I Will Survive is a fan art comic by William Borba surrounding Zootopia characters Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde. The comic features Judy discovering that she is pregnant and wanting to get an abortion, leading to an argument between the two and the end of their relationship. The comic quickly spread as an Internet meme due to its serious subject appearing in a comic about Zootopia characters.
Judy Hopps discovers that she is pregnant and wakes up Nick Wilde, who insists on showering before Judy shares her important news. Judy tells Nick about the pregnancy, and Nick is overjoyed at the prospect of having a child. However, Judy is still upset and confesses that she does not want to keep the child. Nick demands an explanation, but interrupts her, so she insists they speak maturely. Judy explains that she did not believe it was possible for them to have children and therefore did not use contraception and confesses to fear that their child will be a "freak" and expresses concern over her own health since Nick is substantially bigger than her. Nick is hurt to learn that Judy does not want to have children with him.
Judy apologizes, adding that there is another reason she wants to have an abortion, wanting to protect her career and her status as an inspiration to improve their city. Nick is further upset for this, saying that on top of Judy's other sacrifices, Judy is willing to kill their baby for her career, leading Judy to slap him. Judy begs forgiveness, but Nick silently packs a bag while Judy pleads with him to stay. Nick talks about Judy's positive impact on the world, saying that having an abortion would rob their child of a chance to do the same. Judy refuses, insisting on bodily autonomy. Nick asks why Judy didn't simply keep the pregnancy secret, so Judy says she thought he deserved to know. Nick says it would have been better for her to keep it a secret and walks out. Crying, he assures Judy that he will survive. Alone in her apartment, Judy collapses on the floor in tears.
Publication history
Prior to the comic's publication, the film Zootopia was already popular among the furry community due to rumors that The Walt Disney Company had directly asked members of its community to promote the film.[1]
The art and story were put together by artist William Borba. The art for Nick and Judy's apartment was visually similar to Jerry Seinfeld's apartment in the series Seinfeld.[2] According to Borba, he did not intend for the comic to align with either pro-life or pro-choice arguments, but rather simply to highlight the arguments of both sides. He exaggerated the emotions of the characters on purpose in order to make the reader uncomfortable and show that "even an apparently eternal love can fall apart when a couple is unable to overcome their differences and come to an agreement in a situation that endangers their relationship."[3]
The comic was first published in March 2017 on DeviantArt by Borba. In June 2017, I Will Survive was published on the website Zootopia News Network, which acknowledged that the comic was highly controversial.[2]
Reception
The comic was met with controversy, with one website calling it "the most controversial comic the fandom had ever seen." This controversy however largely stayed within Zootopia's already-existent fanbase until December 2017,[2] when images from the comic were posted on Twitter by Eric Munn.[1] After that, the comic quickly went viral for apparently being anti-abortion as Nick Wilde refers to the act as "premeditated sin." Internet memes spread about the comic,[4] including people editing the text bubble so that the characters were arguing about other things, including air conditioning and Arby's.[2] By October 2023, the comic remained a common cultural reference that people could identify from couple costumes.[1]
In analyzing the comic's popularity, Jay Hathaway of The Daily Dot described it as unintentionally humorous to combine "a straight-faced diatribe on a serious subject" with Disney characters. He praised Borba's art as "stunning and well worth saving" while noting that the direction the characters go is "laughable." Overall, he said that the comic was worth rereading and finding new elements to laugh at each time.[2]
While the response to the comic was largely criticizing its nature of being anti-abortion,[1][4] a number of articles were written, including by The A.V. Club, which were specifically against the furry community, as noted by The Mary Sue's Ollie Kaplan.[1]
Sequel
A sequel to I Will Survive was later released, titled Born to be Alive.[1]
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