WhirlGirl debuted in 1997 as a sci-fi web series about a reluctant superheroine battling an evil "mediatech" empire in 2077 Southern California. The title character—dubbed "a real revolutionary for a virtual age"—balanced freedom-fighting with realistic personal concerns like dating and having friends.

Initially launched as a webcomic with light animation and short bursts of music and sound effects, WhirlGirl ultimately became the first regularly scheduled web series using Flash animation, and went on to achieve a variety of other industry firsts over a 100-webisode career: including syndication partnerships with major websites, a distribution partnership with a premium cable network, a web television simulcast, cross-media advertising campaigns, and licensing and merchandising agreements.Karl Cohen, "Milestones Of The Animation Industry In The 20th Century" , Animation World Network, 2000-01-01Paula Aquilina, "Teen cyberseries gear up for TV crossover", Kidscreen, 1999-04-01

Characters Kia Cross is the only daughter of mid-21st century revolutionary leader Morgan Cross. After Morgan was captured and destroyed by forces working for ZoneWerks, an evil media/technology corporation run by Ty Harden, Kia was brainwashed and dispatched to a life of quiet servitude. Flash forward: Years later, as the programming wears off, Kia recalls her mother's work and transforms herself into a superheroine. Armed with a trademark weapon (the whirlblade) and a signature fighting move (the spin kick), she resumes the fight for freedom.

WhirlGirl's allies include Stekatta "Kat" Tressner, a stylish gear-head with a thing for WhirlGirl, and teenager Sid X, who can control computers telepathically with a "cybernetic crystal" implanted in his forehead. Victoria Thalios leads the "FreeVox" rebel group, which WhirlGirl often defends.

WhirlGirl's primary foe, Ty Harden, not only runs the evil ZoneWerks empire; he is also Sid X's estranged father. Harden relies on Axxen Baines, a sadist who heads the ZoneWerks security apparatus.

Guest characters In a September 1999 webisode, magicians Penn & Teller appeared as animated versions of themselves in a futuristic Las Vegas.Judith Cockman, "Penn & Teller Guest Star On WhirlGirl, Animation World Magazine, October 1999

In May 2000, WhirlGirl teamed up with the hero of the SciFi (now Syfy) Channel's Barbarian Moron cartoon in a series of webisodes that appeared on both the Showtime and SciFi websites.

Animation Created by David B. Williams and produced by Visionary Media, the studio he founded, WhirlGirl launched at a Spring 1997 trade show.CNET News.com Staff, "Net TVs nowhere near critical mass" CNET News.com, March 3, 1997 Because high-speed broadband access at home was very rare in 1997, and rich media could take minutes to load with a dial-up connection, the series consisted of comic-book-style panels livened up with animated GIFs (minimal animation elements) and looping music and sound effects. In August 1998, using Macromedia's new Flash 2.0 animation software, WhirlGirl replaced its comic-strip panels with five-minute-long webisodes, becoming one of the first animated web series.Bernhard Warner, "IQ News: Looking For Sci-Fi Buffs, Lycos Lands Whirlgirl Web Strip" Adweek, 1998-07-13

Distribution Even before the series was fully animated, Visionary signed online syndication deals with five affiliates, and WhirlGirl debuted in March 1998 on BMG's BUGjuice, E-Pub's Amused, ICL's GamesZone, Microsoft's WebTV Networks, and Canada's BeyondTV.Dana Blankenhorn, "This Week's Clue: The Direction of Technology", A-Clue.Com, 1998-03-30 That July, the site began running on Lycos as well.Bernhard Warner, "IQ News: Looking For Sci-Fi Buffs, Lycos Lands Whirlgirl Web Strip" Adweek, 1998-07-13

In January 1999, Showtime licensed WhirlGirl for online and on-air use, making it the first regularly scheduled animated web seriesKarl Cohen, "Milestones Of The Animation Industry In The 20th Century", Animation World Magazine, 2000-01-01 and the first independently produced web series licensed by a national television network.Broadcasting & Cable Staff, "You go, WhirlGirl", Broadcasting & Cable, 2000-09-03 Showtime's parent company, Viacom, took an undisclosed equity stake in Visionary Media. All 100 episodes were also dubbed into Spanish and distributed on Yupi, one of the first major Spanish-language online networks.Press release, "Yupi.com and Showtime Networks Inc. Collaborate in Virtual Universe; Showtime's Online Animated Series "WhirlGirl" to be Available in Spanish", Business Wire, 2000-02-09

Convergence On February 27, 1999, the series helped advance web-TV convergence by being the first animated webisode to premiere simultaneously on a TV channel and its website—in this case, Showtime and SHO.com. WhirlGirl went on to appear in 100 weekly webisodesKidscreen staff, "WhirlGirl spins into TV format", Kidscreen, 2001-06-01 through March 2001, with the character making occasional appearances on the TV channel as, for example the "host" of a programming block called "Lethal Ladies."Lee Dannacher, "The Big Apple's Silicon Alley", Animation World Magazine, August 1999

Marketing In July 1997, WhirlGirl became the first web series promoted with a traditional TV ad campaign that included high-profile spots in major markets.AdAge Staff, "Web action series WhirlGirl launches with national TV ad campaign", Advertising Age, 1997-07-11 In 1999, Showtime supported WhirlGirl with a million-dollar multimedia marketing campaign featuring billboards and other outdoor ads in major U.S. markets, as well as full-page ads in major magazines.David Kilmer, "SHOWTIME puts WHIRLGIRL in the public eye", Animation World Network, 1999-08-08

WhirlGirl also appeared on the SciFi (now Syfy) Channel as part of the Barbarian Moron stunt, and in June 1999 became the first non-MTV property to be represented for licensing and merchandising by MTV Networks (another Viacom property).Kenneth Li, "WhirlGirl joining forces with MTV", Daily News (New York), 1999-08-02

In 2000, toy maker ReSaurus unveiled a WhirlGirl action figure at Toy Fair, but the toy was not brought to market.RTM Staff, "ReSaurus Debuts WhirlGirl Prototype", Raving Toy Maniac, 2000-06-26

References

External links - WhirlGirl - WhirlGirl on Vimeo