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Jenny Everywhere Clearing House and Update Point

 
  

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Sax
12:42 / 06.10.03
Because there are several Shifter threads in Creation and elsewhere at the moment, I thought it might be an idea to have a new thread so that people can:

A) Give updates about the progress of any Jenny projects currently on the go

B) Allow potential creators to tout for creative partnerships to get new Jenny projects off the ground.

Okay, me first - Following on from My Bloody Valentine, I have a six-page script entitled "The Death of Jenny Everywhere" which Kit-Cat Club is illustrating even as we speak.
 
 
Persephone
13:49 / 06.10.03
I am in the pencil stage of a website redesign. Will be improving user interface type stuff, mainly.

Questions: you know that part in the FAQs where it talks about print specifications? I wonder if that could be changed, since moriarty is focusing more on the website & more guerilla-style publications --i.e., it could turn into more of a "resources" section, giving information, tips, and links for people who would ideally produce their own comics.

Also, is it possible for me to get scans, at least, of the print editions that do exist? I know of Fly & Nelson's mini, and also moriarty's zine version? I think it would be cool to have a gallery of stuff.

And should I put Tony Walsh's Jenny Everywhere serial on the site? How do we decide which comics get posted in the comics section? I'd be fine if moriarty would just send me the stuff that he wants posted & I will stay out of the editorial dept!
 
 
The Falcon
13:54 / 06.10.03
Dudes! Check out Lying in the Gutters, about 7/8 of the way down.

There's been an article in the NY Times, apparently.
 
 
gretchen
15:09 / 06.10.03
I too have written a script, titled 'The Freak Issue'. Jenny discovers a new power, and one of the characters says "gadzakes", if that appeals to anyone who might like to jump in and read it. And draw pictures. (Otherwise, eek gad, I might have to learn to draw). No!! I'm hopeful, despite the apparent under-representation of artists touting for scripts on this project. Anyway it doesn't hurt to ask (it just hurts to draw).

Btw I have been following the lovely shifter evolution since ...before she was even drawn. And gosh, has she not grown up gorgeous? I mean, what a stunner! Damnable prettiness. Praised be all ye creative ones.
 
 
FinderWolf
15:24 / 06.10.03
I'm currently drawing a Jenny story for Impulsivelad (whose scripting talents continue to delight and amaze me!). He's written a few other Jenny stories that I think he's still looking for artists for. I probably won't be available to draw another story in the near future, since I'm slow and am just drawing the Jenny stuff in my spare time and have also talked about drawing a story written by Boy In A Suitcase after I finish Imp's Jenny story.

But I'm psyched to see new Jenny stuff. And Persephone, I have another Jenny drawing I want to send you for the gallery.

Very happy to see the Lying in the Gutters mention! Jenny takes over the world!!! Also excited to read "The Death of Jenny Everywhere"!

p.s. Is 'gadzakes' anything like 'gadzooks'?
 
 
Persephone
15:37 / 06.10.03
To answer Rizla's question from the other thread:

There was a huge spike in hits in September, due to boing boing, the Exclaim article, and also the NYT I assume. Many, many, links in other people's blogs & so forth.

But not as many hits as for the Fluxblog logo, which also lives on QG! There's your target, boys and girls... catch up to Fluxblog...
 
 
Tamayyurt
16:15 / 06.10.03
What HunterWolf said... Basically I've got a whole bunch of Jenny Everywhere stuff written, mainly mini comics and one 36 page giant, which is going to see print in the future. Everything's at different stages of development but I'm really hoping to get something on that site soon.
 
 
Tamayyurt
16:20 / 06.10.03
And should I put Tony Walsh's Jenny Everywhere serial on the site? How do we decide which comics get posted in the comics section?

I don't think so as it already has a home and it's part of a larger story. I think a link will do fine. Only Jenny Everywhere stories should be in the comics section, meaning only stories the revolve around her.

but I'm not in charge... I'm just trying to keep things nice and tight.
 
 
FinderWolf
16:32 / 06.10.03
I agree with Imp - I think a link to that Tony Walsh serial is appropriate, and that the site should only directly have the stories which are all-Jenny as opposed to 'crossovers.' Just my 2 cents.
 
