August 13th is a busy day. Not only is it International Left-hander’s Day, it’s also National Filet Mignon Day and National Prosecco Day for those who are Stateside. So why not grab a left-handed friend and invite them over for a nice dinner? Then, when you’re finished, drag them over to the nearest computer and strap them in – because there’s a webcomics reason to celebrate August 13 as well: Jenny Everywhere Day!

For those of you who are unaware of the dimension-hopping woman of many iterations, Jenny Everywhere (also known as “The Shifter”) is an open-source webcomic character created (predominantly) by Steven Wintle in 2001, and is described thus:

“She has short, dark hair. She usually wears aviation goggles on her head and a scarf around her neck. Otherwise, she dresses in comfortable clothes. She is average in 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.”

As well as having these identifiable features, Jenny has a particular superpower which she takes with her wherever she is written: she is present in all realities, existing in each of those dimensions at once, and has the power to shape reality around herself. As a result of this power, Jenny has access to all the accumulated memories and experiences of her multiple selves – allowing her to reference (or crack wise about) the other webcomics she’s appeared in, as well as allowing her to live (or die) across multiple properties without affecting her own continuity or the next creator who wishes to use her.

And use her they have – over the past fifteen years, Jenny Everywhere has been written and drawn by dozens of creators, across multiple properties. Being an open-source character, Jenny is:

“…available for use by anyone, with only one condition: this paragraph must be included in any publication involving Jenny Everywhere, that others might use this property as they wish. All rights reversed.”

Each year, on August 13th, creators are invited to submit their tales or artwork of Jenny Everywhere to a central archive. It seems that in recent years this is where the character has mostly lived: in the one-shot canvasses or prints created specifically for her international event day. However, this year also saw the release of the Jenny Everywhere Roleplaying Game – Jenny’s first (known) foray into the roleplaying world.

In the past, Jenny has enjoyed appearances in several webcomics of varying length, as well as national press coverage and exposés by other media outlets. Currently, the project is overseen by the partnership of Benj Christensen and the Webcast Beacon Network’s ‘Fes’. Whilst the event is now finished for 2017, it will no doubt return for its ninth year in 2018 (although the character is nearly old enough to vote, the annual event celebrating her has only been going since 2009) – and in the meantime, this year’s entries and the archives of previous Jenny Everywhere Days can be found here.

Have you come across Jenny Everywhere in a place we haven’t listed here? Be sure to let us know in the comments, and until next time, remember: don’t eat the clickbait!