Archie???

This month's issue of Archie comics has an interesting theme.

I won't spoil the story, but everyone switches genders.  I won't say what happens then. 

Archie Comics have been on the cutting edge recently.  They featured a gay wedding.  They have an openly gay regular character.  They're featuring other cutting edge issues as well.  But that's not the point I'm here to make today.

The the first TG story I read was in a comic book, back in the 1980s.  It was a shock.  More like a Godsend, really.  Who was it?  Jimmy Olsen!  "Superman's favorite transvestite" according to Fred Hembeck.  That was the second time I saw that there were people who felt like I did.  (The first was a local TV news special report about the "Transsexual Dilemma.")  But there, in Hembeck's book (it's on that same link) I saw that someone else dressed as a woman.  At that time, I was dressing. 

Eventually, I was able to track down those issues on ebay. 

Also in the 1980s was the first comics mini-series: Camelot 3000.  In it, one of the knights was reincarnated as a woman.  Brian Bolland did the art and it's beautiful.  The story is great, butn their handling of Sir Tristan, while complex, is just a bit stereotyped.  This was reprinted as a book which is still available.

 In the early 90s, there was a series called Excalibur which featured a LOT of tg themes.  One character would change to a female crime lord.  In other issues the team would meet their female counterparts in a different dimension, etc. 

I also found a Cyberpunk role playing game (yes I'm a gaming geek) which had a sourcebook featuring TG characters.  This was based on a series of books.  The books themselves are written by George Alec Effinger, and the first is "When Gravity Fails."  (Which is also a line from a Bob Dylan song.)


Then in 1995, image comics did something they called "Babewatch."  All of their male characters changed to women.  I bought all the issues.  The art wasn't great, and frankly neiter were the stories.  But it was interesting to see how they handled "stereotypes."  Of interest is that one of the characters remains a woman...

I was finding more and more TG characters in comics.  (The website I've been linking to has a comprehensive list, btw.)

The first TG prose story I read was about Archie and company.  It was written by a great artist named Tebra.  She called it Riverdale Revisions and one of the characters undergoes the big change about a quarter of the way through the story.  I really enjoyed it, and it caused me to seek out other stories. 

And that brought me to an internet search in the early 2000s, where I found Fictionmania.  Thousands and thousands of stories.  I was stunned- and happy.

Now here's a key point- at this point I was still in denial.  I hadn't dressed since the 1980s.  And here I was researching TG fiction... and feeling guilty.  Right around then, I started becoming very depressed.  More so than usual.  I eventually ended up back in therapy.  I couldn't figure out what the source of the pain was. 

Then there was that fateful Halloween in 2008.  As my faithful readers may recall, that was my first time dressing as a woman since the 80s.  And everything clicked- this was what I was missing.  Then in December of that year, I had my first makeover.  Karen at Femme Fever made me up and when she was finished, turned the chair and introduced me to ME.  Sophie.

My first view of Myself.  Picture taken maybe 5 minutes after unvieling.

And I discovered Renaissance and Laptop Lounge: a Whole New World... and changed therapists to one that specialized in Transgender issues.

At my SECOND Laptop.  No pics of me exist from the first one, as I was wearing no makeup.

And figured out the source of my pain.

That I'm really a Woman. 

Having admitted that to myself sorted out so many things.

Telling my wife sorted out many more.

Do I still read TG fiction?  Obviously, as the comic you see at the beginning of the entry is from my collection!  I also write TG fiction.  Find one story here and the rest here.  I've written many more, but they suck, so they were never posted.  And (shameless plug) aside from here, I also write a monthly column for TG Forum.  (Registration required, but it's free)

So was it a progression?  TG fiction to websites to Sophie?  not really.  The Woman was always there, hiding deep inside, waiting.  Now she's free and she's Me!

And while I still have a long way to go,  I know I'm on the Right path.

Last time out, Aug 28. 

And Knowing is half the battle!