Rain

• Webcomic
• By Jocelyn Samara DiDomenick 
• Reviewed by Alex Kolodney

The following are out of 5:

Racial Representation: 2.5

LGBTQ+ Representation: 5

Disability Representation: 0

Body Size Representation: 0

Gender Representation: 5

Socioeconomic Representation: 4

Mental Health Representation: 4

Religious Representation: 1

Own Voice: Yes, the author is a trans woman

Rain is a webcomic about Rain Flaherty, a trans girl transferring to a private Catholic school for her senior year of high school, where she plans to go stealth (not come out to her school). It explores her relationships with her family and friends as they all discover more about their identities.

The series features characters of many different queer identities, including trans men and women, a genderfluid character, gay and lesbian characters, bisexual and pansexual characters, and asexual characters. There are a few characters of color, many of whom are a part of the LGBTQ+ community, but their race is never referenced in the story. The main character’s family is working-class and discussions of money do occur, but class is not a major theme explored in the story. Many of the characters have been harmed by the Catholic values enforced by their school and their families, and the series does not present a more accepting approach to Catholicism, or religion in general.

The way the series discusses queer identities and the language it uses is not always accurate or appropriate to use in real-life conversation. The way identities are discussed improves as the series goes on, as the author learned more about her identity and the community in the 10+ years that the series has been going.

As of this review, the series is ongoing.

Sources:

• Image