Governing Council (comic story)
Governing Council was to be a standalone Jenny Everywhere comic story written by Benj Christensen and drawn by another artist. It was never finished, with Christensen eventually making the complete script available alongside the four first drawn pages (without speech bubbles).
The story was a multi-Shifter story and focused on “internal government” of the telepathic network of Jennies across the Multiverse, and highlighted the possibility of an aberrant "evil Jenny”.
Contents
Plot
In one universe, a villainous incarnation of Jenny is about to stab a pleading man. However, before she can deliver the blow, she finds herself freezing, her self thrown into the mindscape of the Jenny Everywhere Governing Council, where she is tried for her evil deeds by an assembly of her other incarnations (led by the judges Jen, Julie and Jenny). After prosecution and defence have been heard, each represented by yet another Jenny, the decision of the Governing Council is a forced shifting of minds — another Jenny is sent back to the body of the “evil Jenny”, thus averting the murder, while the mind of the evil Jenny is given a second chance in a new universe.
Worldbuilding
Jenny
- A number of incarnations of Jenny Everywhere are seen, including:
- The story's main, “evil” Jenny. She has dark, long hair, arched eyebrows, and wears a scarf with stark black stripes.
- Another Jenny, whose original body is never seen, has her mind shifted into the previous incarnation's body by the story's end.
- “Jen”, one of the three sitting members of the Governing Council, who has short but smooth hair, Asian features, square goggles and a thick coat.
- “Julie”, another one of the three sitting members of the Governing Council, who has small, round goggles, a thin face and long straight hair.
- “Jenny”, the third of the three sitting members of the Governing Council, who has wavier hair and wears gauntlets that cover her forearms.
- The “Prosecutor Jenny” of the Governing Council, who is “very corporate-looking”, with a striped suit, a scarf that looks like a tie, and goggles that simply look like very large glasses.
- The “Defence Jenny” of the Governing Council, an elf with long hair. Her goggles are glass held in a complex metal headpiece. Her scarf is almost transparent, and she wears a short-lived shirt and a skirt.
Universes
- This story takes place all in one material universe, although the bulk of the story takes place within a mind-scape formed out of the various Jennies' telepathic network.
- The Governing Council Jennies view the possible events that would play out if Evil Jenny was let to go free by watching through the Infinite.
Continuity
- A mental encounter between many incarnations of Jenny Everywhere was previously presented in COMIC: The Death of Jenny Everywhere.
- “Jenny” of the Governing Council mentions looking through “the Infinite”, an idea later developed in other Jenny Everywhere stories by Benj Christensen and others, starting with COMIC: The Jenny Everywhere Chronicles.
- PROSE: Jenny Everywhere in: The Unofficial and Now Just Plainly Annoyingly Titled Sequel to "Jenny Everywhere and the Even More Annoyingly-Titled Sequel to "Jenny Everywhere and the Rather Annoyingly Titled Sequel to "Jenny Everywhere and the Very Short Story""" used the Infinite in a similar way to its usage in this story, showing that a given Jenny could watch specific events unfold in other universes from the comfort of the Infinite.
Behind the scenes
Background
In 2009, Benj Christensen reflected that Governing Council was “quite old” and on the possibility of finishing it alone (he had originally developed the project with “another artist” whom he did not name).
| Ah yes, the Governing Council. This IS quite old. I was working with another artist on it back in the day and it kind of just fell through. Can't honestly remember why. There may come a time when I just sit down and do up the art for it, but I'm not sure when that might happen.
I'm glad that you liked the script, it was fun to write. :) As for the art, I don't really think that it's my place to say whether or not it can be used for anything. I'm fairly certain that the artist is on Deviant Art, if you're determined to use it I would start there. |
| —Benj Christensen |
Read online
The existing material of Governing Council is reproduced here with permission from Benj Christensen.
Page 1/4.
Page 2/4.
Page 3/4.
Page 4/4.
Complete PDF script (open in another tab to read).
