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Girly is a webcomic by Josh Lesnick. It centers generally around the romantic relationship between two girls, Otra and Winter, as well as other citizens of the city of Cute-Town. On October 15, 2005 Girly became a part of the Dayfree Press collective, and on June 28, 2006 the first Girly print collection was published via Radio Comix.

History of Girly

Girly launched in April of 2003, originally intended as a sequel/retelling of one of Lesnick's previous works, CuteWendy, and originally was not intended to run for more than 50 strips. Lesnick ended up becoming enamored with the characters that he created, however, with the comic reaching over 300 strips in length as of October 2005.

Girly is Lesnick's longest running comic in terms of panels completed, as well as his most popular, with 10,000 more regular readers than his previous popular work Wendy had at its peak, and around 16500 unique hits per update. This readership has allowed him to draw comics for a living.

Lesnick originally hosted Girly on KeenSpot. In November 2004, he moved Girly over to wendy.dreamhost.com, where it has remained since. On October 15, 2005, Girly became part of the Dayfree Press collective of webcomics which includes such other strips as White Ninja Comics, Dinosaur Comics, and Questionable Content.

On May 16 2004, Lesnick created a LiveJournal community for the comic, and as of September 2006 it has over 600 members and 525 watchers. On November 10 2004, a LiveJournal feed was created for the strip, and is currently one of the most popular feeds on the LiveJournal site, ranked within the Top 50 for number of subscribers.

On June 28, 2006, the very first print collection of Girly strips was published by Radio Comix and is available via Amazon.com and selected comic stores.

On August 23, 2006, Lesnick announced that fundraising efforts for the comic had been sufficiently successful that he would attempt to support himself wholly via the comic.

Girly's Style

Girly's style is line-based, and monochrome, using a vertical format. The line drawing is something akin to a manga-style, but with more abstractions, giving it a sketched, freehand sort of look.

This broad, sweeping style of art fits the humor of the comic well. Playing off of stereotypes and absurdities, the world of Girly is one where cartoon-like wackiness has become a daily occurrence, happening with frenetic speed around the dimwitted populace. This mad buffoonery contrasts the depth and personality of the main characters, who wrestle with love, inspiration, and ennui in a world where a superhero with a fist for a head can run for mayor without anyone batting an eyelash.

Along with absurdity and playing with stereotypes, Girly has a strong vein of sexual humor, which befits a comic strip with an emphasis on romance. As might be expected, the relationships of the main characters are deep and detailed, while the sexual events in the town at large are largely more fantastic and wacky.

Various overhead shots show that Cute-Town has a skyline very similar to Dallas, Texas.

Critical Response

Girly has long been particularly respected among webcomics, having been reviewed positively in both Comixpedia and Websnark . It was also nominated for a 2005 Web Cartoonist's Choice Award in layout .

Characters

The comic girly revolves around the main characters Otra and Winter (and oftentimes the cat as well). Occasionally the story will move to a small sub-story centered around one of the secondary characters but will eventually be tied back to one of the main characters again.

The Leader and Her Sidekick (and the Cat)

• Otra - The main character of Girly, and the chick with the eyering. She is 25 years old and is currently self-employed as a freelance fashion designer for the company Guapa. Not much is known about Otra (her name wasn't fully revealed until well into the comic) except that she hasn't had too hard of a life; she's just constantly disappointed/sad about mostly everything. Her main hobby is roaming through the city and observing life, painful as it can be. Before she met Winter, she would deal with the annoying people in her life by cramming them into or tying them to small rockets and launching them into space. Winter's sudden appearance in her life has changed her a little, day by day. Now she still sends people into space, but she does it with a smile. First appeared in Strip 1. Her name is Spanish for "other one" - a reference to CuteWendy's sidekick, known only as the Other Girl.
• Winter - Otra's girlfriend, the chick with the big bottom. She's 18 years old, has no job or home and declared Otra to be her sidekick early in the comic. She has since looked out for Otra devotedly, helping her with work, and even occasionally saving her life as well. Not much is known about Winter, except that she is the daughter of Cute Wendy and her sidekick (Other Girl) from girly's predecessor CuteWendy (as revealed early on). As far as her personality goes, she's free-spirited, with an attitude that's both serious and silly. Until very recently, she was unfamiliar with even the most primitive video games. First appeared in full (although her silhouette is visible in strip 1) in Strip 2.
• "Marshmallow Kitty" - A cat that was originally homeless and wandered the downtown area living off scraps and donations of food. After meeting Winter and Otra, it took a liking to them and followed Otra home. It soon became Otra's cat. Although the cat was intended to stay a secondary character or mascot, it became a primary character through its popularity. Its early appearances made it appear slightly perverted, but that has since stopped. The cat is too pudgy to roll itself over when it's on its back, and is flameproof, immune to blunt trauma, and otherwise totally indestructible. Recently it has given birth to several kittens, much to Winter and Otra's distress, and is now officially designated as female. First appeared in Strip 36.

