Jack (webcomic)
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| Jack | |
|---|---|
 The main cast of Jack |
|
| Author(s) | David Hopkins |
| Website | www.pholph.com |
| Current status | Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays |
| Launch date | 2001-03-01 |
| End Date | Ongoing |
| Genre(s) | Furry, Drama, Horror |
| Rating(s) | For mature audiences (MA) |
Jack is a furry webcomic by David Hopkins. It is set in a world populated by anthropomorphic animals and focuses on judgment and afterlife, which function here basically according to Christian beliefs.
Contents |
[edit] Overview
Jack covers subjects related to the attitude a person can lead in life and its consequences to them and to the people around them. Frequent features are disease, rape, murder, suicide, bereavement and redemption. The comic is divided into a number of arcs (subplots) of varying length. Artwork style and presence of color differ from arc to arc. Most arcs take place on Earth or in Hell, although some are set in Heaven or Purgatory.
[edit] Characters
- Jack
- Represents the sin of Wrath. He is portrayed as a wizened green rabbit, wearing a ragged, brown cloak and most often seen carrying a scythe. It is his job to collect the souls of the dead and lead them to their final judgment as the Grim Reaper. The plot revolves basically around his recollections of the heinous sins he committed during his life, which had been removed from his memory as part of his punishment.[1]
- Fnar
- A fetus who died before he was born. Appears as a child dressed in a sailor suit, curious, trusting and always smiling. Fnar is unaffected by the horrors of Hell, which he wanders around aimlessly, since he is innocent and ignorant.[2]
- Drip Tiberius Rat
- Represents the sin of Lust. Depicted as a monstrous blue rat with distinctive black eye markings. In life he was a rapist and murderer.[3] Appears in many other projects of Hopkins as well.[4][5]
- Farrago
- A "young" angel, portrayed as a female ferret with only bloody stumps for wings early in the story.[6] She is kind and trusting and intent on helping Jack restore his memories.
- Central
- A senior angel of a mixed breed of animals, who follows God's rules to the letter. She has white fur, angel wings, and a lion’s tail.[7]
- Others
- Other characters include the other five sins, Vince Van Morrison (Greed), Dr. Kane (Envy), Bob and Lisa Vorsh (Gluttony), Emily (Pride/Vanity) and the yet unnamed Sloth (Sloth/Laziness). There are also other angels, denizens of Hell, Heaven and Purgatory, characters living on Earth, etc.
[edit] Symbolism and inspiration
Jack is based on Christian tradition, but the world and its rules are not totally consistent with the typical Christian views. The angels are the forces of good, and the sins are evil personified. Many of Hell's denizens seem to enjoy inflicting pain on one another. However, there are a few shades of gray in this world. At times, people who were essentially good ended up going to Hell.[8] The unfairness of the fates of many of these people, and the observations of Jack on the unfairness of life, are central themes in this comic. According to Hopkins, his main inspirations for Jack were Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy and The Sandman by Neil Gaiman.[9] The visual influences of Todd MacFarlane can be seen in some characters, most particularly in Drip's resemblance to the Violator from Spawn.
[edit] Jack in print
Three comic books of Jack (also referred to as the "dead tree versions") have so far been published by Furnation Multimedia. These include bonus story arcs, not available online. The comic books Cliff (2 issues) and Long Island (one so far) are set in the same universe as Jack. (The former is a joint project by David Hopkins and Roz Gibson, the latter is by David Hopkins and Katie Hopkins.)[10]
[edit] Fandom
Over the years, Jack has acquired a moderately large and ever-growing fanbase, centered around the official Jack forum, producing numerous pieces of Jack fan fiction and fan art. There is also a fan-made freeware platform game based on Jack.[11]
[edit] Miscellaneous facts about Jack
- Arcs set on Earth take place during different, not always consecutive time periods. In Heaven and Hell there is no concept of time.[12]
- The eyes of characters symbolize their status in the Jack universe: sins have no pupils; living souls and angels have full pupils; the souls of deceased persons have "pin-prick" eyes as long as they don’t recognize their sins.[13]
- Cameos in Jack include the fursonas of furry cartoonists Amber Williams[14], Albert Temple[15] and Candy Dewalt[16].
- In 2004, Jack tied with Demonology 101 for the Web Cartoonist's Choice Award for Outstanding Dramatic Comic.[17]
[edit] References
- ^ Strip 279
- ^ Strip 4
- ^ Strip 49
- ^ Rework the Dead 2, Strips 44-45
- ^ Hopkins's VCL archive
- ^ Strip 138
- ^ Strips 135-136
- ^ Strip 136
- ^ Hopkins about inspiration. Retrieved January 26, 2007.
- ^ FurPlanet
- ^ Thread on Jack Forum about the Jack game. Retrieved February 26, 2007.
- ^ Strip 79
- ^ Strips 175-176
- ^ Strips 451-454
- ^ Strips 99-109
- ^ Strips 445-447
- ^ Web Cartoonist's Choice Awards Home Site, 2004 results. Retrieved February 26, 2007
