This is a list of supporting characters from the First Comics series Grimjack. It covers characters from both the John Gaunt and James Twilley eras.
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Blacjacmac was Gaunt's oldest friend. He was the son of Mac Cabre, one of the Dancer's chief lieutanants. Gaunt and Mac met in the Arena, a gladatorial-style combat venue. Mac initially fought with an insane style, earning the nickname "Wild Thing," because he had no regard for his own life or anyone else's. Gaunt, recognizing a kindred spirit, approached Mac and helped him turn his anger outward to survive.
Upon leaving the Arena, Mac established a private mercenary army. He was romantically involved with Goddess, a "black god" from an alternate dimension who hated Gaunt for leading Mac to put his life in danger.
When GrimJack reincarnated as Twilley, he sought out the descendants of Blacjacmac. Mac had incorporated back in Gaunt's time and by Twilley's time it was almost impossible to function without being a member of a corporation. Mac had formally "adopted" Gaunt, which extended to Twilley. Twilley discovered that Mac himself "reincarnated" after a fashion by being born to Goddess each time he died.
Bob was a "gatorlizard" who was rescued by GrimJack and serves as the beloved watch-lizard for Munden's Bar. Bob tended to feature most prominently in the Munden's Bar backup series but occasionally played a significant role in the primary storyline. Gaunt rescued Bob from the home of an "aristo" – Cynosure's wealthiest citizens – where he was being tortured and made to sing.[1] He followed Gaunt back to Munden's, where Gordon named him "Bob" after his father. Gaunt initially objected to Bob's presence but grew to care deeply for him.
Bob had a limited capacity for human speech, mostly manifesting itself in requests for alcohol ("booooz") and cigarettes ("ciiiigs"). He is empathic, with a special affinity for John Gaunt. Bob's affinity for Gaunt helped convince Gaunt's friends to accept that Gaunt had returned from the dead in a cloned body and persuaded Gaunt that "FutureJack" was actually Gaunt reincarnated. Bob's empathic abilities sometimes manifested themselves when he sang while sad or depressed, causing his mood to be reflected in those around him.
Mac Cabre was The Dancer's chief lieutanant and the father of Gaunt's closest friend, Blackjacmac.
The Dancer was the greatest fighter ever to emerge from the Arena, the gladatorial games of Cynosure. After the Arena was outlawed and in the aftermath of the Demon Wars, Dancer led a rebellion against the city government. The rebellion failed and Dancer was presumed dead. Years later he re-emerged and manipulated the events leading to the Trade War. With the end of the war, Dancer allied himself with the forces of Hell, slaughtering several of his lieutenants to open "demon gates" to allow Hell access to the city.
Goddess was from a race of "black gods" from Ife, a savanna-like dimension. She was Blacjacmac's lover and bitterly resented Gaunt for his relationship with Blacjac, which she believed would get Blackjac killed before his time. Despite that she occasionally fought for Gaunt at Blacjac's behest. Following Gaunt's first death she came to regret her attitude toward him. In Twilley's time, Goddess served as mother for each rebirth of Blacjac.[2]
Chris Heyman was one of the last of the Free Marines, dedicated to exterminating the menace of Kalibos. She became romantically involved with TDP cop Jericho Noleski.
William Honesworth was Cynosure's Minister of Finance. Unknown to the general populace, the original Honesworth was killed during the Demon Wars and replaced with a clone. Honesworth led the city government until the events of the Trade War, when Cynosure's ruling body was replaced by a coalition of business conglomerates. In the events leading up to Dancer's second rebellion, Honesworth was killed by Kalibos, who donned his skin and impersonated him.
Kalibos was a sentient robot created by the Free Marines several centuries before Gaunt's time. Imbued with the Marines' love of freedom, Kalibos took the concept to its absurdly logical extreme of nihilism. Seeing demons as the ultimate expression of his brand of freedom, Kalibos allied himself with Hell during the Demon Wars, performing operations in parts of the city where demons could not function. Kalibos always skinned one of his victims and wore his or her skin as an affectation.
Katar was an assassin allied with and trained by Dancer. He had a fanatical hatred for Gaunt because he believed Gaunt killed his father. In reality, Gaunt was his father, although neither of them knew it before Gaunt killed him. After his first death, Gaunt encountered Katar in Hell.
Major Lash, also known as The Hanged Man, was the leader of the Lawkillers, a mercenary band with whom Gaunt rode for a time. Before that he recruited Gaunt to fight in the Demon Wars after Lash stumbled into the hidden dimension of Pdwyr, where Gaunt was living at the time.[3] He was known as the Hanged Man because he was executed by hanging, only to be revived by a mysterious band of creatures travelling in a wagon. They collected his soul and revived his body.