 
FinderWolf
17:23 / 06.10.03
I just posted a message up on the Pop Culture board at www.comicscommunity.com, a message board where a lot of indie comics professionals hang out...I described a tiny bit about Jenny E. and listed Jenny's site address. Just thought I'd spread the Jenny meme around some more
 
 
Nelson Evergreen
17:55 / 06.10.03
Arse. There may be a lengthy wait for Damn Fine Hostile Takeover Part 2. I'm waiting to hear about a fucker of a job that will keep me busy until Christmas if it happens. If not, cool, Jenny & co are go. I did get one new page of cyborg ninja mayhem in the bag a few months back, but then more work happened.

I didn't ask for my career to take off, honest!

(It's particularly irksome because DFHT2 ends on an absolute bitch of a teaser, and you all need to be goosepimpled by it immediately)

By the way, I can't wait to see gretchen's 'Freak Issue'; the unfinished version I read a while back was already a blinder. I'd draw it myself but...

You know.

Hours in the day, and all that.
 
 
sleazenation
22:20 / 06.10.03
I've got a script with nelson (the ballard of jenny everywhere) who has told me he has a lot on at the moment...


I also have a number of jenny everywhere ideas up my sleve but i don't really want to say much or indeed anything about them in case the don't come off leaving me looking like a big fool.
 
 
dlotemp
00:41 / 07.10.03
I'm going to take the opposite approach of sleazenation, spill some plans, and hope that I shame myself into action. I've been spending a lot of time sketching and trying different styles of Jenny with the intent of trying to break into different ground. Story-wise, I have a follow up to MRS. ZIRMA outlined and coincidently showcasing a parallel character that may appear in DFHT2. All I can say is great minds think alike - Nelson vowed to break my nibs if I gave away more.

I've also got an idea for a story featuring the Barbie-doll version of Jenny Everywhere called "Smoothie." It was instigated by the recent Gender discussion about Jenny and involves some gender politics. I'm also doing some research on some 1930s girl adventure comic strips with the hopes of tying them into Jenny's backstory.

Most likely, I won't have anything ready till after January if only because we're busy with a new daughter, born the same week that the NY TIMES article came out. Of course, I slipped the article into conversation at all the worst times.
"Oh, Look at the baby! She's so cute! How much did she weigh?"
"The article is in Section 4, Page 5 of the Week in Review."
"Excuse me?"

Ah well....
 
 
Tamayyurt
02:49 / 07.10.03
Congrats on the new baby, dlotemp!

Those ideas sound great. Can't wait to see them.
 
 
Persephone
13:12 / 07.10.03
Congrats, dlo!!

Did you name her Jenny? Did you try to name her Jenny??

We have to get her one of those cute baby hats, like with soft goggles sewn on top...
 
 
rizla mission
13:33 / 07.10.03
My attempts to get a Jenny Everywhere story seem pretty cursed..

So far I've started drawing two different stories, and haven't got past the second page of either (though I've got two damn nice first pages).

I've also been writing scripts for other stories .. I've finished one, but it's incredibly dumb and silly and functions largely as a framework for loads of cool-ass visuals and crowd-scenes that a talented but bored comics genius might enjoy having a bash at.. And I'm halfway through another script that's far more, um, cerebral and faintly Philip K. Dick-like..

My recurrent problem is that I've got a bunch of good ideas for the start of stories but can't for the life of me figure out how to develop them..

Jenny does make a cameo appearance in my own comic though - issue#2 (retitled 'Building Ghosts') out soon, only about two years late..
 
 
Nelson Evergreen
18:38 / 07.10.03
The difficult third issue's going to be a real trial, isn't it Rizla?

Looks like Jenny's back on my agenda for now. Hurrah. Unless some other fucker tries to distract me with promises of gainful employment.

Come on, dlotemp. Race ya!
 
 
grant
19:46 / 07.10.03
My recurrent problem is that I've got a bunch of good ideas for the start of stories but can't for the life of me figure out how to develop them..

I'll finish 'em for you, if you want....
 
 
dlotemp
00:02 / 08.10.03
Persephone et.al. -

Nahhh...I didn't even try to name here Jenny. We actually had the name picked out quite awhile ago. I think my wife would have strangled me with her own intestines if I'd even SUGGESTED the idea.

She gives life and is willing to take it away.


Nelson - I'm TRYING brother! I did finish that other project and will be sending you a pdf of it in about a week. With that out of the way, I'm hoping to do some more Jenny stuff.
 
