This Is She is a 40-page one-shot comic, written and illustrated by Kyra Kupetsky and published on November 7, 2019.
The story follows a 42-year-old woman named Mavis Orwell who lives on her own, unbetrothed and childless, and comes home every day to an empty house. However, one day she receives a phone call from a telemarketer by the name of Jean Williams, offering a marketing and enterpreneurial strategy course to Mavis.
As Mavis soon discovers, Jean is at the tail end of a long work day without even dinner, leading Mavis to happily sign up for the course for Jean's sake. From there on, Mavis comes home everyday excited for a phone call from Jean, and the two women start to form a special bond with each other...
The comic is free to read on Kupetsky's Twitter, here
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Tropes:
- Cannot Spit It Out: When Jean tries to confess to Mavis, she trips over her words and before she can say anything, her first idea is to ask Mavis if she ever thought she "[didn't] need a husband or a boyfriend", nervously stuttering along the way. Mavis happily accepts Jean's (attempt at a) confession, fortunately.
- Chubby Mama, Skinny Papa: A same-gender example. Mavis is a plump woman with a kind, maternal personality (something that doesn't go unnoticed by Jean), while Jean is a tall woman with her fair share of uptight Tsundere moments.
- Colour-Coded for Your Convenience: Mavis is associated with a pale aqua color, while Jean is associated with a light green.
- Crush Blush: Jean is very prone to this, especially in response to Mavis saying something kind to her.
- Fat and Skinny: Mavis has a chubby body type, and Jean is more on the tall and lanky side.
- '50s Hair: Mavis sports a curly, cartoon-y bouffant hair style, while Jean wears a Prim and Proper Bun with Bettie bangs, and later wears a high ponytail when she's in bed speaking to Mavis.
- Lipstick Lesbian: Applies to both Mavis and Jean, especially Mavis - both women are pretty feminine in their own rights, but Mavis' motherly personality is highlighted both by Jean and the narrative. Mavis and Jean are also both lesbians, and fall in love with each other.
- Married to the Job: Jean, but not actually by choice - at the start of the comic, she's forced to work ridiculously long hours because her boss won't let her sign off until she's brought in one more customer, and she isn't even allowed a food break. It does get better later once Mavis makes sure to check in on her every night.
- Minimalist Cast: There's only two characters, Mavis and Jean. Three if you count Jean's off-screen boss.
- Nice Guy: Mavis is a very kind woman - she goes out of her way to help Jean clock in at work, and makes sure she's well-fed. Jean even mistakenly assumes she's a sweet mother despite Mavis having no children, because of her warm-hearted disposition.
- Retraux: The comic is drawn in a style reminiscent of 50s-style flat design cartoons, and it even boils down to the objects the characters use - Mavis owns a Kit-Cat clock, for starters, and both Mavis and Jean use rotary phones to call each other.
- Split-Screen Phone Call: Often used throughout the comic, as much of the dialogue happens over the phone.
- Soul-Crushing Desk Job: Jean's telemarketing job isn't very accommodating, and at the start of the comic, she's forced to work overtime to try to clock in one more customer, without even getting dinner. Thankfully, this gets better as Mavis calls her everyday and reminds her to eat when she can.
- True Blue Femininity: Mavis, a woman with a kind and maternal disposition, is associated with a pale aqua color, from the color of her dress down to the panels she's in being colored pale aqua.
- Tsundere: Downplayed Harsh, with Jean. She tends to be a bit snippy, like when Mavis begins monologuing on their first call with each other, and when Mavis half-jokes that Jean is a "bad telemarketer", but it is justified in that Jean's working a job with very long hours, which tends to wear on her. However, the actuality is that she's a kind woman, and even has a few moments of Crush Blush when speaking to Mavis.
- White Collar Worker: Both Mavis and Jean work desk jobs, with Mavis working an accountant job, and Jean working in telemarketing. Mavis seems to be pretty content with her job, but Jean's work, well... let's just say it could be at least a little more accommodating, but she does make sure to take more breaks after she starts talking to Mavis.
