Rain (webcomic)

Rain Flaherty, a trans girl, moves away from her hometown with the assistance of her aunt, Fara Bryer who is a teacher at the school Rain enrolls at St. Hallvard High School, a private Catholic high school with conservative beliefs. Rain is finally ready to present solely feminine in public and try her best to hide that she's trans; however, she encounters childhood friend Gavin Kurz, who knew her when she was still presenting masculine. To further complicate matters, she meets siblings Maria and Rudy Strongwell who are closeted and openly queer respectively. The comics follow the character's lives as they discover their identity and overcome the challenges that come with it.

The webcomic consists of 44 chapters spanning a total of 1,382 story pages.{{Cite web |title=Rain - FAQ |url=https://rain.thecomicseries.com/faq/ |access-date=2025-02-01 |website=rain.thecomicseries.com}} During its run, it updated 3 times a week, with pages which were typically 4 to 6 panels each. During times when the story updates were delayed, there were "Rain Delay" pages. These pages are non-canon parody pages in the style of 4Koma Comics. There were also "Special" pages, these would include miscellaneous content, such as teasers for the physical books or fanart drawn by the author.

• Rain Flaherty - A teenage trans girl in her senior year of upper secondary school, Rain moves from her hometown and enrolls at St. Hallvard's in Centerville to be able to present feminine and avoid anyone she knows. Rain is the youngest of three siblings. She is a fan of Black Wings: Kaminari, an in-universe manga series. After briefly dating Rudy Strongwell, she realizes that she is a lesbian, and later starts dating Emily Caston.
• Fara Bryer - Rain's aunt, and an art teacher at St. Hallvard's High School. Fara is bisexual, and dated Vincent Valverde in the past when he was still presenting as a woman.
• Kellen Flaherty - Rain's older sister, Kellen does not accept Rain being trans, and deadnames her. Kellen forcibly cuts Rain's hair whilst the latter is asleep, causing Rain to disown her. Has a twin, Aiken.
• Aiken Flaherty - Rain's older brother, Aiken was initially unaccepting of her but has since come around. He once dated Jessica Li, a trans woman, and reacted badly when she told him of that; since Rain's coming out, however, he's been working to reconcile with her. Aiken is twins with Kellen.

• Gavin Kurz - Rain's childhood friend. He is initially quite rude and insensitive to Rain but eventually grows to understand and support her.
• Maria Strongwell - Rudy's sister. She is an initially-closeted lesbian, before later coming out in front of the entire school.
• Rudy Strongwell - Maria's brother. He is openly gay, causing conflict with his disapproving parents. Rudy occasionally cross-dresses as Ruby.
• Emily Caston - Rain's classmate, Emily is initially presented as a popular, uncaring girl; beneath this cool exterior, though, is an abusive mother and an ex-boyfriend that gets her pregnant. Emily is actually a very sweet and caring girl, and supports Rain when the latter becomes estranged from her siblings. She eventually comes out as pansexual, and begins dating Rain.
• Arthur Feltman - A Catholic priest and the Dean of Students at St. Hallvard's. He is supportive of Rain; his younger brother Will is a trans man who lives on the other side of the country. Arthur views helping Rain partly as a way to reconcile with his brother.
• Quenton Morrison - A Catholic priest and the Headmaster at St. Hallvard's. He is a lawful evil character, committed to enforcing the school's moral code, and does not react well to queer people. Quenton is eventually fired and replaced with Arthur Feltman in the interim.

• Jessica Li - A trans woman and Aiken Flaherty's former girlfriend, Jessica met Aiken through an online dating service. When she came out as trans to Aiken, he broke up with her. Jessica makes up with Aiken and agrees to try out being friends again when she sees him making an effort not to deadname or misgender Rain or her in a conversation with Kellen.
• Vincent Valverde - A trans man who is Rain and Jessica's therapist. He is also Fara Bryer's former significant other.
• Lydia Wynn Caston - Rain and Emily's daughter.
• Ky/Kylie Coven - Ky is a student at another school, and a friend of the St. Hallvard's cast. They present as anywhere on the spectrum between masculine and feminine depending on how they feel on any given day, and have discovered themself more throughout the series.
• Heather Coven - Heather is Ky's older sister and housemate. Heather mainly interacts with Jessica and Fara, and gradually comes to accept her younger sibling for who they are.

On November 27, 2010, the first image was uploaded to the website. This image was a teaser for the comic, the first page of which would release the following day.