 
Mr Tricks
17:50 / 09.10.03
Jenny gets a mention in Lying In The Gutters
 
 
Nelson Evergreen
22:32 / 09.10.03
Persephone: Also, is it possible for me to get scans, at least, of the print editions that do exist? I know of Fly & Nelson's mini, and also moriarty's zine version? I think it would be cool to have a gallery of stuff.

Do you mean the covers?
 
 
Persephone
00:53 / 10.10.03
Yes, just the cover & also some publication details --when & where. I just have a vague idea of a collage-y thing that could look cool...

I haven't gotten an answer to my earlier questions, so let me say a few things:

If it were left up to me, I would slap up Jenny comics as soon as I could get my hands on them. Partly this is based on a real artistic philosophy, partly this is because I'm busy/lazy & don't want negotiate/decide what goes up on the site in every single instance. On the other hand, I would be happy to take direction from an editorial body --moriarty himself, or some sort of Shifter committee-- though my contributions will naturally be limited to my abilities, which is why there isn't going to be a Shifter messageboard very soon.

In the meantime I haven't indexed this, but I figure it's okay to have a special Barbelith sneak preview:

 
 
Sax
08:54 / 10.10.03
And very nice it looks, too. Imp's also linked to it in the comics thread.

**waits patiently for Kit-Cat Club to post with an update**
 
 
FinderWolf
12:59 / 10.10.03
Very fun -- nice job, Imp and Andres! Excellent work - looking forward to seeing Imp's future Jenny scripts!
 
 
grant
18:02 / 10.10.03
There's a typo on page 5 -- "nihgt" for "night".
 
 
ONLY NICE THINGS
19:42 / 10.10.03
Well, thank God somebody's finally made jenny slim.
 
 
FinderWolf
20:43 / 10.10.03
Are you being sarcastic with the 'slim' comment? I just couldn't tell if you genuinely were happy she was drawn more slim or if you were saying it sarcastically.

I draw her more slim too in my story - I was a little afraid of offending the people who originally envisioned her as having a little more weight on her but I realized that in Mrs. Zirma and My Bloody Valentine she's more slim and no one really cared; plus she can be re-envisioned by different artists within reason. So I got over it. She also doesn't wear a scarf in my story cause it takes place in summer, so it's shorts and a "23" t-shirt for our Jenny. She's got the short hair and goggles, though, never fear.

Some artists also drew her more with more Asian features, some draw her as more Caucasian - I figure this feature doesn't seem to need to be exact as well, from my observations of the previously existing stories.

I've also seen a super-secret preview page of another one of Imp's stories and the artist for that one draws Jenny slim & sexy as well. Imp's written so many quality Jenny stories it makes my head spin - the man is a MACHINE!!!
 
 
Nelson Evergreen
00:21 / 11.10.03
As much as I rate impulsivelad's strip, if Moriarty's original sketch of Ms Everywhere had looked like the Jenny portrayed therein, I'm not entirely sure I'd have ever gotten involved in the project.

Slim is fine, for sure. But initially, Jenny looked different. You know. Like another type of human being. The type that fanboys haven't got an awful lot of time for, say: instant anti-comic cliche. So she's a character consisting of infinite selves inhabiting infinite universes. Some of those selves may well be naturally svelte. Some of them may even have put themselves on stricter rations than others. But as more strips emerge, and bearing in mind how averse most modern gentlemen artists are to drawing plump women, I'm worried that in general she's destined to contract into yer regular stick of sequential art eye candy.

Is it just me, or would that be a shame?

So, fuck that. My Jenny's going to get bigger, and she'll eat the rest of 'em for breakfast.
 
 
ONLY NICE THINGS
00:31 / 11.10.03
Well, this strip just kind of... it's a skinny figure with whizzo charlies in T-backs and hipsters, demonstrating a fine ability to take the initiative when horny.

It's Jenny Sparks.
 
 
Persephone
02:51 / 11.10.03
Well then, the people who want a bigger-size Jenny ought to get off their butts & draw; or they have no one to blame but themselves. I don't mean you, Nelson, and I'm not criticizing the way Jenny's drawn in this comic. I happen to think also that this story does a neat thing or two for itself, but I will save that for the other thread. Here I will say that I think that imp's done a very interesting thing for this project, and that is to start kicking out the boundaries... if you believe in this project, then you know that the beauty is that Jenny and her body don't belong to anyone. There are just six Jenny stories right now... I should think that there's more danger that this project will shrivel up from a shortage of production and not be overtaken by an army of big-breasted, wasp-waisted shifters.

