• She/Her They/Them

sundry
@sundry

The Computer Wore Pigtails is a series that appeared in the British girls' comic Mandy in 1967, featuring Transy, the “the first computer to look and act like a twelve-year-old schoolgirl” and who is also extremely trans. Her name is Transy, like.

I do not know how many stories there were but Girls Comics of Yesterday suggests that the series was reprinted in 1975 under the title of Electra the Sister with the Transistors between Mandy #462 and Mandy #470 which suggests that there were at least nine. The Bournemouth University UK Comic Database has three stories archived. I have been unable to find any other extant Transy stories, but I would love to read the rest.

Transy lives with Sally Gleade, whose father works at Imperial Transistor Machines (I.T.M.) where Transy was made and is presumably named after. They also attend Leewood School together. In the first story Transy has a problem: She sucks at rounders.


sundry
@sundry

Transy and Sally are taking part in a school-wide competition for the best recorder duet and as such Transy has been a on a diet of music programmes, which are depicted as small circuit boards that she eats.

She wants some more variety, though.


sundry
@sundry

The the third and last issue that I know is extant, Transy faces a problem many of us are familiar with: being singled out for her voice. The music teacher agrees and asks Transy to leave the choir.

Transy is really upset about this and starts getting in trouble in class for not paying attention. A professor at I.T.M. starts working on a new vocal modification unit for Transy but it’s going to take a while before it's ready.


mi-com
@mi-com
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in reply to @sundry's post:

The bubble in the fifth picture that says "Computers are never sick. And they're just crazy about swinging boats" is her dialogue. She gets angular speech bubbles and a different typeface. I just didn't happen to screenshot other panels where she talks in the first comic. I hadn't noticed that. She also generally refers to herself in the third person.

in reply to @sundry's post:

These are incredible! Reminds me of My Life As A Teenage Robot in the best way. I love Transy out here, just eating every computer chip she can get her gay little hands on. She is a queen.