Katar's mother hired the Lawkillers to kill Gaunt to avenge Katar's death. Following a battle with the Lawkillers in which two were killed, Gaunt turned his back on Lash, tired of all the killing. Lash shot Gaunt in the back, killing him.[4] Gordon, wearing Gaunt's clothes, tracked down the Major and killed him.[5] Following that death the Major was again revived by the wagon-creatures and would re-appear in Twilley's time.
Judah Maccabee, also known as The Hammer of God, is a Thune warrior and freelance adjudicator. He is friend and occasional comrade-in-arms to John Gaunt, better known as GrimJack. When Gaunt was killed, Judah declared that Munden's Bar was under his protection. When Gaunt returned in a clone body, Judah hired him as a bowling partner.[6]
Mayfair was the leader of the secret government organization Cadre. Cadre started with the simple mission of protecting the city. As with many such organizations, Cadre grew away from its original mission and its members, especially Mayfair, grew fanatically devoted to acting in accordance with their personal perception of the best interest of the city. Mayfair was a driving force behind the Trade Wars. During Dancer's second rebellion, Mayfair was possessed by a demon. GrimJack and "FutureJack" destroyed him shortly thereafter.
Althea Mueller was a genius in the field of dimensional research. She created a device which could break down the walls between dimensions. In the course of her experiments her mind was trapped in a psychic vortex and had to be integrated into an unstable cloned body. The Dancer seized the device and hid Mueller away in a dimension where relative time passed much more quickly. She was trapped there for relative centuries, watching civilizations fall around her and going mad. When she was rescued and returned to Cynosure, she triggered her creation in hopes of destroying the city and was killed in the process.[7]
Althea-8 was a clone of Mueller that Mueller created as a lab assistant. In an attempt to prove she was more than just a copy of the original, she took up the biological sciences and created the clone body that Gaunt inhabited after he walked out of Heaven.
Gordon Munden was the long-time bartender of Munden's Bar. He usually appeared in the Munden's Bar back-up feature stories although occasionally was involved in the events in the main story. Little is known of his history before he came to work at Munden's. It is known that he was married at least once and that his wife died. After her death, Gordon sought solace at a demon brothel called "The House of Lilith" and was almost destroyed before Gaunt rescued him. A woman named Jo Chaney was named as Gordon's ex-wife and the person who sold the bar to Gaunt,[8] but it is unclear whether she is the same wife who died. Following Gaunt's first death at the hands of Major Lash, Gordon dressed in some of Gaunt's spare clothes and avenged Gaunt's death. When Grimjack reincarnated as Twilley, it was through Gordon's efforts to keep the proof of Twilley's identity as Grimjack in place that Twilley was able to reclaim ownership of the bar.[9]
Jericho Noleski was a Trans-Dimensional Police motorcycle cop patrolling the roads of the outer reaches of Cynosure. He became romantically involved with Free Marine Chris Heyman during the Trade Wars. During Dancer's alliance with Hell Jericho was possessed by a demon. Before he could be completely possessed he drove his bike through a demon gate, destroying it and trapping himself in Hell, where he continued to act as law enforcement.
Lord Phaeton was an artificial being composed of cells collected from many different dimensions. His origin invested him with vast reality-warping powers which he used as Lord Protector of Cynosure. During Dancer's second rebellion, Lord Phaeton was possessed by a demon and was destroyed by Sphinx.
Roscoe Schumacher was a lieutenant with the Trans-Dimensional Police and had been Gaunt's partner while Gaunt had been with the TDP. Following Gaunt's death and return in a clone body, Roscoe initially refused to accept that Gaunt had returned but finally decided that if "CloneJack" wasn't Gaunt, he was close enough.
Sphinx was a sorcerer. She specialized in creating mystical replicants of herself and others, which she used to gather experiences. After Phaeton was possessed, she projected her essence into a cloned body infused with cells from multiple dimensions to become the new Lord Protector.
Spook was the spectral lover of John Gaunt. An unquiet spirit who existed in Cynosure, she sometimes fought alongside Gaunt. Her standard method of attack was decapitation. Eventually Spook returned with Gaunt to her home dimension, which resembled India, including the concepts of karma and dharma. There Gaunt learned that her true name was Gen-Marie, but that she came to be known as Amba. She had become the lover of a married prince. He planned to leave his wife until she revealed that she was pregnant. The prince told Amba that he could not leave his wife and unborn child, and Amba threatened to kill them. The prince struck her in anger, accidentally killing her. She rose as a ghost and sought vengeance on him. The prince was able to lure Spook to the "Bridge of Sighs," a gateway to Cynosure, and trapped her on the other side. Spook avenged her death by killing the prince and his wife, but when she turned her wrath against their daughter Gaunt was forced to destroy her.
Following Gaunt's first death, he found Spook's soul on a branch of a tree on the path between Heaven and Hell and realized that her soul was in such a state of balance that her next incarnation would determine whether she would abide in Heaven or Hell forever. Jim Twilley encountered a woman named Mara whom he believed to be Spook's final incarnation.
Climt Chenry was one of Twilley's circle of friends in high school. The only member of his race to attend the school, he was ostracised because of his characteristic oversized head and lack of lips. Using humor as a defense mechanism, he was the class clown, and following graduation he became a high-paid "hilaritor" (stand-up comedian).
Katman Du was an anthropomorphic humanoid lion. Another of Twilley's high school set, he was openly gay and was tormented for it by the school jocks. He became a diplomat and had a lover named Tyger.
Cicilia Grossos was a Lepidopteran, a race who in its adult form are exquisitely beautiful, resembling humanoid butterflies and highly prized as sex partners. When she was in high school she was in her "caterpillar" stage of development and was ostracised by everyone except Twilley and his friends. Her race was the target of a "hostile karma takeover" which Twilley foiled. Part of the fallout from the attempt was the downfall of the Twilley family bank.
Ilsa was a semi-sentient PDA that Twilley used as a "secretary."
Jagart was the warden at the prison to which Twilley was sent after confessing to the "murder" of Jason Nines. Twilley manipulated Jagart into a deal for early release and Jagart became his sworn enemy. Shortly thereafter Jagart became an adjudicator and had himself assigned to the case of the Twilley family, ordering that the entire family be killed to pay off a karmic debt.
Major Lash re-appeared in Twilley's time and, after Mara became alienated from Twilley, took her under his wing and began training her as a mercenary. Twilley determined to end Lash permanently. He killed Lash and prevented the wagon creatures from reviving him, insuring that Lash would finally stay dead.
Layla was a witchie-woman specializing in tantric magic.
Mara was the final reincarnation of Spook. Twilley knew that her actions in this lifetime would determine her final fate between Heaven and Hell. She fell under the influence of Major Lash after she became alienated from Twilley and began training as a mercenary. She swore vengeance on Twilley after Twilley killed Lash.
Nadine Martine was a struggling freelance journalist. In exchange for her help in re-establishing his "Grimjack" street reputation, Twilley would occasionally feed Martine stories related to cases on which he was working.
JCN999 was a sentient robot who was sent to high school to improve his ability to interact with humans. As the only one of his kind, he was ostracized and fell in with Twilley's group, where he received the more human-sounding nickname "Jason Nines." Nines and several other of Twilley's friends faked Nines' murder as part of a scheme to save Cicilia Grossos' race from karmic extinction. He ended up working as the bartender at Munden's.
In Twilley's time Jericho briefly re-emerged. Twilley obtained for him an amulet which would allow him to come and go from Hell as he chose. Eventually Jericho tired of his existence and forced a confrontation with Twilley, leading Twilley to destroy him.
Sherry Noone (née Baylor) was another of Twilley's small circle of high school friends. Toward the end of the series she expressed a romantic interest in Twilley, a carry-over from feelings she had for him in high school. Twilley was killed and the series ended before the situation could develop.
Felipe San Guliermo was one of Jim Twilley's high school friends. Born without an immune system, Felipe attended school by projecting his consciousness into a "zuvembie," a blending of cloning and robotics.
Skorzy was a slug-like humanoid alien who owned Munden's Bar at the time Twilley discovered his reincarnated identity. Twilley reclaimed ownership of Munden's but allowed Skorzy (whom he nicknamed "Skuzzy") to tend bar. Skorzy participated in several actions against Twilley, motivated by a desire for revenge and to reclaim the bar. Twilley finally killed Skorzy after Skorzy blew up Munden's and made several more attempts on Twilley's life.
Jim Twilley's family consisted of parents Robert and Deborah, brothers Robert, Jr. and Michael and sister Barbara. He rejected them following his discovery of his reincarnated identity. The family bank dealt in karma futures. Following a disastrous deal, the entire family except for Jim (who had been disowned) was condemned to die to partially pay off the karmic debt that was incurred.