It's Jeff: Jeff-Verse

by Kelly Thompson

Meet Jeff the Land Shark, the cute, innocent, and downright hilarious breakout star from West Coast Avengers, now in his very own book that's perfect for young readers age 10-14!

Here’s all 3 of Jeff's hilarious solo adventures, including Venom War: It’s Jeff #1, collected in one trade edition.

Readers can play as Jeff the Land Shark in the smash hit new video game Marvel Rivals, available now!

Since his very first appearance, Jeff the Land Shark has flooded our hearts like an adorable tidal wave! Now the ingenious, the extraordinary, the unbearably innocent Jeff embarks on his own adventures across the Marvel Universe — with guest spots from some of your favorite heroes!

You thought it was safe doing laundry or going for a leisurely swim in the pool…but no activity can protect against Jeff's cuteness! Whether he's orchestrating a pet shop takeover, or solving a high-stakes mystery like "what's the best street-food snack," Jeff is flipping his fantastic fins all over the Marvel Universe! But, when Jeff’s night of fun is interrupted by the madness of the Venom War, is Marvel’s goodest boy going to be able to keep his cool? Or…will he give in to the symbiote’s temptations and eat someone’s brains?!?

COLLECTING: It's Jeff (2023) 1, It's Jeff: Jeff-Verse (2023) 1, Venom War: It's Jeff (2024) 1

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Marvel, Humor, Graphic Novels Comics, Superheroes, Middle Grade

128 pages, Paperback

First published April 29, 2025

About the author

KELLY THOMPSON has a degree in Sequential Art from The Savannah College of Art & Design. Her love of comics and superheroes have compelled her since she first discovered them as a teenager. Currently living in Portland, Oregon with her boyfriend and the two brilliant cats that run their lives, you can find Kelly all over the Internet where she is generally well liked, except where she's detested.

Kelly has published two novels - THE GIRL WHO WOULD BE KING (2012) and STORYKILLER (2014) and the graphic novel HEART IN A BOX from Dark Horse Comics (2015). She's currently writing ROGUE & GAMBIT, HAWKEYE, and PHASMA for Marvel Comics and GHOSTBUSTERS for IDW. Other major credits include: A-Force, Captain Marvel & The Carol Corps, Jem and The Holograms, Misfits, Power Rangers Pink, and the creator-owned mini-series Mega Princess.

Kelly's ambitions are eclipsed only by her desire to exist entirely in pajamas. Fortunately pajamas and writers go hand in hand (most of the time). Please buy all her stuff so that she can buy (and wear) more pajamas.

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s Jeff. Enough said. Take my money.

[kate elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

he’s just a little baby!

[Bryan House · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nom nom nom

[Dakota Morgan · Rating 2 out of 5]

There's an audience for these "Sunday morning newspaper comic"-level tales about Jeff, the land shark, but it's not me. The wordless tales weren't particularly clever, just an endless array of takes on the fact that Jeff is A. hungry, or B. looks like a shark. The book concludes with a few stories where Jeff is merged with a symbiote, yet the takes don't change. Art is cute, though!

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

"It's Jeff: Jeff-Verse" is SO MUCH fun! I've read some stories with Jeff in them, but I think this is the first time that I've read individual Jeff comics. He's such a fun and adorable landshark character. He has a heart of gold, and is also very curious and determined. That leads to a lot of fun adventures. They're all slice of life ones, but each of them are cute and bring a lot of joy and laughter.

Before I go on, I just wanted to note that while the tradeback is not out yet (as of the date of this review), I read the single issue comics that the tradeback contains (I have the first two "It's Jeff" books in paperback form and have the e-book version of the Venom War: It's Jeff book).

The first two "It's Jeff" issues do not have any words (beyond Kate yelling: "Jeff!" or "Jeffrey!"). But, they're self explanatory. So is the Venom War story. Jeff has some of the coolest and most fun adventures, and I love the characters we see along the way, especially Gwenpool, Kate Bishop/Hawkeye, America Chavez, Fuse, and Squirrel Girl as well as Lucky, Alligator Loki, and Tippy Toe. I think my favorite ones are the one where Jeff tries on Halloween costume and another one where Jeff is angered by a pet shop. None of the stories are too complex, but that's okay because these are meant to be simple, cute, and enjoyable stories, especially if you're in the mood for a light read. The art is great too.

Overall, Kelly Thompson and Gurihiru have succeeded again in collaborating on an awesome comic. The designs, colors, and bright tones of the artwork are superb and well-fitting. The stories are solid too. This is a fun and quick read.

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't really follow the Marvel universe but I have seen some Jeff stuff on Instagram and then I saw this at the library. I'm not about the start delving in to Marvel universe but this was really cute. Jeff is so adorable. Some stories are funny, others just break your heart. Him dressed as a dolphin is just so adorable. Definitely worth a read.

[Sam Whale · Rating 5 out of 5]

incredibly cute and funny comics drawn utterly beautifully by Gurihiru. most of them read like short Snoopy style newspaper stories but the back third is a more traditional comic centering on Jeff being infected by a symbiote.
Overall I preferred the Snoopy style shorts but the whole book was delightful all the way.

I love the way Gurihiru draws Kate Bishop!

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

For me it’s more of a 3, but I upped the rating since I’m not really the intended audience. Sometimes that doesn’t make a difference if the story is good enough - Marvel Meow is similar in format, and I liked that one - but I think in this case kids would really like these comics.

