Jeff the Land Shark

Jeff the Land Shark (short for Jeffrey[1]) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Kelly Thompson and artist Daniele Di Nicuolo, Jeff first appeared in West Coast Avengers volume 3 #6, but was not named and formally introduced until issue #7. Jeff is the pet landshark (legged-shark) of Gwen Poole, often loaned out to other heroes, and is the protagonist of It's Jeff!.[2]

Jeff
Jeff on the cover of It's Jeff! #1 (September 2021)
Art by Gurihiru
Publication information
PublisherMarvel Comics
First appearanceWest Coast Avengers vol. 3 #7 (August 2018)
Created byKelly Thompson
Daniele Di Nicuolo
In-story information
Alter egoJeffrey
Team affiliationsWest Coast Avengers
PartnershipsGwen Poole
Elsa Bloodstone
Hawkeye (Kate Bishop)
Wade Wilson

Publication history
Comic-book panel
Jeff's first official appearance in West Coast Avengers #7 (January 2019) by writer Kelly Thompson and artist Daniele Di Nicuolo[3]

Comics

Landsharks first appeared in West Coast Avengers volume 3 #1 (August 2018), created by writer Kelly Thompson and artist Stefano Caselli. The issue saw a herd of landsharks running through Santa Monica. One of the landsharks drawn by Caselli caught Thompson's eye, so she created a character, drawing on the shark imagery and her own pet cats. This character, Jeff, was first introduced in issue #7, drawn by Daniele Di Nicuolo, being adopted by Gwen Poole.[4][3][5] Jeff appeared in the rest of the run of West Coast Avengers.[6]

Jeff appeared in Gwenpool Strikes Back and Deadpool (volume 8).[6][7]

Thompson credits a con exhibition piece by The Unbelievable GwenPool artists Gurihiru as popularizing Jeff.[3] Characters in the Marvel Universe started being depicted with Jeff-themed merchandise.[8][3] Starting September 2021, Jeff then starred in his own series, titled It's Jeff!,[9][4][10] written by Thompson and drawn by Gurihiru.[5] This comedy series has no dialogue.[4][11] It's Jeff! premiered as part of the new Marvel's Infinity Comics program; these digital comics are in the vertical scrolling format and are only available to Marvel Unlimited subscribers.[11] Graeme McMillan, for Polygon, commented that of the new Infinity Comics, It's Jeff! "is pretty perfect from the start" and "an utter joy" unlike the rest of the line.[11] Jim Dandeneau, for Den of Geek, wrote that "if you have a young person in your life, [It's Jeff!] will completely justify an annual Marvel Unlimited subscription".[12] It was nominated for Best Digital Comic at the 2022 Eisner Awards.[13][14] A second season of It's Jeff! returned in September 2022,[15][16] running until January 2023.

Jeff has also appeared in the Marvel Meow Infinity Comic (2022).[17]

It’s Jeff! #1 was released in print in March 2023; this one-shot issue collects the short stories originally published in the digital Infinity Comics format.[18][19] Susana Polo of Polygon highlighted how the issue isn't more complicated than "Jeff gets into some shenanigans, finds a cute way out of them" – it has Gurihiru's "charming art" and Thompson's writing is "Sunday Funnies simple".[19] Avery Kaplan, for The Beat, called the issue a "must-read… or a must re-read".[7] Kaplan commented that while in some places there is obvious evidence of the "vestigial scrolling structure," it doesn't detract from the issue and she appreciated that Marvel went with a longer issue format in order to print all 12 parts of the first season.[7]

Covers

Jeff, with Carol Danvers, was featured on the variant cover of Captain Marvel #39 with art by Gurihiru; this version was exclusive to Marvel Unlimited Annual Plus subscribers who attended San Diego Comic-Con in July 2022.[20][21] Gurihiru then did two more variant covers, Captain Marvel #42 and Captain America: Symbol of Truth #6, which feature Jeff in October 2022.[22] Nao Fuji (artist of Marvel Meow) also did a variant cover, for Shang-Chi and the Ten Rings #4 (October 2022), featuring Jeff.[22]

