given the way she acted and dressed, until a conversation with her sister Carrie about her having feelings as a girl when she was younger proved otherwise . Afterwards, she had a moment of epiphany
    Kevin: (Before she was referred to as Shay) "This event just left me more confused. I really didn't know if I could believe it; all I can remember is whenever I expressed any feminine tendencies my mom always had something negavite ta say about it... I just sat there in my sisters room. Sitting and staring at the nail polish I felt... Alone. Utterly Alone."
  • Troubling Unchildlike Behavior: At age 13 the protagonists both exhibit this. Dani is implied to be sexually active and has used drugs while Shay dresses in a manner which makes her mother uncomfortable. Doesn't help to mention that this around the time Shay's parents were going through a nasty divorce and the father tried to used this against Shay's mother in court.

Alternative Title(s): Between The Lines

Top