My favorite webcomic: Girls With Slingshots

I've been following Danielle Corsetto's Girl With Slingshots webcomic for... wow, 2 years. I first heard about it from an Afterellen article that covered GWS's then-new relationship between one of its leads, Jamie, and a side character named Erin. I started reading it from the beginning and quickly plowed through all four years' worth of strips. It's that addictive. But I should describe what it's actually about, shouldn't I?

Hazel and Jamie are best friends who have just graduated from college. Jamie works in a flower shop while Hazel flails with what to do with her English major. Hazel starts working for a newspaper, but it eventually shuts down and she ends up sharing an apartment with her old boss Thea.

Along with the question of employment, Hazel deals with some bumps in her quest to get laid, but ends up with a really great guy named Zach. Jamie thinks that she's only interested in men until she wakes up naked in bed with the lesbian bartender Angel. She decides to visit a lesbian bar called the Lickety Split, where she sees Thea. This is from when Thea is still Hazel's boss at the paper.

The results of Jamie's experiment are... complicated. Anyway, now Thea's out, and it's still a surprise to Jamie when she falls for Erin.

Jamie and Erin are super-cute together, but since Hazel doesn't know about Erin, she just feels like she's losing Jamie when she keeps making vague plans with "someone else." Even though Hazel isn't homophobic, Jamie has a hard time coming out to her about Erin.

Jamie has to finally come out when Hazel invites her to bring "Aaron" on a double date with her and Zach. So now everything's fine and dandy and Hazel's a supportive friend,

but Jamie still has a hard time figuring out what to label herself for... more complicated reasons.

And Erin has to study abroad for a year in London. At the point where the strip is now, she's returned and she and Jamie are back together after a rocky patch. As adorable as Jamie and Erin are together- and as funny as Jamie's coming out is- because of the aspect of their relationship that makes their love what even Danielle Corsetto calls "quasi-lesbian" (they aren't so big on doing anything beyond kissing), I wouldn't recommend GWS to people looking for a webcomic with a lesbian storyline solely for them. Which leads me to...

Angel and Thea! They have some nice chemistry after they meet,

but alas, don't actually have much in common.

They do break up, but I won't give away how. (*cough*Screw you Angel.*cough*) Now Thea has a new, really sweet girlfriend named Mimi, who will probably be the person Thea winds up with.

And what a small world- Mimi's Angel's ex too.

Yup, two cute couples of lesbian interest. But I like all of the couples: Hazel and Zach, Jameson and Maureen (I have a soft spot for them because they're such a nerdy couple), and Chris and Melody are all great. I was a little afraid that Clarice (another favorite of mine) was going to be paired up with Tucker, the Nice Guy who hangs out at the library where she works, but GWS went the realistic route by quickly making it clear that it's not going to happen. Girls With Slingshots has been running for seven years, but it hasn't lost its steam. If you're looking for a funny webcomic with prominent lesbian characters, you should give Girls With Slingshots a try.

Overall: A

New strips come out every weekday; and wouldn't you know, the latest one features Thea and Mimi.

A batch o' Christmas-themed yuri fan art...

...and some that's generally winter-themed. Here's the batch from two years ago.

Enjoy!

Yes...I'm still shipping these two. lol (Dat suit.)

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Awwww.

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I don't see any yuri in K-ON aside from Mugi, but here's something cute for the Mio x Ritsu shippers.

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Not sure which of these I like more. The first one's more sweet, but the second one is incredibly pretty.

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Some Christmas cheer from the series that became 2011's juggernaut for yuri fans (and everyone else).

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A White Rose-heavy batch from Marimite. I especially like the last one.

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Squee! Nanoha x Fate! The third one is my favorite.

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Kyaaa! Haruka x Michiru! ^_^ Plus, the Inner Senshi.

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Yumi and Momo = still my favorite pairing in Saki.

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D'awww, Sumi and Ushio.

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Last but not least, Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou's Kokone and Alpha.

