Trying Human



Trying Human is a science-fiction webcomic by Emy Bitner.

Rose Marie Williams is a secretary and filing clerk for a New York City police station and by night suffers from nosebleeds and boughts of sleepwalking. She has been being abducted by a group of aliens, including Hue, an alien who is smitten for her.

The comic also follows Roger, Rose's on-again off-again boyfriend who winds up inadvertently working as a Man in Black and Phillis, an Air Force translator in the 1940s who has a mysterious connection with EBE1, the lead alien Hue's genetic father, that somehow resulted in her death.


 * The Ageless: Glasner is implied to have acquired this form of Immorality through contact with alien technology, since he's been around since the 1940s and seemingly hasn't aged a day.
 * Alien Abduction: The main premise of the plot.
 * Alien Blood: Greys have blue blood.
 * All Love Is Unrequited: 6 has a thing for 8, who has a thing for Roger, who may or may not still have a thing for Rose. Also, Glasner and Phillis.
 * Anime Hair: Human Tone. Oh my god.
 * Arc Words: "Red" is important for as-of-yet undisclosed reasons. It's implied that it has to do with Shade, who has red eyes, or Rose, who has red hair.
 * Art Evolution: The difference between the early pages and the new pages is actually quite astounding.
 * Artificial Human: 6 is explicitly called an engineered lifeform, but don't call him "half" anything.
 * Artificial Limbs: EBE1 has an artificial arm, made for him by Phillis. Notably, when.
 * Beta, Gamma, Delta Couple: Phillis and EBE1 and possibly more depending on how things play out.
 * 8 and Roger might have something going on, Longus and Don almost definitely.
 * And maybe Quazky and Gracelis too.
 * Between My Legs: This page when
 * Black Eyes: 6.
 * Blinding Bangs: 8, and all of the Majestic 12 (save Roger and 6) have Hidden Eyes.
 * Chick Magnet: Non-canon examples but EBE1, 7, and Hue. With dashes of Even the Guys Want Him. In canon, Longus, ironically enough.
 * Close-Call Haircut: Rose gets one here.
 * Common Eye Colors: The main way to tell the difference between the Greys. Hue has Blue Eyes, Shade has Red Eyes, EBE1 has Brown Eyes, and Tone has Hazel Eyes.
 * Contrived Coincidence: The fact that Roger just happens to be hired by an organization dealing with aliens while Rose is abducted by those same aliens.
 * Creator Cameo: More than once. Here is the latest.
 * Deadpan Snarker: Rose, Quazky and EBE1.
 * Deliberately Monochrome: The 1940s flashbacks eventually settled on appearing this way.
 * Early-Bird Cameo: In Chapter 1 guess who's sitting behind Roger on the plane?
 * Emotionless Aliens: The Greys have emotions, but they're very different from human ones, and Hue is considered defective because he acts like a human. However, if anything the others aliens are sometimes more emotional and expressive than the actual human characters.
 * Everyone Loves Blondes: Phillis.
 * Hair of Gold
 * Foregone Conclusion: Phillis is shot trying to escape from the base with a baby. The question is how she got there.
 * Fun with Acronyms: In the case of the Deep Underground Military Bases.
 * Generation Xerox: Between EBE1 and Phillis and Hue and Rose.
 * Good-Looking Privates: Phillis is a translator, but hot enough to get the attention of both Walter and Glasner.
 * Goth: 7, with a hint of Ax Crazy.
 * The Greys: The aliens are explicitly identified as the Greys in-universe.
 * Half-Human Hybrid: It's heavily implied that 6 is in fact half-alien, though he vehemently denies being called "half".
 * Hands Off My Fluffy:
 * Hot Mom:
 * Hugh Mann: None of the real humans running around seem to notice that Trying Human circuits don't actually work all that well. 7-foot-tall albinos? Normal! Guys with greenish skin, yellow-and-red slit pupil eyes, fangs, claws, forked tongues, and strangely spiky hairstyles, who demonstrate the ability to jump outrageous distances? Nothing to see here!
 * Humanity Ensues:
 * In-Series Nickname: EBE1 always refers to Phillis as "Philena," a contraction of her first name and her last name, "Lennox."
 * Interspecies Romance: Also the main premise of the plot.
 * Laser-Guided Amnesia: The Greys use a type of memory altering that lets the abductee fill in the blanks as to what happened to them.
 * Love Makes You Crazy:, though it's debatable how sane he was to begin with.
 * Mars Needs Women: Hue's attraction to Rose parallels EBE1's attraction to Phillis.
 * A lot of aliens in this series seem to be partial to humans, as well.
 * Eventually we find out that, yes, Mars really DOES need women.
 * The Men in Black: Majestic 12, not that Roger knew when he signed up.
 * Mr. Fanservice: Longus. Seriously, lizard men were NEVER meant to be that sexy.
 * Ms. Fanservice: 8.
 * Non-Mammal Mammaries: Averted, although not very clear. It is more evident in this image
 * No Sense of Personal Space: 8, repeatedly and not just to Roger.
 * People Jars:
 * Pet the Dog: Longus' relationship with Don, a young gay boy.
 * Red Headed Heroine: Rose.
 * Fiery Redhead: At least when hanging around.
 * The Reptilians: Longus.
 * Rescue Romance:
 * Though it's not their first meeting, Longus rescues Don from a couple of thugs, which kickstarts their relationship.
 * Sex Dressed: 8 here, and Dr. Glasner a few pages later (note the unbuttoned shirt and lipstick stain).
 * Spicy Latina: 8, judging by her last name and use of Spanish in a flashback, and she's more than willing to use her sexuality to get her way. In fact,.
 * Stalker with a Crush: Longus had apparently taken to "keeping an eye" on Don whenever he was off work.
 * Hue also fits the description. Abducting Rose in her sleep when it's not her turn to be taken, showing up at her apartment uninvited...
 * Stay in the Kitchen: Walter's attitude towards Phillis, though it fits with the 1940s setting.
 * Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Rose to Phillis, despite the former being redheaded and the latter being blonde.
 * Theme Naming: The Greys are Hue, Shade, and Tone. Only EBE1 doesn't fit this pattern, but it's because his "name" is actually a designation given to him by the U.S. Government (his real name hasn't been revealed).
 * Barring Quazky, all the Reptoids are named after (human) muscles or muscle groups.
 * Tin Man: The Greys. Even more apparent when they use the Trying Human units.
 * Exemplified with EBE1. He gets PISSED.
 * Triang Relations: Phillis, Walter and Glasner appear to be in a Type 3, while Phillis seems to at least partially reciprocate Walter's feelings. 8, Roger and Rose are in a Type 4, though 8 clearly wants to change Roger's mind about that. Meanwhile, 6, 8, and Roger are in a Type 5, with 6 at the A point.
 * Title Drop: The Trying Human circuit that allows aliens to mimic humans.
 * The Twink: Don.
 * Verbal Tic Name: Mum.
 * White-Haired Pretty Boy: Male Grays look this when they use the Trying Human units. Also, 6.
 * White-Haired Pretty Girl: Shade's disguise form, along with Rapunzel Hair.
 * Yandere: 8 seems to be shaping up to be this,.
 * You Are Number Six: ... And Roger's not at all happy about it.
 * You Have to Believe Me:
 * Yandere: 8 seems to be shaping up to be this,.
 * You Are Number Six: ... And Roger's not at all happy about it.
 * You Have to Believe Me: