ZooPhobia

Lore & Background

The webcomic centers on Cameron, a neurotic young woman who is accidentally sent to an island sanctuary named Safe Haven after desperately pleading for a counseling job. She discovers she cannot leave the island, as doing so would cause it to lose its magic. The story follows her attempts to lessen her fear of animals (zoophobia) and adapt to the unfamiliar environment. Key characters include Zill, a hybrid creature with super powers; Jack, a superstitious jackal cursed with immortality and bad luck; Kayla, a theater-loving kangaroo; Damian, the mischievous son of Lucifer; and others such as Vanexa, Spam, Gustav, and Addison.

The comic went on hiatus indefinitely in November 2016, reportedly because Medrano wanted to focus on developing her unpublished Angels and Demons arc into an animated series, which later became Hazbin Hotel. In April 2017, Medrano said the comic would get a 'complete reboot,' and hinted at the same in a July 2018 Tumblr post. Two animated short films were released: 'The Son of 666' in 2013 and 'Bad Luck Jack' in 2020. A music video set to 'Die Young' by Kesha and Becky G was released in 2014 but later taken down due to copyright issues.

Reader's Guide

ZooPhobia is significant as the original webcomic from which Vivienne Medrano developed the characters and world that later evolved into the popular animated series Hazbin Hotel. The comic itself received mixed to positive reception: Larry Cruz of CBR compared protagonist Cameron's journey to Jane Eyre, praised the art style as 'visually appealing,' but criticized the story as 'a little rushed' and character designs as too similar. Ahmar Wolf of the Furry Times called the webcomic unique, noting that 'whether you think it is good depends on your taste.' The animated short 'Bad Luck Jack' won a Ursa Major Award in the 'Best Dramatic Short Work' category in 2020, and was described by Dan Short of Animated Views as 'wholesome, super tame, contains no sexual references, and has no profanity,' making it family-friendly. As of 2026, a planned audiovisual adaptation has not seen completion, but Medrano expressed interest in more animated shorts and a graphic novel, and a miniseries was announced at the 2026 LVL UP Expo.

Did You Know?

• The webcomic went on hiatus in November 2016 so Medrano could focus on developing the Angels and Demons arc into what became Hazbin Hotel.
• The animated short 'Bad Luck Jack' was funded by crowdfunding from Medrano's Patreon and featured music by Gooseworx.
• A music video set to 'Die Young' by Kesha and Becky G, featuring ZooPhobia characters, was taken down due to copyright issues after the release of a Helluva Boss episode.