Jane's World was a comic strip by cartoonist Paige Braddock that ran from March 1998 to October 2018. Featuring lesbian and bisexual women characters, the strip stars Jane Wyatt, a young lesbian living in a trailer in Northern California with her straight male roommate, Ethan, and follows her life with her circle of friends, romances, and exes. Shortly after celebrating its 20th anniversary, publication ended with Jane marrying Dorothy.[1]
The comic strip is notable for being the first gay-themed comic work to receive online distribution by a national newspaper syndicate in the United States.[2] In 2006, Paige Braddock was nominated for an Eisner Award as Best Writer/Artist–Humor for Jane's World.[3]
Comic strip
Braddock created Jane's World so that women, particularly lesbians, would have a comic strip character that they could relate to, though it's meant to be accessible to a wider audience.[citation needed] Braddock devised Jane in 1991 but never actually put her onto paper until 1998, and began publishing on the Internet in late March.[citation needed]
In 2001, United Media's Comics.com website picked up reprints of Jane's World, making it the first gay-themed work to receive distribution by a national media syndicate.[4]
In April 2002, it was picked up for print syndication by United Media's United Feature Syndicate. They began publishing new works in 2007.[5]
In addition to web and newspaper publication, Braddock published the strip in a comic book format through her own publication house, "Girl Twirl Comics". The trade paperback versions feature covers created by different artists.[citation needed]
Characters
Jane's World characters are all friends, to various degrees, and romantic interests of Jane, along with the occasional ex-girlfriend, coworker, and boss in the mix.[6]
Jane Wyatt, the protagonist of Jane’s World. Her middle name, Tiberius, was given by her dad, a Star Trek fan. She is a white, soft butch, lesbian, who is in and out of jobs, in and out of housing, in and out of comical blunders and cosmic dimensions, and in and out of relationships. Jane has run-ins with exes as well as the Log Cabin Republicans, The Star League of The Last Starfighter, Amazon Island, zombies, to name a few.
Rusty, Jane's mixed-breed dog. He has a brown ring around his left eye. The comic strip begins with a Rusty storyline that introduces Jane and her circle of friends and family.
Dorothy, Jane's best friend, and on-again, off-again girlfriend. Dorothy runs the coffee shop, Hard Drive Cafe, where many of the comic strip's plots take place. Unbeknownst to either of them, their mothers tried to play matchmakers and arranged for Jane and Dorothy to get together one evening. Things heated up between them but Jane became confused after Skye showed her some interest. The comic strip concludes with Jane and Dorothy getting married.
Ethan, Jane's straight male roommate and best dude. Their romantic relationships with women often get in the way of their friendship. Ethan has a gay brother named Julian.
Chelle, visually reminiscent of Trinity in The Matrix. She rides a motorcycle, has a special ops background, and a past she is trying to get away from. Despite her coolness, Chelle dates Jane, and remains a good friend post breakup.
Dorrie and Archie, Jane's friends and co-workers at The Daily News. Dorrie is African American, a lesbian, and has a crush on Chelle. Archie is Asian American, straight, and is not amused by Jane's antics at work or in her relationships.
Skye, one of Jane's love interests who works at The Garden of Vegan diner. She unsuccessfully tries to get Jane to eat healthier while they're dating. She's also a surfer.
Jill, Chelle's on-again, off-again girlfriend. She was Chelle's former partner on the police force, and prior to that, a United States Navy diver. She is often portrayed as Jane's nemesis. Jill never has a problem attracting women.
Talia, an ex-girlfriend of Jane's that pops in and out of the strip. She's bisexual and went to college with Jane.
Bud, Jane's laid-back cousin and car mechanic.
Shallow Breast Guy, based on cartoonist Stephan Pastis, creator of Pearls Before Swine, this character appears only occasionally as a breast-obsessed, straight male. Shallow Breast Guy is drawn to look like Pastis. He once took control of the strip and drew Jane's World in the style of Pearls Before Swine, endowing the women with large breasts and portraying them as hyper-sexualized, thereby earning his nickname. In turn, Pastis has featured Braddock's wiener dog Andy (and, less frequently, Olive) in his strip.[7]
Books
Love Letters to Jane's World, Lion Forge, 2018
Jane's World: The Case of the Mail Order Bride, Bold Strokes Books, 2016
Jane's World, Volume 11, Girl Twirl Comics, 2014
Jane's World, Volume 10, The New Frontier, Girl Twirl Comics, 2011
^Gustines, George Gene (October 19, 2018). "'Jane's World' Comic Strip Goes Out With a Marriage". The New York Times.
^Sen, Jai (October 18, 2013). "Paige Braddock Changes the World Without Bending or Breaking It". The Clyde Fitch Report.
^Hahn, Joel (2006). "2006 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards". Comic Book Awards Almanac. Retrieved 19 March 2021.
^S.G. (August 14, 2001). "Paige Braddock". The Advocate. p. 87. Retrieved June 7, 2009.
^"Current Storyline". paigebraddock.com. June 6, 2007. Archived from the original on November 21, 2008. Retrieved June 7, 2009.
^"Girl Twirl Comics Presents, Paige Braddock's Jane's World". janecomics.com. 2007. Archived from the original on July 12, 2009. Retrieved June 7, 2009.
^Braddock, Paige (March 13, 2008). "Shallow Breast Guy honors my wieners". Jane's World. Archived from the original on February 14, 2012. Retrieved 7 June 2009.
Further reading
Paige Braddock
Arrant, Chris (August 3, 2018). "Paige Braddock Shares Love Letters to JANE'S WORLD In Unique Retrospective". Newsarama.
Carroll, Sean (March 22, 2007). "Interview: Paige Braddock Part 1". The Daily Cross Hatch. Archived from the original on March 27, 2007.
Carroll, Sean (April 4, 2007). "Interview: Paige Braddock Part 2 of 2". The Daily Cross Hatch. Archived from the original on May 14, 2010. Retrieved October 25, 2008.
Carroll, Sean (May 22, 2007). "Jane's World, Vol. 7 by Paige Braddock". The Daily Cross Hatch. Archived from the original on September 28, 2007.
The Linster (December 22, 2011). "10 years in "Jane's World": An interview with Paige Braddock". AfterEllen. Archived from the original on April 3, 2015.
Randolph, Alex (October 19, 2015). "Santa Rosa cartoonist of LGBT comic strip draws inspiration from 'Peanuts'". The Press Democrat.
Swartz, Shauna (May 3, 2006). "Stepping Into Jane's World with Paige Braddock". AfterEllen. Archived from the original on May 4, 2006.
Miscellaneous
Bernstein, Robin (Summer 1994). "Where Women Rule: The World of Lesbian Cartoons". The Harvard Gay & Lesbian Review. 1 (3): 20–23. ISSN 1077-6591. LCCN sn94005292.
Medd, Jodie, ed. (2015). "14. Comics, Graphic Narratives, and Lesbian Lives, by Heike Bauer". The Cambridge Companion to Lesbian Literature (PDF). Cambridge University Press. pp. 219–235. ISBN 978-1107054004.
Shaw, Adrienne (2009). "Women on Women: Lesbian Identity, Lesbian Community, and Lesbian Comics". Journal of Lesbian Studies. 13 (1): 88–97. doi:10.1080/07380560802314227. ISSN 1089-4160. LCCN 97660031. PMID 19197667. S2CID 44618909.
Warren, Roz, ed. (1995). Dyke Strippers: Lesbian Cartoonists A to Z. Cleis Press. ISBN 1573440086.
