Rain
Comic 707 - Thanks
Author Notes:
Dear Rain Beaus,
I never cease to feel overwhelmed by the love and support I receive from you. I know I've said this before, but I honestly never thought Rain was going to come this far. It's only thanks to you that I have had the confidence to keep this up for as long as I have. I've spent my life thinking nothing I ever did would matter, so it is an honor and a privilege knowing that what I do has touched the lives of so many wonderful people. And even if others don't understand or appreciate what I do, you are always here to remind me that YOU do. I don't know if there are any words that can truly express how much I love and appreciate you all. So let me just say again: Thanks! You really are the best fandom an author could ask for.
Most sincerely,
Jocelyn Samara
***
If you haven't heard, this is a response to some hate I've received from a reviewer and another webcomic artist. Or rather, it's a response to the amazing people who went out of their way to express their support while I let that hate get to me more than it should have.
http://jocelynsamara.deviantart.com/journal/Venting-Session-sorry-549877527
People will think what they will. I'm going to be as strong as I can though, not just for myself, but for all of you who have genuinely learned or grown from my work (and of course, those who are just plain entertained by it). I will see this story through to the end, and I will move right on to the next one when it is over. I'll try not to let this stuff get to me anymore. The haters just aren't worth my time.
The reviewer I'm a little less sympathetic for, on account of her continued attitude through all of this. And if you want to seek out the review and read it, that's fine. I won't stop you. HOWEVER, that said, I would still ask you to leave her alone. There's really no point in saying anything to her. I know you might want to defend my honor and I thank you for wanting to be there for me, but I honestly think the best way to help is to let this all be forgotten. If she comes around, she comes around. If not, oh well. I'd really rather see this whole situation get put in the past, never to be mentioned or heard about again, over being drawn out. Let's just let it go, all right?
Thank you, everyone. :)
I'm cisgender and straight(ish) and I was talking to the LGBTers mostly out of curiosity. As time progressed, curiosity was replaced by a deepening affection and love for the group. There were quite a lot of times when I didn't understand terminology, especially with regards to transgender issues.
Your comic helps so, so much with that. The characters are real and engaging - they do good things, behave selfishly sometimes, even screw up royally on occasion. But that's because they're human. The pages where new concepts and gender/sexualities are introduced really help me to understand my LGBT friends.
Rain has made a big impact on my life and may well have influenced my future - I'm starting to study counselling and psychotherapy in the hope of becoming a gender therapist someday.
Thank you.
It's rather a pathetic joke of a "review," and reads more like a self-obsessed jerk pontificating on a personal hobby horse than any critical examination of the source material - a tendency which continues in many of the other reviews.
It hurts when people are jerks like that, and there's really nothing that can take that sting away - but that review is a bad joke that reads more like an attempt to stir up controversy to bring traffic to the reviewer's site, something which they've done for a number of other comics, than anything resembling actual critique.
Rain is very good. Not perfect - but then nothing is - but by any reasonable standards an earnest, honest and successful attempt at portraying something meaningful and positive.
You've nothing to be ashamed of with it, and some self-obsessed asshat trying to peddle views for their meager opinions cannot detract from that.
This comic is a slice of life focusing on the life of a transgirl. You're telling me that there won't be drama and transphobic characters?? Like wtf is that reviewer on. Your comic is on the more realistic side of trans issues and I really appreciate that. Please don't let that "review" bring you down. You're doing great!
- a disappointed fan
(furthermore, if someone is hurt by something, them saying so doesn't make them an asshole, as almost 100% of the commenters were saying? wtf?)
By love and support, I mean a bunch of people offering encouragement and kind words when I felt weak. I don't open up like this often, but it's appreciated that people will be there for me when I do.
As for harassing people on the internet on my behalf, I don't know anything about that. I specifically left the names of my offenders out of my posts because I don't want there to be a war. I don't want to damage their reputation even though they tried to damage mine. I simply want to express my feelings of hurt and frustration, and hopefully move on.
I don't really get it. Trans* webcomic writers are likely to be trans* as well. They know how it is to be despised, and yet some of them behave in this way... That's sad, for everybody.
Anyway, never forget you are awesome. ā„
^_^
1) For Rain.
2) For being the role model and trans advocate that you are.
3) For venting in an extraordinarily constructive way.
4) For not giving up.
Also, sorry for not seeing the original post (and therefore not commenting on it) yesterday. It's nice to see that you feel a bit better already.
So, like I said, you might have been a little to quick to take her words as a personal attack, and it is simply silly to frame them as a "review". Trust me that she agrees about the trans experience with you on more counts than she disagrees. And despite her having been insensitive there, she is one of the more loving people I've ever met. So, uh, take of that what you will. And perhaps I'll finally finish getting caught up with your comic!
