| Jenny Everywhere | |
|---|---|
Jenny Everywhere as envisioned by Diana Nock of Jinxville.com. |
|
| Author(s) | Multiple Depends on author. |
| Website | http://TheShifterArchive.com |
| Launch date | Early 2002 |
| Genre(s) | Science Fiction, Super Hero |
Jenny Everywhere aka "The Shifter" is an open source, public domain character. She was specifically created to be as such, when her creators could not find any other truly open source, public domain characters.
Jenny Everywhere is described both as existing in every reality and being able to shift between realities. This gives the character the ability to be inserted into the continuity of any existing or new work, such as various comics or webcomics. The concept may be extended to other media as well. She was originally created by Canadian comic book artist Steven Wintle, who uses the internet alias Moriarty, and co-developed by members of the Barbelith online community.[1]
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According to the character's website:
She has short, dark hair. She usually wears aviation goggles on top of her head and a scarf around her neck. Otherwise, she dresses in comfortable clothes. She is average size and has a good body image. She has loads of confidence and charisma. She appears to be Asian or Native American. She has a ready smile.
In the post where he first proposed the character, Wintle described her as:
If I had to compare her to anything, it would be like if Tintin listened to Le Tigre and joined the Fantastic Four. She's excitable, passionate, attentive, curious, and caring. Like Captain Marvel, she's just a really powerful kid.[2]
For reference, a comprehensive art collection of Jenny Everywhere character renditions and interpretations can be found on The Shifter Archive Project website.
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.
The "license" is self-explanatory. However, it should be clarified that it does not mean everything with Jenny Everywhere is free-use and uncopyrighted. People may still maintain copyrights on their own unique characters and character styling, story, artwork, and title.
The name, the character herself, and the idea of the character is uncopyrightable, because she already belongs to everyone. That is what is meant by the "All Rights Reversed" portion.
Nelson Evergreen, artist of A Damn Fine Hostile Takeover Part 1 and Part 2, had released Part 2's idea of the "Jenny Nowhere" character to the same open license as Jenny Everywhere. Originally intended as a sort of antagonist to Jenny Everywhere, Nelson says the Jenny Nowhere should open to just as much accessibility.[3]
Being that Jenny Everywhere is a free culture character with no official site or publication, it is up to the creators of any story involving The Shifter to decide if they want to link to the continuity of other peoples' work or not. For example; in the story by Alex Hernandez (writer), Soulless Mate, a prominent character is one of Jenny's boyfriends from the My Bloody Valentine story. In someone else's story, this connection may not have happened.
Most of the stories for Jenny Everywhere exist strictly as webcomics. In 2003, Nelson Evergreen and Joe Macaré had made a limited 50-unit self-publication of their stories, Name's Not Down and Damn Fine Hostile Takeover. A list of all known, independent comic stories of The Shifter can be found below:
The character of Jenny Everywhere has not been limited to independent stories. She has also appeared in a number of existing webcomics as cameos and crossovers. A list of all known such appearances are listed below:
Jenny has even appeared as a presenter for the 2008 Web Cartoonists' Choice Awards, presenting the category for Outstanding Character Rendering.
There have been several one-time, single strips as well that have appeared as entries to Strip Fight contests. Strip Fight is a website that host bi-monthly contests in which people are invited to create a single comic strip, based on a given theme. Jenny Everywhere has been the subject of two different Strip Fight contests. The first one was Strip Fight: Round 5 in April 2004, and the second one was Strip Fight: Round 136 in October 2007.
In 2008, The Shifter Archive and WAGON Webcomic Battle lined up a drawing contest with Jenny Everywhere. Entrants were to compete for one of three official Jenny Everywhere game cards to be used in the WAGON Webcomic Battle Trading Card Game. Third Place was awarded to Zack Holmes, whose card was place with the Beta Deck. Second Place was awarded to Jacob Burrows, whise card was placed in the Alpha Deck. First place was awarded to Benj Christensen, whose card was deemed a Rare and Promotional Card. These cards have been put into print in November 2008.[4]
After several complete webcomics and the original launch of www.jennyeverywhere.com, The Shifter received much praise in niche online communities. Soon the character became recognized and praised in the September 2003 issue of the Canadian publication of Exclaim!. In an article titled Jenny's Everywhere: A Hero For The People, No Strings Attached, writer Tony Walsh wrote:
"The pinstripe world of corporately-owned superheroes is about to get shattered by a time-bomb named The Shifter. This sassy superheroine was born in a colossal explosion of energy like many of her copyrighted cousins, but unlike Superman or the Hulk, she belongs wholly to the people."[5]
Soon after, The New York Times picked up on The Shifter, and an article was published in the September 14, 2003 issue. In an article titled Ideas & Trends: The Sharing Society; In the Age of the Internet, Whatever Will Be Will Be Free, journalist Steve Lohr wrote:
"In [Canada], a small group of artists and editors has set up a Web site for Jenny Everywhere, an increasingly popular open-source cartoon.... What all this means for the future of intellectual property, and some businesses, is as unpredictable as the open-source revolution itself...."[6]