On August 23, 2012, Samara published a physical copy of the first volume of the comic. The subsequent volumes would release in 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, and 2022.

In December 2015, Jocelyn Samara DiDomenick hosted a holiday illustration featuring Rain and trans protagonists of many other webcomics, like Zoë in Venus Envy, Jess & Seb in 2punk4you, Carrie & Allison in Closetspace, Jesska in Manic Pixie Nightmare Girls and Stephie in Assigned Male.{{Cite comic | coartists = Crystal Frasier, Jessica Durling, Jenn Dolari, Jessica Udischas, Sophie Labelle, and Jocelyn Samara DiDomenick. | story = A Very Webcomic Christmas | title = Rain | issue = 772 | date = December 14, 2015 | publisher = Official website of Rain (webcomic) | url = http://rain.thecomicseries.com/comics/772/ |archive-date=November 22, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211122215824/https://rain.thecomicseries.com/comics/772 |url-status=live }}

On March 20, 2021, Samara announced an official French translation, by Mia Sadoch. It is updated weekly, and available for free, just like the original.{{Cite web|title=Rain|url=http://rain.thecomicseries.com/comics/pl/1386225|access-date=2021-03-28|website=rain.thecomicseries.com|language=en|archive-date=2022-01-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220126151343/http://rain.thecomicseries.com/comics/1351|url-status=live}}

On March 15, 2022, Samara announced that the series had ended and that she would begin work on two other webcomics soon.{{Cite web |title=Rain |url=https://rain.thecomicseries.com/comics/pl/1607741 |access-date=2022-06-18 |website=rain.thecomicseries.com |language=en}} Moonlight Wanderers is yet to be released and is currently in development.

On December 5, 2022, Samara released My Impossible Soulmate, revealing it to be a standalone prequel to Rain.{{Cite web |title=My Impossible Soulmate|url=https://mis.thecomicseries.com/comics/5 |language=en|website=mis.thecomicseries.com|access-date=February 26, 2023}}

In December 2020, Samara linked to a teaser trailer for an animated series of Rain, announcing that one was in production.{{Cite web|title=Rain|url=http://rain.thecomicseries.com/comics/pl/1336910|access-date=February 11, 2021|website=rain.thecomicseries.com|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210211215622/http://rain.thecomicseries.com/comics/1330|archive-date=February 11, 2021|url-status=live}} Larissa Logan Robin Frost, also known by their handle LariUmbreon, announced that she would be voicing Rain in a post on Reddit.{{Cite web|last=Frost|first=Larissa Logan Robin|date=December 2020|title=Today's Forecast Calls for Rain|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/traaaaaaannnnnnnnnns/comments/jnxu7d/todays_forecast_calls_for_rain/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210211215813/https://www.reddit.com/r/traaaaaaannnnnnnnnns/comments/jnxu7d/todays_forecast_calls_for_rain/|archive-date=February 11, 2021|access-date=February 11, 2021|website=Reddit}} The animation was posted on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXh-kZ66Dv4&feature=youtu.be here] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201105130940/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXh-kZ66Dv4&feature=youtu.be |date=2020-11-05 }}. The official YouTube channel for the series described it as a "story for boys, girls, and everyone in between."{{Cite web|author=|date=February 2021|title=Rain: The Animated Series--About|url=https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeDchSbV-sDWwEkzBRzhKMA/about|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210211220428/https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeDchSbV-sDWwEkzBRzhKMA/about|archive-date=February 11, 2021|access-date=February 11, 2021|website=YouTube}}

In January 2021, DiDomenick revealed on Twitter that she had done "very little besides provide the story and character designs the animation is based on".{{Cite tweet |last=DiDomenick |first=Jocelyn Samara |user=LynnSenpai84 |number=1349363360433909760 |date=January 13, 2021 |title=So far, I've honestly done very little besides provide the story and character designs the animation is based on. The animated series is coming largely from the hard work of many dedicated and talented fans, for which I'm extremely grateful. ^_^ |language=en |access-date=May 6, 2022 |link=https://twitter.com/LynnSenpai84/status/1349363360433909760 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/I8Ldp |archive-date=May 6, 2022 }} She also promoted the clips from the animated series on [https://ghostarchive.org/archive/nMNQB January 12], [https://ghostarchive.org/archive/GOWV3 February 26], [https://web.archive.org/web/20220507035317/https://twitter.com/LynnSenpai84/status/1375071263530553347 March 25], [https://ghostarchive.org/archive/3SILE April 1], [https://web.archive.org/web/20210429130150/https://twitter.com/LynnSenpai84/status/1387753912556572672 April 29]. On September 14, 2021, in a video re-upload of an instrumental track coupled with animation for the series, LariUmbreon announced the series cancellation, but did not specify the reason.{{Cite web|author=LariUmbreon|date=September 14, 2021|title=Rain: Morning Routine|url=https://youtube.com/watch?v=aF7sYWgvlps|url-status=live|access-date=September 16, 2021|website=Rain: The Animated Series|publisher=YouTube|archive-url=https://archive.today/20210917124131/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aF7sYWgvlps|archive-date=September 17, 2021}}

