words and pictures, male and female: tranys in comic books
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It seems that nobody but me has noticed that the longest running comic book series by the same author/artist, noted for it's allegedly anti-feminist views (certainly, any female-supremicist would be affronted, but as a caring and allegedly intellegent human I can see Dave's point..) (ahem) features a hermaphrodite as the lead and title character. What's more , this is the best comic book work in the English language in existence. Here's poor macho Cerebus finding out why his penis tucks so neatly into a convenient pouch...(This may also explain how Donald and the other ducks get about pantless without dangly bits dangling...
Cerebus #179, by Dave Sim,
Ardvark/Vanaheim, available (as is the whole series) in trade paperback
(called affectionately phone books) in Mothers & Daughters.
Next up, the thinking anarchist trany's hero, Lord Fanny, of The Invisibles by Grant Morrison (issue 5, Vol 2, page 7, 1997 DC/Vertigo). My current favourite, if we take Cerebus as perenial given.
The Baker Street series by Guy Davis
(co-author, Sandman Mystery Theatre) features a lead character revealed
as transgender in the second collection of the series, Baker Street:
Children of the Night (Caliber, 1993). Perhaps emotionally disturbing,
but recommended for punk/ gothic buffs.
A more empowered trany joins the Doom
Patrol in issue 70 (DC/ Vertigo, Sep 1993), a super-powered pagan genitally-restructured
lesbian rejected by the Justice League. She is part of the team till the
series' end, after exploring themes of identity and the structures of realities
in the bent Doom Patrol tradition.
The Sandman series by Neil Gaiman featured tranys briefly in a chilling
panel in the first arc (A Doll's House), but the in later arc A Game Of You,
Wanda here steals the
show (Sandman #34, DC/Vertigo)
This
fantastic brain swap story by Bob Fingerman explores changes of
gender, race, age, sexuality and class, with keen insight into the nature
of these divisions.
From Fantagraphics books, a story about a
transgender flatmate of cartoonist JRWilliams
Also
from Fantagraphics:
Marissa Rahm, the "first
and only pre-operative transsexual police lieutentant", starred in
the Milestone miniseries Deathwish, featuring a psychotic
killer bursting thorugh glass with bullet belts and two machine guns blasting
on the cover. what a way to sucker in the adolescent boys to a story about
gender, alternative sexualities, and transgender love! Here she is from
her later appearance in Milesone's Hardware #27
Milestone
also gave us the f2m transgendered shapeshifterMasquerade.
After all, what's the first thing any transgendered person would do if
they had shapeshifter powers? But we see him here being sprung, after being
knocked out by some baddy and reverting to pre-superpower state. (Blood
Syndicate #10)
ah, yes, a nice contrast to the closted Masquerade,
the gender bending but not genital-alteration-inclined Private Eye Jack
Atlanta, seen here in issue 6 of 2020 (Vertigo/ DC, Oct 1997).
And of course, the image behind this page,
the inspirational walk across the page of Miracleman by Sandman
writer Neil Gaiman (Sandman also features wuite a few tranys).
Page 137, Miraclman Book 4: The Golden Age, Eclipse, 1993 (but I
understand the rights are being negotiated with DC/ vertigo, so watch out
for a reprint)