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Bet you can't tell what this is about: Girl x Girl x Boy

Fuuka likes Riri, Riri likes Itta, and Itta likes Fuuka.

In grade school, Riri protected Fuuka from bullies, including Itta, and Fuuka's gratitude turned into a crush. Now in high school, Itta's a decent guy- decent enough to not be homophobic after he finds out about Fuuka's feelings for Riri. (Even if he is stupid enough to be like, "So will you give me a chance?" after he sees Riri break off her and Fuuka's more-than-friends-but-less-than-lovers relationship.) They all agree to spend time together as a group until two of them pair off. After Riri takes the three of them to a love hotel to scare Fuuka away, she admits to Itta that she always loved Fuuka, but is scared of what their future as a couple would be like. After seeing a special on TV showing a lesbian couple that gave up their families' support to be together, Riri pretended to like Itta because she thought it would make Fuuka give up on her, which she thought would be better for both of them.

After the love hotel incident, the three of them stop speaking to each other. Fuuka cuts her hair short and forces herself to date an obnoxious male sempai. Itta evolves from decent to awesome by trying to bring Fuuka and Riri together, so that Fuuka can be happy.

Fuuka breaks up with the obnoxious sempai, who overhears Fuuka and Itta talking about Fuuka's feelings for Riri. He barges into Fuuka, Riri, and Itta's classroom to out Fuuka and Riri, but Fuuka stops him and talks him out of it, proving that she isn't as weak as Riri thought. Fuuka, Riri, and Itta all make up, and Riri and Fuuka end up as a happy couple with Itta as a supportive friend. The author points out that Fuuka and Riri will always be together and friends with Itta, and Itta will get a cute girlfriend in college.

I like this story quite a bit. There's a certain sincerity...or something, that makes it a heart-squeezing read. I like how all of the characters grow (Riri's love winning over her fear, Fuuka's gratitude for protection changing into real love and a willingness to protect Riri herself, and Itta's selfishness changing to selflessness) and how believable they feel as high schoolers caught in a wonky love situation. And, of course, I think the ending's great. lol GirlxGirlxBoy isn't ambitious, but it's a sweet little romantic drama that treats all of its characters- even the losers- well.

Story: Fuuka likes Riri. Riri likes Fuuka. Itta evolves from a roadblock to a supportive friend. The end. B+
Art: Expressive, but kind of sketchy. B-
Overall: A-

A couple of yuri shorts by Shimura Takako: Dounika Naru Hibi volume 2

Dounika Naru Hibi is a two volume collection of one-shots focusing on relationships. Most of the stories are het, but there's also some yaoi in volume 1 and, in two chapters of volume 2, yuri.

In chapter 5, a woman named "Ecchan" attends the wedding of Yuri, the woman she dated in high school. She slips out of the reception to cry and runs into Aya, who loved Yuri in college. They hook up and start dating, and realize that even though Yuri was a jerk to both of them, it's a good thing they met her because they wouldn't know each other otherwise.

Chapter 9 is about a woman named Shino who is in love with her roommate Tamiko. Tamiko catches Shino trying to kiss her when she's asleep, and sleeps with Shino. Shino thinks that it's too good to be true- a whim that Tamiko will regret or change her mind about- so she moves out. Tamiko shows up at Shino's new place and convinces Shino to let her move in.

Shimura Takako is at her best in her longer stories, but her Dounika Naru Hibi one-shots are still great. (Most of them, at least.) I like their general focus on adults and their refreshingly mature, matter-of-fact approach to sexuality. The yuri chapters also make some nods to yuri conventions that make them feel, like Moonlight Flowers and Morishima Akiko's one-shot "Princess of the Stars" in Ruri-iro no Yume, like sequels to the girls' school stories that yuri is most famous for. Ecchan, Shino, and Yuri all attended girls' schools and Yuri was the classic mega-popular girls' school "Prince."

The themes in Dounika Naru Hibi's yuri chapters provide an interesting compliment to some of the themes Shimura has been exploring in in Aoi Hana (besides the love-at-a-girls'-school motif, you have: what it's like to recover from a love that went down in flames, and not being sure if your feelings and the feelings of the person you're in love with are on the same level), but they're great on their own as glimpses of idealistic relationship drama between realistic adults.