This volume is a cute collection of (mostly) wordless comics about Jeff the shark, featuring a plethora of other Marvel characters. I got a kick out of looking at the group scenes and seeing who all I could recognize or remember the names of. Even those who aren’t comics fans could get a kick out of most of Jeff’s adventures - they’re a good intro to new comic readers since, for the most part, you don’t need a lot of background info to understand what’s going on. Kind of a Garfield vibe.
The main exception to not needing backstory, which is also the exception to the wordless thing, is the final comic in the volume, which ties into the King Venom crossover series. It’s kind of an odd fit since most of the comics are short, episodic skits. It’s a little scarier in tone compared to the rest of the comics, as well - most of the volume would be good for even the youngest kids, but that comic feels more intended for about third grade or so, between the venom zombies, the text, and the art style.

A glossary might have been a nice addition for some of the recurring characters, like the other Marvel ‘pets’.

[Eddie Kristan · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's Jeff is an adorable and clever structure. It's a good literacy tool. Hesitant or early readers can follow the narrative of Jeff's mischief and even recognize favorite characters that they, or especially their older siblings, know and love.

[Compass · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adorable Shark Dog who could do nothing wrong.

[Sammie :) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Utterly adorable

[Karen Mikkelsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Too cute and soo funny ☺️

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute adventures with my namesake land-shark.

[Angus Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible

[Katherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

My partner picked this up on a bit of a whim and it was a delight to read. Made up of lots of small vignettes, Jeff is utterly adorable and I giggled a lot while reading his antics. The artwork is also lovely to look at.

[Jayme Evans · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a cute graphic novel about Jeff! Who doesn't like Jeff?!

[Abbi Gilzean · Rating 5 out of 5]

All the stars for Jeff. I love Jeff the landshark and his shenanigans.

[Andee Forsgren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweet lil collection of Jeff the land-shark and his adventures.

[MannyLikesPie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute as always

[alexander shay · Rating 3 out of 5]

A coworker told me about this land shark that appeared in Marvel Rivals and I became instantly obsessed despite not having played the game yet. When I saw this on order for the library I put it on hold immediately. The art style is adorable and every comic inside is fluffy and cute. But I definitely think it's a comic better read one 'issue' at a time, as reading the whole thing front to back got a bit repetitive given the lack of dialogue and any sort of plot.

[Sesana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute little landshark shenanigans. The Venom stuff didn't tickle me quite as much, but Jeff is always adorable.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

very cute, mostly wordless. 3.5

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got a text this afternoon from my library bestie with a picture of the cover of this graphic novel. It was an ILL (Interlibrary Loan) from another library that had been returned today. She left it on her desk so I could read it after I got to work this afternoon. I mean, how could I not love a graphic novel about a land shark named Jeff?? I mean, that's MY name!!

This book is adorable! Jeff lives in an apartment with Hawkeye (Kate Bishop) and sometimes Gwenpool stays there, as well. He gets into all kinds of adorable trouble, like accidentally getting put in the washing machine with the laundry, scaring all the people at the swimming pool, and other things.

It's silly, but great fun!

It appears to be classified as a children's book (with a "J" on the spine label), but I certainly enjoyed it as an afternoon's diversion.

I recommend this to fans of Marvel comics and light-hearted, cute graphic novels. Especially if your name is Jeff! 💜

[Sasa · Rating 5 out of 5]

6 stars

there's no one i trust more with jeff's cozy little slice of life happenings than gurihiru. besides a couple of shark-dog sounds and people calling for jeff, there's no dialogue and a ton of wonderful gurihiru art. if you wanna see a shark being the goodest boi, do yourself a favor and pick this up! i promise you that it will warm your heart.

[Alex Sarll]

Somehow it hadn't occurred to me that the specials collecting the little online strips would themselves have been collected into a trade, but of course they have: Marvel may make some questionable decisions, but they're not leaving that kind of money on the table. Adorable little guy gets into scrapes –'nuff said.

[Matthew Marcus · Rating 2 out of 5]

Feels a bit mean to two-star this adorable little guy but there aren't actually any stories here, just a baby land shark engaging in (beautifully rendered) visual puns in the Marvel Universe. If you like that sort of thing you presumably already own this book? Maybe I should give Jeff another star just because he caused the phrase "selachian Jacques Tati" to enter into my brain just now, though.

[Ronja · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's more of a picture book, really. There's hardly any text. But these little stories are so wholesome and cute, I'd highly recommend them anyway. Having a bad day? Don't worry. Jeff will make you smile!

[David Thomas · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is very much not for me. It's a collection of almost entirely wordless sight gags featuring a cute land-shark. That concept has a lot of potential but it really didn't land for me. I might recommend this to someone very young or very into the Marvel universe. Hard pass otherwise.

[Natalia · Rating 4 out of 5]

More Adorable and Wholesome than Expected

I read it in one sitting. I don’t even play Marvel Rivals, but I just had to know about Jeff. I recommend to non comic book readers. Easy to read, and a delightful fun time.

[Scarred Wizard · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is fun & cute. nothing to hate! no dialogue except for last issue. Jeff the Shark is joined by West Coast Avengers. kids are definitely gonna enjoy this one more. my complaint is it's a bit too thin for the price with the most contents are made with no text.

Rating: 8.5/10