Character design

Thompson has described the evolution in Jeff's depiction as the character has gone from "a one-time obstacle" to "a fan-favorite".[4] The character design has become cuter. The initial design by Di Nicuolo had four legs and side fins. Drawn by Chris Bachalo in Deadpool, Jeff had two hind legs and side fins. Kevin Libranda in Deadpool then introduced the design with four legs and no side fins, which is seen in It's Jeff!.[3]

Chris Arrant, in GamesRadar+, likens Jeff to other cute, small versions of scary characters, drawing a comparison to Godzookie and Baby Groot.[8] Hannah Rose, for CBR, commented on the challenges of "depicting cuteness" due to a media saturation of cute characters.[23] Rose stated that "by virtue of being a land shark as well as Gurihiro's art style balancing being adorable with being somewhat grounded Jeff's design ensures that he never reaches saccharine sweetness. He's a quadruped, his body design is super-deformed, his mouth and teeth are large, his eyes small and his form and behavior a happy medium between puppy and child. This balance between sweetness, quirkiness and even a slight hint of scariness makes this character [...] such a treat".[23]

Fictional character biography

The land-sharks were created by M.O.D.O.K. When the West Coast Avengers, led by Kate Bishop, defeated a team of super-villains including M.O.D.O.K., Gwen Poole found and adopted a baby land-shark, naming it Jeff after a kitten of the same name Gwen had adopted earlier in the series but who she had to give up. Jeff became part of the West Coast Avengers.

Concerned that so many of her own titles had been cancelled (being a being from the real world, aware of the fictional comic book nature of the Marvel Universe), Gwen gave Jeff to Deadpool so he would have a more secure future, only for his title to be promptly cancelled as well.[4][6]

It's Jeff! (2021) depicts Jeff as living with Kate Bishop, being given to her by Gwen instead.[24] In the series, "Jeff has been the darling of a superhero pool party; stolen Captain America's shield to sled with the Young Avengers; eaten the Infinity Gauntlet; and swiped a superhero gathering's Thanksgiving turkey". In the 2022 second season, Gwen returns, continuing to care for Jeff along with Kate.[12]

Powers and abilities

Jeff is a land-shark with a prodigious appetite. His main attack is biting.

Other versions
  • In 2020, Hasbro introduced a Jeff figure in their Marvel Legends line. The figure was included in a pack for Shiklah.[8]
  • In 2023, Jeff was introduced to the upcoming Marvel United: Multiverse board game by Spin Master Games and CMON as a Kickstarter stretch goal. He was added as part of the Pet Companions expansion to the game which includes new standalone miniatures and corresponding cards.[25] Jeff was also featured as part of Gwenpool's Kickstarter exclusive miniature in Marvel United: X-Men (2021).[26]
  • In 2023, Jeff was introduced to the miniatures skirmish game Marvel: Crisis Protocol by Atomic Mass Games. He was added as part of the "Gwenpool Character Pack".[27]
  • In 2023, Jeff was introduced to the game "Marvel Puzzle Quest" as a playable character.
  • On April 18, 2023, Jeff was introduced to the mobile card game "Marvel Snap" as a playable card.[28]