The Cute PD

• Officer Policeguy - The most prevalent — and competent — officer of the Cute PD, Policeguy suffers from "nice guy" syndrome: he's a gentleman to the ladies, friend to all, a small-time hero and yet he rarely gets a girl. He is ever-ready to do his duty as a policeman (though Cute-Town's native hero, Captain Fist, often overshadows Policeguy's own heroic exploits) and takes great pride in his abilities, but appears to be very lonely outside the work place. He is friends with Otra and Winter and helped show Winter and her half-sister to a video arcade. Policeguy also has recurring run-ins with "Team Fast." In recent strips, Policeguy has terminated his tenure as part of the Cute PD. First appeared in Strip 13.

• Officer Hipbone - One of Policeguy's fellow officers, and most recently his new partner. She is rather mysterious, not to mention competent. She successfully solved the mystery of the trouser thefts, and would have caught the thieves — Winter and Otra — had El Chupacabre not seduced her during the chase. First appeared in Strip 44.

• Officer Oneshot - A fellow officer to Policeguy. We may never find out what on his wife had to be reattached, because he is just a oneshot character - although a reappearance in Strip 302 has left this open to debate. Appeared in Strip 250.

• Officer Getskilled - Another member of the Cute PD. Getskilled was sent out along with Policeguy and Hipbone on their stakeout, mainly to drive their disguised truck. The most recently introduced character of the Cute PD, it is highly likely, judging by his name, that Getskilled will get killed sometime in the near future. (Alternatively, his name may be a red herring due to a plotline where he was in a group where someone was to die, and he didn't.) First appeared in Strip 271.

• Chief Brambilla - Officer Policeguy's crotchety, streetwise superior. Suspicious of Captain Fist's mayoral campaign. According to Josh, he is named after Marco Brambilla, Director of the movie Demolition Man. First appeared in Strip 251.

• Wilkins - The hard-of-hearing police dispatcher. Only spoken to, never yet seen. First appeared in Strip 70.

Other Good Guys

• Captain Fist - Cute-Town's very own hero who has sworn to use his mighty powers to thrust into the depths of evil and expel them from the bowels of Cute-Town. Actually, we really haven't seen him successfully fight evil yet. However, he can fly, he banters well with villains - in his own way - and he does have a knack for showing up on the scene of trouble. He also once tried to take up a side-kick, but was pummelled by the boy's mother upon returning from training him. He is not too bright at times, and often gets credit for saving the day when others (Otra & Winter, or Policeguy, for example) put forth all the effort due to his status as a "super hero". Captain Fist is quite popular with the masses - very popular with a certain member of the press - and, as a result, is running for office in Cute-Town, even though he is actually from the neighboring town of Cheapgag. And yes, he has a fist for a head. It is uncertain whether he understands the double entendres that constantly pepper his speech. First appeared in Strip 20.

• Glove Boy - Captain Fist's would-be sidekick. Although Captain Fist could definitely use his sage advice, his career as a superhero was cut short by his mother. First appeared in Strip 153.

• A Courageous Knight - He just likes helping damsels... got the armor and everything. First appeared in Strip 265.

• Detective Clampjaw - The would-be nemesis of El Chupacabre. Utterly incapable of actually catching him, possibly because he has sworn not to sleep until he does. Last seen tied to a bus headed for Latvia. Currently solving the great French Mystery of France, according to Strip 439. First appeared in Strip 13.

