Jack (webcomic)

Jack is a furry webcomic by David Hopkins. It is set in a world populated by anthropomorphic animals.
"Jack" focuses on its title character, a wizened green rabbit who lives in Hell. He is the embodiment of the deadly sin wrath, whose punishment is being the Grim Reaper. In life, the unfairness of some deaths, particularly towards the ones he loved, made him angry. In his position as Grim Reaper, he now has to witness more death, the cause of his wrath. Jack attempts to remember the sins he did in life in order to be forgiven for them. This is hard for him as his other punishment is having no memory of his life on Earth.
"Jack" was joint winner for the "Best Dramatic Comic" award at the Web Cartoonist's Choice Awards in 2004.
Overview.
"Jack" covers subjects related to the attitude persons can exhibit in life, as well as its consequences to them and to the surrounding people. 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. Arcs take place on Hell, Earth, Heaven and Purgatory. Arcs set on Earth take place during different, not always consecutive, time periods. In Heaven and Hell there is no concept of time. 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 do not recognize their sins.
"Jack" is based on Christian tradition, but the world and its rules are inconsistent with typical Christian views. The angels are the forces of good, and the sins are evil personified. Many of Hell's denizens enjoy inflicting pain on one another. However, there is confusion at times, with people who were good in life end up going to Hell. The unfairness of the fates of many of these people, and the observations of Jack on the unfairness of life, are central themes to the comic.
History.
David Hopkins, a minor furry comic artist, previously created comics such as "Rework the Dead" (which was then adapted into a video game by Team Happy Rainbow Panda Bears). After creating a comic entitled "Trixi and Tet" (which later became the third story "Arc" of "Jack"), his then girlfriend (and later wife) Katie suggested that he should break out to a bigger audience. Initially hesitant as he was used to a smaller audience, he then expanded. After "Trixi and Tet" was published, he had around 5,000 readers. "Jack" has four published comic books, spin-off comic books, and a growing fan base.
The comic has since made references to other comics in the furry fandom, including guest art from the furry fandom such as Albert Temple and Candy Dewalt, and Jack also appears in other furry webcomics such as "A Doemain of Our Own" and "Gene Catlow".
Merchandise.
Currently, there have been four comic books containing collections of "Jack" comics (also referred to as the "dead tree versions") published by Furnation Multimedia. These include bonus story arcs not available online. There are also comic books by Hopkins and guest writers set in the same universe as "Jack". These are "Cliff" (2 issues) and "Long Island" (1 issue). The former is a joint project with Roz Gibson, the latter is with Katie Hopkins. There is a fan-made freeware platform game based on "Jack".
Awards.
"Jack" was joint winner of "Best Dramatic Comic" (alongside "Demonology 101") at the Web Cartoonist's Choice Awards in 2004. It was also nominated in 2002, 2003, and 2005. In the same ceremony, it was nominated for "Best Anthropomorphic Comic" in 2002 and 2003. It was also nominated for "Best Environment Design" in 2003 and "Best Story Concept" in 2005. "Jack" was nominated for "Best Anthropomorphic Comic Book or Strip" at the Ursa Major Awards for 2001 and 2003, and as "Best Graphic Story" for 2009.