Mushian

Mushian is a webcomic by Christina Prince that takes place on an alternative Earth populated by anthropomorphic insects named "Mushians." The story concerns the lives and adventures of various college-aged Mushians and the different social, political and spiritual aspects of their lives.

Among the concerns of Mushians include latent and not-so-latent racism that exists against the various spider Mushians due to some atrocities carried out by their race in the recent past, evolutionary scientific theories questioning the origins of the Mushian races and whether or not humans exist (or once existed).

The setting has characteristics of both insect and human life. Society is affectionately or sarcastically referred to as "the Hive," and there remains lingering elements of previous bug social order. Many Mushians are winged, though not all can fly due to wing size or body design.

Although there are no set career paths for Mushians, many species specialize in different sorts of occupations based on characteristics of their race. Crickets tends to be musicians, ants are construction workers or engineers, ladybugs work as liaisons between different parties and butterflies are fashion models, socialites or celebrities.

Religion remains a key component for many Mushians, with belief in a great Cosmic Flower being the most popular article of faith. Other Mushians believe their deity to be a Cosmic Light, and many smaller religious sects exist as well. There is starting to be a growing atheist undercurrent among some Mushians.

There are varying degrees of political and social orders, with communism being popular with ants, bees and other hive-oriented species and capitalism being important to the more individualistic species. Mushians species can reject the social orders natural to their species, but like any real ethnic group face being ostracized or disowned by the rest of their society.

Characters

 * Lucia Nerezza is the main character of the story, but is often more of a background figure witnessing the actions of her friends. A ladybug of Italian and Welsh origins, she has a wide range of interests and acts as an even-keeled observer to her more extreme friends.


 * Heinrich "Heiko" Ingwaz is Lucia's Danish flower mantis boyfriend, and a handy man to have around if you need pancakes or someone to play role-playing games with. Has a passionate love life with Lucia and is close with most of her friends, though is more than just a little wary of Sweet Feet's unwarranted sexual advances.


 * Wesley Spindler is an aspiring musician brown recluse who is often both unappreciated and unemployed. Frequently a target of his sister's ire due to her having to support both of them, though he's a nice person overall. Just don't leave him in charge of preparing food.


 * Jeanette Spindler is Wesley's older sister and the hard-ass of the group. An aspiring scientist who is easing away from spiritual issues, she often gets into arguments with fellow student Jason do to his fierce loyalty to the "Cosmic Flower" religious sect when not yelling at her brother for failing to provide his half of the rent.


 * Jorge Miguel "Sweet Feet" Mariposa is the very nice and very gay Puerto Rican butterfly history student. Won't seem to take Heiko's "no" to his advances for an answer.


 * Jason Hopper is a hippie grasshopper and friend of Sweet Feet's, and a full devotee to the Cosmic Flower religion. He and Sweet Feet are both stoners and often try to score drugs with varying degrees of success. He often gets into heated arguments with Jeanette, but operates with a sincere belief in his actions and not just mindless group conformity.


 * Dr. Anthony Marx is a fire ant science and ethics teacher, often keeping Jeanette and Jason's arguments from turning into fist fights. He's laid back and witty, though he has the serious goal of proving that Mushians are not the lone intelligent beings in the universe.


 * Tomoe Bachi is a hornet from Japan and star of rock band called "Ring Stinger." However, despite the recent success of her band she grew to dislike the band's xenophobic tone and left it, hoping to strike out in a more positive direction. Wesley is a fan of Tomoe and harbors a crush on her.