In April 2022, LariUmbreon, using the name "Robin", announced that the full animated adaption of Rain was discontinued but that she would continue posting short animated clips, linking to a crowdfunding campaign on Patreon.{{Cite web|author=LariUmbreon|date=September 14, 2021|title=We're Still Here|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srvlXx6FkQ4|url-status=live|access-date=May 6, 2022|website=Rain: The Animated Series|publisher=YouTube|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220507035903/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srvlXx6FkQ4|archive-date=May 7, 2022}} She included a 14-page description of what happened and why the full animated adaptation was discontinued.{{cite web|url=https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_yHAWFPNIbcQfzQem85wc0J4FObAY0Mi8W8nYIgRvPk/edit|title=So, what happened|author=LariUmbreon|website=Google Docs|date=April 2022|access-date=May 6, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220507035903/https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_yHAWFPNIbcQfzQem85wc0J4FObAY0Mi8W8nYIgRvPk/edit|archive-date=May 7, 2022|url-status=live}}

In TRANSforming Spaces: Transgender Webcomics as a Model for Transgender Empowerment and Representation within Library and Archive Spaces, Nami K. R. Hatfield (2015) argues that Rain derives its effectiveness from its "informed and sympathetic portrayal of transgender experiences", and notes that DiDomenick uses "the participatory methods of organized fandom" in order to interact with Rain's readers and fanbase. Participatory culture (a new media theory concept developed by scholar Henry Jenkins) in the Internet age, Hatfield contends, is precisely what makes Rain a reality - it enables smaller-scale works centred around non-mainstream experiences such as the trans experience to be shared easily.

The Boston Public Library ranks Rain at number 22 on a list of 31 comics to binge whilst stuck at home.{{Cite web|title=Webcomics to the Rescue!: 31 Comics to Binge While Stuck at Home|url=https://www.bpl.org/blogs/post/webcomics-to-the-rescue-31-comics-to-binge-while-stuck-at-home/|website=Boston Public Library|date=30 April 2020 |language=en-US|access-date=May 31, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210310184637/https://www.bpl.org/blogs/post/webcomics-to-the-rescue-31-comics-to-binge-while-stuck-at-home/|archive-date=March 10, 2021|url-status=live}} Michele Kirichanskaya of ComicsVerse ranks it at number 2 on their list of 10 must-read LGBTQIA+ webcomics, praising its chibi art style whilst noting its initial lack of racial diversity.{{Cite web|title=10 Must-Read LGBTQIA+ Webcomics|url=https://comicsverse.com/love-is-love-top-ten-lgbtqia-webcomics/|date=April 10, 2017|website=ComicsVerse|language=en-US|access-date=May 31, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210120061957/https://comicsverse.com/love-is-love-top-ten-lgbtqia-webcomics/|archive-date=January 20, 2021|url-status=live}} Librarian and folkorist Charlie McNabb described Rain as a "slice-of-life webcomic about a trans girl" and noted that the comic has a genderfluid character.{{cite book |last=McNabb |first=Charlie |date=2017 |title=Nonbinary Gender Identities: History, Culture, Resources |chapter=Multimedia |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UNo5DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA219 |location=Lanham, Maryland |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |page=219 |isbn=978-1442275522 |access-date=2021-01-03 |archive-date=2021-01-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210120061957/https://books.google.com/books?id=UNo5DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA219 |url-status=live }}

{{notelist}}

• Second teaser trailer for Rain: the Animated Series - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t547oBetHfo

{{Reflist}}

Category:2010 webcomic debuts

Category:2022 webcomic endings

Category:LGBTQ-related comics

Category:LGBTQ-related webcomics

Category:Transgender-related comics

Category:Webcomics in print