Story: B+
Art: A-
Overall: A-

Yay, yuri Ladies Comics!: Works

I love the stories from Mist, a yuri Ladies Comics magazine that's out of print. By virtue of being Ladies Comics, Mist's stories aren't high art, but I love their... classic josei-ness, if you will. In addition to that and Mist's focus on older women, I like how its couples are always in love, at least by the end of each story. Tangent: Someone I met in Tokyo this past summer raved about how a Ladies Comics magazine that's still being published, Comic Aurora, has some good lesbian content. She showed off the shelf of Comic Aurora issues she'd collected as proof that it's worth reading. When I bought and skimmed an issue, there was no yuri... just, like, rape and creepy old businessmen. The woman who raved about it seemed earnest, but I can only rationalize her recommendation as a bad practical joke. The point of this rambling is that I enjoyed Mist before that, but after the "What the hell was that?" of Comic Aurora, Mist feels like the warm, fuzzy hug of Ladies Comics. And that's what most of Tadeno Eriko's Works features- romantic stories from Mist- along with an excellent story from Phryne, a lesbian magazine that's also out of print.

"My Sister's Wedding" ("Imouto no Kekkonshiki"), the Phryne story, is about Emi, who attends her younger sister Yuka's wedding. Her girlfriend Takako isn't able to come along for obvious reasons, and her mom and other relatives are predictably bugging her about getting married herself, since she's 30. When she calls Takako after the ceremony, Takako proposes. Emi comes out to her mom, who...well, is coming around by the the end. Yuka already knows, and is cool with it. This is my favorite story in this collection.

"I Like You the Way You Are" ("Sugao no Mama de") is about Suzu, a university student whose kouhai in the drama club, Misato, fell in love with her in high school. Suzu dated another girl in high school, her sempai Yasuko, but Yasuko left her to get married after they graduated. Now Suzu has a beard boyfriend. Misato confesses her feelings to Suzu, but Suzu rejects her. Thankfully, Suzu realizes that she's being stupid, breaks up with her boyfriend, and admits that she likes Misato. Happily-Ever-After for them. ^_^

The next two chapters, "My Sweet One" ("Watashi no Kawaii Hito") and "Gentle Loving" ("Yasashiku Aishite"), focus on one couple. Mizuho is the business development section chief for her company. She divorced her husband after falling for a superior...who got married and left the company. Still, she doesn't regret it. ("I owe the freedom I live in today to it.") She falls for her new kouhai at the company, Yuka, but puts distance between them after gossip that Mizuho's a lesbian starts floating around. She and Yuka get together anyway. "Gentle Loving" is about Mizuho and Yuka working out their problems caused by the different priorities they put on work (Mizuho's priority) vs relationship time (Yuka's). As in all Mist stories, there is sex- but it's a bonus in this book's case, not the focus. (Not that there can't be good examples of PWP.) I love how this chapter shows that Mizuho has other queer friends, who she gets relationship advice from. Happily-Ever-After, of course. ^_^

There are also some 4-koma following the characters from "My Sweet One" and "Gentle Loving," a few pages of gag comics focusing on different characters, a nice commentary by Tadeno Eriko addressed to the people reading the American-published version of her work, including commentary on how the yuri genre has evolved since she started drawing yuri, and a "Note on the Cover Picture" that made me go "Awww." If you like happy yuri stories about adults, you should really check out Tadeno Eriko's work.

Story: "My Sister's Wedding" = A, "Gentle Loving" & "My Sweet One" = A-, "I Like You the Way You Are" = B+
Art: B+
Overall: A-

Tadeno Eriko now goes by the name Mizuki Monica (Twitter account here) and publishes manga as part of a circle online (link nsfw). Tadeno/Mizuki's circle also uploaded some manga onto YouTube. She used to make print doujinshi under the circle name "Office Mono."