And although I have my snobbish criticisms. (Cuz I'm annoying like that) <3
I love how you've been able to capture the emotions and situations that effect so many of us transwomen out there.
I really didn't expect to cry as much as I did when Rain had her hair cut. It brought back memories of a similar event in my life.
Thanks for the beautiful story. And I'll keep shipping Gavin and Rain <3
I love your comic Jocelyn (I've legit read it 4 times). I check all the time for new posts. Don't let one persons ignorance bring you down. You've helped so many of us <3
http://yeshomo.net/rain/
I'm know to say things bluntly. That review is blollocks.
Everyone has one, some are louder than others and some really stink.
Love the comic don't let the opinions of a few dictate what you do or how you feel. You'll never please everyone, so focus on doing your best as you have thus far, some won't understand or like it, but the rest of us damn sure appreciate it!
My 11 year old daughter read vol 1 in one sitting and is starting on volume 2 today. She's loving it and even though I'm more Ky than Rain, it's really helped her better understand what I've been going through these past few years.
What I like about Rain, is it feels REAL. Rain doesn't understand herself completely yet, those around her aren't always sure or certain... It just has that genuine feel to it. If it was all rainbows and sunshine, it just wouldn't have the same impact and feel.
But that wasn't what I got out of those scenes at all. What I took away from them was "Here's Rain, and she's completely freaking out, because she's sure that everyone's going to read her, and panicking over having to talk to people, and everything, and then! It turns out that she reads SO MUCH as a cute girl that she's getting buried in love letters, DESPITE all of her earlier panic!" The comedy is that Rain is encountering the *exact opposite* of her fears.
Well, that's my read on it, anyway. Granted, I'm just a fan; Jocelyn knows best what the intended joke was.
But that's what I got out of it.
Anyway, let's leave the poor person in peace and concentrate on the main point: reminding Jocelyn that she's a great person and artist. :)
That review was strange and shallow. She chooses to see the worst in the comic while missing the things I love about it. When Rudy's friends react badly to his Halloween costume, she assumes that this is Jocelyn expressing anti-trans sentiment through her characters... those characters are Rudy's friends and I read their reaction as having been to Rudy, not to the entire concept of cross-dressing. Yet this is taken as an example of the comic being "unrelentingly cissexist and transmisogynist". I'm not buying it.
Also, given that Rain got scored with an 'F' I decided to see what sort of comic got scored with an 'A'. I read through the archives for a comic rated A+ and found it to be lightweight fluff; I didn't hate it, but it didn't engage me at all.
So I wasn't impressed by the review and I wasn't impressed by the quality of the letter grades.
As I've said before, you need to write your own story... and you're doing it, and it's working. So just keep on doing what you're doing.
Thanks for making one of my favorite web comics.
Having read the deviantart page on this topic, I feel moved to give it a review as well. On a scale of -10 to 10, with -10 being the worst crap I can imagine, 0 being meh, and 10 being the most amazingly wonderful thing I could imagine, I'm giving Rain a solid 13/10. Because there's no way I could imagine a comic this awesome. I admit, it's not the best rating I've given on something, but I can't imagine how you'd improve it. Or even get to that point.
Thank you.
And yeah, don't learn about trans people from transphobic characters. But don't read Rain if you're so ignorant about trans people that you think that chapter 1 Maria, Gavin and Rudy are right.
Obviously, portrayals of transphobia in this comic are depicting things as they are, rather than as they should be. It's important stuff and there has to be room for stories like this to be told. We can't let the risk, that a cis will come across stories like Rain and misunderstand, stop trans people from expressing these important stories.
/rant
Ive seen the comments about the 'review'. and im not going to read it. simply because i KNOW what I think of Rain, and what Rain and her friends mean to me, and will continue to mean until the end, bitter-sweet or sweetly-bitter.
I struggled with being trans-female myself for many.... many years. when i found rain i was at a point of personal exploration and deep internal reflection. I am NOT going to say that Rain made all the difference in my path moving forward. but i WILL say that it was, is and will continue to be a form of silent support for me, and HAS made a difference to ME. every time Rain goes through a rough spot (the hair cut is an example) I can see parts of my life laid bare before me, events that have happened out of my control that have brought me to near ruin time and time again. and every time she picks herself up and pushes past it all to keep moving forward on her own or with the help of others... well, its heartwarming and at times brings true tears to my eyes, over and over again.
Jocelyn....
THANK YOU! Thank you for Rain and all of the lessons she is helping you tell, and all the people she helps in telling them.
God Bless.
Katherine.
that review...
i love that they even acknowledged that it was supposed to be for realism, but then backtracked and said they couldnĀ“t be certain it was for realism because they refused to complete it. and *then*, they chewed out a supporter in the comments for not looking deep enough into it to see what it really was!
the utter lack of self-awareness these people have is hilarious.