
Tiff (L) and Eve (R)
Tiff & Eve is a Slice of Life / comedy webcomic written by Fran Sundblad. The comic alternates between a gag a day format, serialized storytelling, or more serious strips dealing with social commentary and current events.
The comic centers on a duo of young adults / roommates in Minneapolis still getting the hang of working life. Tiff is a timid, polite trans artist who has only recently come out, and works as an administrative assistant. Eve is a brash, tomboyish blue-collar warehouse laborer. The two are inseparable best friends, despite the amount of misadventures they go through.
Tiff & Eve contains examples of:
- Agony of the Feet: One arc has Eve crush her foot while on the job, but stubbornly refuse to get medical treatment to keep the respect of her male coworkers.
- Clueless Boss: Tiff's boss Mr. Belmonte can be pretty unaware of things. He is unaware that his impossible deadlines for Veronica are causing her to go crazy until Tiff spells it out for him, and he thinks that Tiff's nervous stammering over Veronica dating a blonde administrative assistant was because Tiff was homophobic instead of simply covering up the fact that she was dating Veronica, and ignores Tiff's protests that she's a lesbian by insisting he'd seen her eying the mailboy. Worse, he doesn't seem to notice the fact that Janice is the actual bigot in the office.
- Comic-Book Time: Discussed and parodied. Eve is reading the funny pages and espousing how the characters like Blondie or Jeremy never age, are stuck in certain eras, or experience multiple eras without changing.Tiff: Off-topic, but what game console did you have as a kid?
Eve: It was either a Sega Master System or a Wii U. - Disguised in Drag: Parodied: Agent Delano wears a dress, blonde wig, and fancy hat over a suit in order to infiltrate the trans community.
- Establishing Character Moment:
- In the very first comic, Eve throws a tomato at an anti-trans demonstrator outside her and Tiff's apartment, establishing Eve as an ally who doesn't suffer fools.
- Janice's comes when she's interviewing Tiff for the secretary job, and gleefully exclaims that she was retweeted by right-wing Florida governor Ron DeSantis — known for his virulent anti-LGBT policies — immediately establishing Janice as a bigot.
- FBI Agent: The dimwitted FBI Agent Delano, who is undercover in the trans communty.
- Fiery Redhead: Eve is a snarky, brash redhead always willing to whup somebody's butt with her trusty mallet.
- Groin Attack: Poor Tiff ends up suffering crippling testicular pain when she first starts testosterone blockers. It doesn't last long, but Eve is more than happy to tease her about feeling "testy."
- Hired to Hunt Yourself: A humorous version. In the "Phobe" arc, Tiff's boss thinks she's homophobic due to the way she acts around his daughter. He sends her to sensitivity training, and once it's complete, he gives her a new assignment to find the identity of the woman his daughter is dating — which is, of course, Tiff herself.
- Hope Crusher: Tiff's transphobic mother Tammy. All it takes is one phone call from Tammy to reduce Tiff from confidently ready for a date with Veronica, to a trembling, clammy mess.
- Like Brother and Sister: Well, like Sister and Sister, anyway—even though Tiff is a lesbian, it's made very clear that she does not have feelings for her best friend Eve, and even if she did, Eve is straight. It's established early on that, if Eve was into girls, she and Tiff would probably be a couple, but she's not so they aren't. Tiff even says that Eve turning her down on the basis of being a girl is "one of the most gender-affirming things you've ever said to me."
- Literal Metaphor: Arc "The Closet" deals with Tiff trying to come out as trans to her Love Interest Veronica—i.e., "come out of the closet." It also features Tiff and Ronnie trapped inside a literal closet.
- Mistaken for Gay: Inverted. Mr. Belmonte accuses Tiff of being homophobic after he notices her stammering while he tells her about Veronica dating a blonde administrative assistant. He also mistakes her for straight when he insists that he saw Tiff eyeing the mailboy after she protests that she's a lesbian.Tiff: Thanks for the mail, Eugene.
Eugene: Geez, Tiff, I have a fiancé. Give it up. - Paper-Thin Disguise: Agent Delano is an FBI agent undercover as a trans woman to spy on Minneapolis' queer community. He puts barely any effort into his disguise. He wears a skirt over a suit, tie, and sunglasses, bluntly asks the people he's spying on if they're having any secret terrorist meetings, and introduces himself as Agent Delano - which he hastily corrects to Aggie.
- Police Are Useless: Agent Delano's efforts to infiltrate the trans community would be scary if he weren't terrible at it, such as failing to spy on a trans support group because he accidentally went to an AA meeting instead.
- Platonic Life-Partners: The titular characters. Eve regularly dates guys and Tiff is attracted to other women, but their relationship is entirely platonic. And they're very much best friends.
- Real Life Writes the Plot: Minnesota's protests against ICE's Operation Metro Surge
in 2026 were worked into the strip, as the two characters also participated in protests. - Shout-Out:
- Tiff is a fan of other very Midwestern comedies like The Red Green Show and Mystery Science Theater 3000.
- Both Tiff and Eve seem to be fans of Dune, with Tiff using "The slow blade penetrates the shield" as business advice during a meeting, and Eve once sleeping with a guy who asked her to "ride his Sand Worm."
- A picture in Ronnie's apartment implies that she's friends with Paige Fox.
- Tiff and Eve dress up as Calvin and Hobbes, respectively, for Halloween.
- Shrinking Violet: Tiff is shy, timid, and somewhat demure. That said, Tiff is not spineless and will be assertive if the situation calls for it. Her anger is downright scary.
- Spell My Name with a Blank: Whenever Tiff's deadname is used — either by mistake or out of bigotry — it is rendered as a fully redacted black box.
- Spotting the Thread: Discussed. Veronica explains to Tiff that she figured out pretty quickly that Tiff was trans, and explains that her experience as an artist helped her pick up on very subtle tells. However, she's quick to reassure Tiff that she is actually doing a very good job passing.
- Ten Minutes in the Closet: Invoked by Tiff's coworker Josie, who locks Tiff in a closet with Veronica. However, it goes sideways when the claustrophobic Veronica suffers a panic attack.
- Tomboy and Girly Girl: The titular duo. Tiff is the more traditionally feminine Shrinking Violet, while Eve is a sarcastic and brash tomboy. They get along like a house on fire. It makes sense when you consider their backgrounds, as well—they've been friends since before Tiff transitioned. They're two gender-nonconforming people who became friends, and after Tiff's transition, Tiff's naturally trying to emphasize her femininity while Eve's become a bit more (tomboyishly) confrontational to protect her friend.
- Victoria's Secret Compartment: One comic has Tiff realizing she can use her bra to hold stuff, and innocently wondering if any other women have made this discovery.
- Your Approval Fills Me with Shame: During the "Phobe" arc, Janice gives Tiff a get-out-of-sensitivity-training-free slip. Given that Tiff's only in sensitivity training due to being Mistaken For Straight, she's initially glad to make use of it—before she realizes that the slip came from Janice, and chucking it in the trash in resignation.
