Artist Who Made People Cry With Her Grim Reaper Animal Comics Is Back With New Tearjerkers
Interview With Artist
Get ready to experience a rollercoaster of emotions as we dive into the latest heart-touching creation from Jenny-Jinya. Known for her tearjerker comics that shed light on important issues, Jenny’s newest work explores the themes of death and life through the stories of beloved pets—a loyal dog, a devoted cat, and cherished pet parrots who have crossed the rainbow bridge.
Jenny shared with Bored Panda that her passion for drawing has been a lifelong obsession: “My mother always said I drew before I could walk. I picked up a pencil when I was a kid, and I never stopped scribbling. Yes, I always wanted to be an artist. I wanted to tell stories and create worlds.”
Before you scroll down, we have to warn you that these stories may gently tug at your heartstrings. Get the tissues ready!
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“It reminds me of you”
Image credits: jenny_jinya
Jenny shared that she got the idea for “Life” from feeling sorry for the Reaper. She thinks his job is sad and lonely, even though he has a friendly nature. People often blame him for things and treat him badly.
But Jenny wants us to know that the Reaper is just part of life too. She believes that if anyone really understands and likes him, it’s life itself.
“Sometimes I still hear them”
Image credits: jenny_jinya
Bored Panda reached out to Jenny once again to delve deeper into her creative process. The artist breathes life into emotions through her artwork, so we asked about the inspiration behind her comics with such emotional and impactful themes. Jenny explained, “In Germany, we have the word ‘Weltschmerz’, we use it to describe ‘painfully felt melancholy that someone feels about their own inadequacy’. You read and hear so much about so many terrible things in this world and you can’t do anything to solve all these problems. This was the feeling behind the first Loving Reaper comic about an abandoned dog waiting for his family. I thought to myself, this happens millions of times every year, I hope death is kinder than humanity.”
“Life and Death decided to exchange roles”
Image credits: jenny_jinya
Creating art that evokes deep emotions is a powerful skill, but it also raises a question about the emotional impact on the artist. We were curious to know, on a personal level, how Jenny navigates and copes with the emotional toll her work might take on her. “As I have to look at and read through lots of articles and photos of sick or injured animals every day, it really gets to me,” the artist shared. “But I try not to become numb to these things. It has made me more aware, more grateful, and more concerned. I also try to help outside of my comics by making donations or teaming up directly with organizations for comic projects. The most recent one was Barba.no, a Norwegian Arctic exploration and education organization. Or once with Rewriting Extinction and SeaSheppert, or Rewild. This topic is sincerely important to me, I try to do what I can. But it is actually the messages from my readers that give me the feeling that I am not alone in my efforts and that it is truly worthwhile. I feel like part of some kind of ‘international community’ that is striving for a better tomorrow.”
“Mystery solved!”
Image credits: jenny_jinya
According to Jenny, it is very difficult to write a story worth reading about every serious problem. “Some people accuse me of not covering topics, but the fact is, there are thousands of topics I would like to write about! I’m a one-woman show, I don’t have a team behind me and my comics demand a lot from me. The story has to carry the topic so that people want to read it, that just takes time.
But it’s all the more rewarding when a story works and is well received. As already mentioned, I am often cheered up by the stories of my readers when they tell me how they have taken in street cats or adopted sick and old animals and thus saved their lives. All the big and small sacrifices that people make. There are thousands of people out there who are really trying to help the animals in their area, but you don’t see these people in the news. They are the unsung heroes of our time, while politicians rarely pass laws to help animals. It’s good to know they are there, it keeps my hope in humanity as I read about human cruelty on a daily basis.”
“They will always wait for you”
Image credits: jenny_jinya
The artist mentioned that she often receives messages from readers about both big and small heroic deeds. These messages bring her a lot of joy, but what’s interesting is that people are doing these good things on their own, not just inspired by her comics. “But sometimes they actually say that one comic or another has encouraged them to do so. When I published ‘Black Cats’, I received countless photos of newly adopted black cats and the comment that ‘it’s all my fault’ (in a humorous way). Sometimes I get updates on how well they are doing. Sometimes I get reports that donations have been made in my name or that animal shelters have named an animal after me. That’s really cool!
But what I get a lot of are messages from people of all ages telling me that they haven’t been able to cry for ages but some comic of mine has finally broken the dam. It’s just so nice that my little short comics can have such an effect. It makes me so unspeakably happy.”
“For the friends who wandered and never returned”
Image credits: jenny_jinya
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