What kind of datum would that be, if only the tit-obssessed were motivated enough to make images? My god, maybe there's truth to that... my younger sister and I are so liberal that we've liberated ourselves from having children. Whereas our older sister just went ahead and had her kids. And you know, we can talk until we're blue in the face ...but sometimes it seems to come down to this: she's reproducing, and we're not.

Obviously I'm being slightly facetious, but I do believe in creativity and productivity over almost everything else. Which is not to say that I don't think that criticism has its place, I've gotten my ass kicked over a few web issues & it was good for me.

But most of all I just think that we need more Jennys, and all kinds of Jennys. Bring 'em on, and may the best meme win.
 
 
dlotemp
02:57 / 11.10.03
Nelson et al. - It's funny because I had a curvy Jenny in mind when I drew MRS ZIRMA. She just sort of came out slimmer. So chalk it up to poor artistic execution. But as I mentioned in the COMICS thread, I prefer the non-slim version of Jenny. I think it's because I like the juxtaposition of a visually unintimidating character versus a personality that is energetic and probably over-bearing.

That said, some of my recent sketches of a young Jenny show her really thin. I think my pen is on the Atkins Diet.

Maybe someone can do a story playing around with the idea of Jenny having an eating disorder. That's a freebie idea, folks. No charge.
 
 
Tamayyurt
04:46 / 11.10.03
I do share nelson's concern about Jenny's look ... when I wrote this (and all my other) scripts I never picture her thin at all. But you've seen my scripts. I never really describe her physically. I just write the story, hand it over to the artist, and point them to the site. I try not to meddle too much in their art as I like the collaboration and don't want to ruin it. I've gotten quite a few thin Jenny's. It's an art thing. People tend to draw their ideal women as I tend written her as my type of girl (so yeah, she would be a lot like Jenny Spark's minus the bitter outlook and smoking and drinking.)
 
 
lentil
12:04 / 11.10.03
dlotemp - "It's funny because I had a curvy Jenny in mind when I drew []. She just sort of came out slimmer. So chalk it up to poor artistic execution"

me too.

mm, this point in particular is an art thing.

I do agree with the concerns about her appearance. This may sound strange coming from me as I know I'm probably the worst offender for not keeping to the original description (particularly as HunterWolf's post indicates that MBV may have set a precedent in this direction). I've got a nearly completed Impulsivelad story which features a very similar slim Jenny to MBV, because I was already some way into the story when I started thinking about this more so stuck with the look for consistency. But I do have sketches of a Jenny closer to the original description which I'll be building on for whatever my next contribution turns out to be.

I think it's an issue of "brand identity" as much as anything else. Remember that moriarty's original description should be included with each JE publication. I can imagine a reader looking at my work (say)and, quite fairly, thinking that the artists have trouble maintaining even a loose core for the character and feeling that the coherence of the project is somehow weakened.

I am not at all trying to say that there isn't room for wildly varying interpretations (that's the point) but that if the majority of interpretations become more distant from the original proposal Jenny (project and character) will probably suffer.

"Physician, heal thyself", I know.
 
 
Persephone
12:25 / 11.10.03
But Lentil, "brand identiy" ...*groan*... and in fact, the only thing that needs be included with each Jenny comic is the paragraph about property rights.

From the FAQs:

The character of Jenny Everywhere is available for use by anyone, with only one condition. This paragraph must be included in any publication involving Jenny Everywhere, in order that others may use this property as they wish. All rights reversed.

While we strongly suggest you read through the rest of this site before you begin on your story, all you really need to begin is found above. It is absolutely necessary that this one condition be met, so that the spirit of this project will be continued. Thank you.


I was just writing in my journal that I wish I had just started a Shifter fan site. I'm not really comfortable working at Shifter Central... I don't want to work at the Shifter corporate offices, you know?

Ha ha, get it? Corporate?
 
 
Tamayyurt
13:13 / 11.10.03
Persephone, isn't it only Shifter central until some else makes a more official site? That's the impression I got or is your site just going to be handed over to moriarty? When his workload lessens?
 
  

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