• Nickel - Detective Clampjaw's niece, who has for the past 10 years secretly tagged along on each of her uncle's capers, solving the crimes. No connection to Inspector Gadget and his niece Penny. Defeated by El Chupacabre. First appeared in Strip 59.

• The God of Hats - He'll show up and give you a hat. First appeared in Strip 204.

• Michael Bolton - Shows up occasionally and says stuff. You said it Michael Bolton! First appeared in Strip 11.

The Channel 11 News Team

• June O'Frank - Channel 11's anchorwoman. June harbors a theoretically secret love for Captain Fist, and feels she betrayed that love when she couldn't resist the advances of El Chupacabre. However, she soon bounced back, even declaring her love for Captain Fist on TV. First appeared in Strip 20.

• Harry - June's boss. First appeared in Strip 22.

• Collin - The Channel 11 intern. Harbors a not-so-secret love for June. First appeared in Strip 22.

Crooks and Villains

• Assmaster - The nemesis of Captain Fist, whose body consists of a giant pair of buttocks. Always plotting to seize control of the neighboring town of Cheapgag. Also like Captain Fist, he does not seem to realize the ludicrous double entendre nature of most of his dialogue. The only thing he fears is Policeguy's really big nightstick. First appeared in Strip 82.

• The Black Cat - The marshmallow cat may be cute and loveable, but something about this black cat makes everyone who sees it nervous, even a superhero like Captain Fist. As of strip 308 it is the one that fathered Marshmallow Cat's kittens. First appeared in Strip 153.

• The Demon of Rhythm - Is he a demon, or just a scary man in an Elvis costume? Either way, he can't stand being beaten by Collette at Dance Funk Samba Karao-Honkey-Tonk Mania. First appeared in Strip 212.

• El Chupacabre (Chuy) - The man who led the Cute-Town police force on a wild goose chase throughout the first three chapters of Girly. He has a bizarre gift — women find him irresistibly attractive. He considered it his duty to please women at every opportunity. He was taken down by Winter as he was about to charm Otra at the conclusion of chapter 3, and he renounced his lifestyle to live a life of celibacy with Buddhist monks. It did not work out (he was chased away by monks with pitchforks), and he has since moved back to Cute-Town. He is still trying to avoid falling back into his philandering ways, but it is proving more difficult than expected — more so as the female cast grows. Loves reading comics. In more recent comics, Chuy has become a good character, but still irresistible to women. Canadian (according to his brothers) and so of El Diablo (From CuteWendy). First appeared in Strip 12. Chuy recently has formed a romantic relationship with Autumn.

• Elephants - For no good reason other than apparently because it's funny, elephants are a recurring problem for Cute-Town, eating firetrucks, plaguing pirates, and generally getting in people's way. Most have been defeated by Winter and Otra, although Captain Fist received credit for it instead. First appeared in Strip 11.

• Evil Beagle - With his skeleton tank army, Evil Beagle has brought the Dimension of Golden Retreiver Puppies to its knees. Winter's parents have been called to this dimension to fight his evil and free the puppies from the grasp of his iron paw. Or, you know, not. Appeared in Strip 143.

• Fred Burrows - Arrested for arson by Policeguy a year ago, he found a job at The Inevitable Oyster Restaurant where he waits for revenge. First appeared in Strip 410.

• Los Hermanos Grande Del Rey Rios Dios Por Bonito - El Chupacabre's brothers, El Mariacho and El Lambeda. They seek revenge for the defeat of their brother, but are not sure exactly whom they want it from. Canadian. First appeared in Strip 124.

• Maurice & ?? - A pair of relatively inept bank robbers repeatedly foiled by Officer Policeguy. First appeared in Strip 150.

• Team Fast - The self-proclaimed kings of illegal street racing, Team Fast is a duo of speed-loving hooligans who have decided Policeguy is their nemesis, though he remains unclear on the concept. First appeared in Strip 160.