References
  1. Deadpool vol. 8 #6
  2. Wyatt, Liz (May 20, 2020). "Marvel: 5 Reasons Why Jeff the Land Shark Should be Your New Fav (& 5 Why It Should be Chewie)". CBR.
  3. Thompson, Kelly (October 9, 2021). "Secret Origin: Jeff!". 1979 Semi-Finalist (Newsletter). Substack.
  4. King, Samantha (October 14, 2021). "Comic Creator Reveals the Origin of Marvel's Cutest Character". Screen Rant.
  5. Johnston, Rich (September 9, 2021). "Jeff the Land Shark Gets a Marvel Comic by Kelly Thompson & Gurihiru". Bleeding Cool.
  6. Gaber, Nabeel (2020-08-10). "Deadpool's New Sidekick Is Marvel's Next Baby Groot". CBR. Retrieved 2023-04-03.
  7. Kaplan, Avery (2023-03-29). "The Marvel Rundown: Hit the ground running with IT'S JEFF #1". The Beat. Retrieved 2023-04-03.
  8. Arrant, Chris (September 11, 2021). "Are you aboard the Jeff the Land Shark bandwagon yet?". GamesRadar+. Archived from the original on September 14, 2021. Retrieved September 29, 2022.
  9. "It's Jeff Infinity Comic (2021) #1". Marvel. September 2, 2021.
  10. "Marvel's Kelly Thompson Teases New Project with Deadpool's Jeff The Shark". ComicBook.com. January 2, 2021. Retrieved 2021-04-29.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  11. McMillan, Graeme (September 15, 2021). "Marvel's new webcomics line needed more time to bake". Polygon. Retrieved September 29, 2022.
  12. Dandeneau, Jim (December 31, 2021). "The Best Comics of 2021". Den of Geek. Retrieved September 29, 2022.
  13. Mooney, Colin (June 12, 2022). "The History of Marvel's Newest Eisner-Award-Nominated Hero Jeffrey the Landshark". CBR. Retrieved September 29, 2022.
  14. Schreur, Brandon (May 18, 2022). "DC's Nightwing Leads 2022 Eisner Awards with Five Nominations". CBR. Retrieved September 29, 2022.
  15. Kaplan, Avery (September 9, 2022). "Jeff: The Revenge! IT'S JEFF Infinity Comic returns to Marvel Unlimited". The Beat. Retrieved September 29, 2022.
  16. Mooney, Colin (September 27, 2022). "It's Jeff is Bringing Back His Most Popular Handler - and her Trademark Artist". CBR. Retrieved September 29, 2022.
  17. "Marvel Meow Infinity Comic (2022) #8". Marvel Entertainment. June 10, 2022. Retrieved September 29, 2022.
  18. "Marvel's Jeff the Landshark Leaps from (Eisner Nominated!) Webtoon to Print". ICv2. December 12, 2022. Retrieved December 16, 2022.
  19. Polo, Susana (2023-04-03). "The best pet in Marvel Comics finally has his own comic book". Polygon. Retrieved 2023-04-03.
  20. "Jeff the Landshark Makes Big Waves on a New Series of Variant Covers". Marvel Entertainment (Press release). September 8, 2022. Retrieved September 29, 2022.
  21. Thompson, Kelly (July 21, 2022). "JEFF LIVES!". 1979 Semi-Finalist (Newsletter). Substack. Retrieved September 29, 2022.
  22. "Jeff the Landshark Teams Up with Marvel Heroes in New Variant Covers". ComicBook.com. September 28, 2022. Retrieved September 29, 2022.
  23. Rose, Hannah (2023-03-30). "REVIEW: Marvel's It's Jeff! #1 Is an Adorable One-Off Adventure". CBR. Retrieved 2023-04-03.
  24. Belt, Robyn (November 25, 2021). "Celebrate Thanksgiving with Jeff the Land Shark". Marvel. Archived from the original on November 26, 2021. Retrieved September 29, 2022.
  25. "Marvel United: Multiverse Adds Jeffrey the Land Shark, Goose, Alligator Loki, and More". Comicbook.com. February 8, 2023. Retrieved February 11, 2023.
  26. CMON [@CMONGames] (May 3, 2021). "We just unlocked Gwenpool (and her adorable landshark, Jeff)! Be sure to check out the campaign and catch up on all of the action here: [LINK][IMAGE]" (Tweet). Retrieved February 11, 2023 – via Twitter.
  27. "Marvel: Crisis Protocol Tease Squirrel Girl and Gwenpool Miniatures". Comicbook.com. March 12, 2023. Retrieved March 12, 2023.
  28. SafetyBlade (2023-04-18). "Jeff the Baby Land Shark Theorycraft, Strategy, and Decklists: Is This Really the Best 2 Drop in the Game?". Marvel Snap Zone. Retrieved 2023-04-19.
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