Real Life (webcomic)

Real Life is a webcomic created by Maelyn Dean. It is a comic inspired by Mae's life, her friends and family. Regulars include resident Evil Genius Tony and Jerkass Dave, while new additions have included Liz, Mae's wife, and their two children Harper and Parker.

One day, fresh out of college, Mae suggests to her friends why don't they make a comic? Soon they find out that they are in a comic, and the cartoonist Mae creates wacky and mundane scenarios. After all, the cast may be reflecting real life, but anything can happen in a comic.

Note that the comic ran three decades before Maelyn transitioned and came out as female. For that reason, her dead-name Greg is on many of the collections and in early comics.


 * Alternate Universe: There's a whole pantheon of them, as shown in multiple arcs:
 * Maelyn strangles a parallel Mae that likes Pepsi rather than coke. Dave tells her to stop.
 * The genderbent universe has a "female" Mae (this was before Mae came out and transitioned). Her Liz died between the arcs.
 * Breaking the Fourth Wall: This happens regularly, owing to the fact that the characters know they are in a comic. Heck, the first arc started with comic Mae tapping the glass and warning the audience that the cast was watching them.
 * Collectible Cloney Babies: Mae's friends and family display this tendency naturally.
 * Mae has spent hours collecting rare items in Ultime Online and Zelda in the 90s, both inside and outside the RPGs. Her relationship with Crystal started when Crystal gave her The Big Damn Kiss to snap her out of the zone.
 * The gang has also used time-travel to go to the future and buy the newest game or Harry Potter book, rather than wait for it like a normal person.
 * Mae and Liz once camped overnight in line to get the new Nintendo WII. It was a very long line, though one person thought they were getting the PS5.
 * One 2020s arc had the gang pull a heist for lightsabers from the Disneyland Star Wars backstage. Tony questioned the wisdom of this since he could just make a lightsaber with his Evil Genius tech skills.
 * Harmful to Minors: Dave disapproved of Maelyn playing Diablo with a baby Harper on her lap. Maelyn argued it was educational, as Harper squealed in delight.
 * Toe-Tapping Melody: Maelyn got the Dinosaur Train theme stuck in her head after watching it with Parker. She started singing it on loop, much to Dave and Liz's consternation.