• Typical Shadowy Figures - Their origins, identity, and motives are currently unknown, but they are suspected of being involved in a secret, cliché plot to take over Cute-Town. First appeared in Strip 279

Citizens of Cute-Town

• Autumn - A sweet girl who finds it hard to trust people, but is opening up to her Internet friend Funnybunnyfan4531. Her online handle is Brownleafgrrrl. In recent comics she has begun to date El Chupucabre after he revealed himself to be Funnybunnyfan4531. Bears a potentially unfortunate descriptive resemblance to Winter. First appeared in Strip 259.

• Collette - Winter's half-sister, daughter of CuteWendy's wife and the exotic cutpaste Xerox, making her half-cutpaste and half human. She is a spunky girl who went to Cute-Town to find her long-lost mother but found her half-sister instead. The girl seems very obsessed with video games, and doesn't seem to understand the nature of Winter and Otra's relationship. Collette is currently staying in an apartment; her father couldn't keep her with him anymore because he sold company secrets to terrorists (also, their house was inexplicably eaten by squirrels), and Otra and Winter didn't need the girl hanging around them all the time. She seems to be attracted to El Chupacabre (Chuy). Just like everyone else. First appeared in Strip 123.

• Ethel - The young, sexy wife of the ex-New York City farmer. Cooks waffles that are as tasty as a cat in a hammock. First appeared in Strip 131.

• Ex-New York City Farmer - The first people Collette runs into is a strange family of farmers who live at Winter's old house. Despite his strong rural accent and strange country ways, the family has actually only been there a year. First appeared in Strip 131.

• Fire Chief - He can fight fires with his axe, but he's helpless against an elephant. First appeared in Strip 159.

• Pop culture girl- She's oppsessed with television, movies, and talking to Otra in hopes of getting shot into space. She eventually leaves Otra alone in favor of the Giant talking Dildo. First appears in Strip 1.

• Giant Dildo - Originally wielded by Winter as a way to cheer Otra up, the Giant Dildo later became a willing ear for Pop Culture Girl (and, later, Steak). Also useful as a Magical Multi-Tool of Magic, a Baster of Turkeys, a Storage Kit for Fish Tacos, and an International Negotiator. First appeared in Strip 2.

• Golfball - The huge-headed sister of the ex-New York City farmer. Quickly saw through Collette's lies. First appeared in Strip 132.

• Dr. Lucy McCurvy - The sexy vet who runs the Cute-Town Animal Clinic. Inventor of the Catmindlooker, the Person Reducer, and the Catwakeupper, among many others. She's also a pet fitness trainer and an animal optometrist. First appeared in Strip 222.

• The Pirate - Having a problem with elephant infestation. First appeared in Strip 262.

• Sally - Rescued by Policeguy after jumping out of a burning building. Unfortunately for PoliceGuy, instead of dating him she immediately reunited with her former boyfriend Douglas. First appeared in Strip 154.

• Steak - A well-meaning but clueless jock with a huge crush on Otra. He often tries to woo her by mentioning the size of his penis. Otra has launched him into space on several occasions, but this never dissuades him. First appeared in Strip 6.

• Street Preacher - Wants people to know that they are going to burn in Hell. Later pantsed by Otra. First appeared in Strip 7.

• Wanda Rocket - The slightly insane CEO of Guapa Fashion Design. Whether she truly knows fashion or is just crazy is up for debate, but her clothing lines sell. First appeared in Strip 93.

• Woman with Beautiful Baby - Nearly had baby (not actually beautiful) eaten by Winter. Wants everyone to get married and have beautiful babies. First appeared in Strip 4.

• The Corgi with Glasses - A Pembroke Welsh corgi who is, mysteriously, wearing glasses that look identical to Winter's. Otra and Winter chased him on two occasions, recently catching him using Otra's Sidekick Wave attack. First spotted in Strip 267.

Citizens of Cheapgag

• The Mayor's Daughter - Kidnapped by Assmaster, and later accidentally mistaken for Otra. First appeared in Strip 82.

• The Farters of Cheapgag - A vigilante group opposed to Assmaster because he was giving their city a bad name. First appeared in Strip 101.

External links

• girly (official site)
• Guapa Design (official girly online store)
• girly (Italian translation)
• girly LiveJournal community

• 2000s webcomics
• Comedy webcomics
• Dayfree Press