It’s weird, 2010. First my Chicago Blackhawks manage to get a city that all but virtually ignores them behind ‘em (including myself) enough to win the Stanley Cup, then I find the allure of waking up at 6:30 to the sound of vuvuzela horns appealing to watch the U.S. soccer team win their first bracket since 1930 in the World Cup, and I even manage to take a passing interest in tennis of all things.
Maybe it’s because the Cubs are just having another typical season and I’m trying to distract myself until the Bears are back on the field again…
Living a life that’s been given to you as a raw deal isn’t easy, but today’s character made the best of it; flim-flamming, bending the truth over backwards, and a passionate love for the music of the city he was raised in. A set of charming eyes certainly didn’t hurt either.
“Joliet” Jake Blues.
Today, June 16, 2010 marks the 30th anniversary that Jake and his surrogate brother Elwood took upon a mission “from God” to raise the $5000 needed to save the orphanage they grew up in the dingy confines of Calumet City, Illinois, went from the south end of the state to the north with the entire Illinois State Police, a band of country singers, a troop of white supremacists, the Midwest division of the U.S. Army and one sorely pissed-off ex-bride to-be chasing right behind them through the great city of Chicago, home of the Blues.
The Blues Brothers was the first film to break barriers–literally and figuratively–in the city, as newly-elected Mayor Jane Byrne agreed to open the doors to the film production, shutting down streets for the legendary car chase, and even granted the wish that the Bluesmobile could be driven through the corner windows of the Daley Plaza–but once, and only once. Former mayor Richard J. Daley rarely ever allowed any film to be made within the city, let alone the very idea of blocking off an avenue–but Byrne wasn’t too thrilled with the old administration, and gladly allowed just about anything and everything the film wanted to happen.
As such, Chicago became a city that was desirable to film within. Thousands of films to date have been within it’s limits to some degree, further chronicling the city’s growth and beauty decades later.
As a born-and-bred Chicagoan, I can say it is a definitive movie that really makes the city as fun and as tough as it’s always been. Blues Brothers 2000… well, we don’t talk about that one.
Men of action are not to be taken lightly. They come prepared, and they mean business. They take matters into their own hands. Screw the rules; if there’s a problem, they’ll fix it, and quick.
Today’s subject is no exception…only his problems are precambrian, subterranean, transmogrifying, asexual giant worms.
Burt Gummer.
Originally introduced as a supporting character in Tremors, Michael Gross’s gung-ho survivalist returned for two sequels and the TV series of the same name, thus becoming the primary know-it-all when it came to the ancient predators. There isn’t a gun he won’t fire, no tactic too wild to try, and no paranoid theory he won’t humor.
In fact, there’s only one thing that leaves the man stunned beyond words:
I reckon the world don’t need to move as fast as it’s in an all-fired hurry to. Computers, internets, even them dang automobiliocars and some such. Take one feller that lives up in the Carolina hills: don’ take much to get by, don’ need much to begin with.
Snuffy Smith.
Now anyone that reads or read Snuffy’s hijinks in the comics section always read it as “Barney Google and Snuffy Smith”. But Where’s this Barney Google fella? Well, it seems back in 1934 when Barney and his race horse Spark Plug were the focus the strip, they took a trip into the North Carolina mountains where he met a moonshine swiggin’, shotgun firin’ hillbilly we all know and love today. The thing is though comic creator Billy DeBeck ended up staying in the hills with Snuffy instead, leaving Barney for the most part nowhere to be seen. It still remains a rare sighting when the original character pops up to this day. Odds are they’ll remain that way for a long time.
Sure, it’s easy to be the hero, running in guns a-blazing, save the day, and ride off into the sunset. But who do you think got that hotshot there and back to begin with in one piece?
Sgt. Linwood ‘Pooch’ Porteous.
As the man on the move of The Losers, Pooch could take a kite, tie it to a fuel truck, aim it up the side of a volcano and light the fuel on fire if it meant getting his gang from point A to point B. Air, road, water, there’s nothing he can’t drive (or usually wreck) and end up walking away from.
Taking responsibility for your actions is never easy. It’s even harder when it’s your company, and your own product comes back to haunt you to the point it literally blows up in your face.
It is then that you learn the error of your ways, and put your resources to better mankind rather than help destroy it.
That is… once you escape from your captors with a homemade battle suit.
Anthony “Tony” Stark.
The original Iron Man film stayed very true to the character’s origins, having been taken hostage and having a big gaping hole in his chest that had to keep shrapnel away from his heart with the help of an electromagnet. Why critics harp on director Jon Favreau’s supposed inability to create dynamic action scenes is beyond me–it’s some of the best superheroing I’ve seen my entire life. My only wish is the fights go on even longer.
When your upbringing is harsh and usually results in violence, it results in one of two scenarios: a life of crime, or government work. Nowadays, it seems there’s little difference–especially in today’s focused character.
Aisha al-Fadhil.
The most direct of all The Losers, Aisha’s got a quick temper and and an even quicker knife. She was raised in warzones, and has a personal vendetta through the enigmatic Max, CIA spook who she hopes to eliminate by helping the gang out.
Sniping: it’s a game of patience and endurance. An ultimate test of a warrior–to lay in wait calmly, breathe right, and strike at a moment’s notice with deadly accuracy. It is not a job that commands those with a conscience: it is that of an executioner, pure and simple.
Today’s character fortunately takes it beyond that range and adds a little fun to it from time to time to help his buddies out.
Sgt. Carlos “Cougar” Alvarez.
As the fire support for The Losers, Cougar is the silent, stoic member of the group that could shoot the tick of a dog’s back at 400 yards. He doesn’t hog the limelight, speaks only when necessary, and never, ever loses his cool OR his hat when things are going nuclear around him.
Are we alone in the universe? So vast, so many elements, stars, planets, gases…it boggles the mind to try and imagine if there even is a limit. In that, are we, as life, nothing but an anomaly? A lucky accident?
If we are the only ones out there…it seems like an awful waste of space.
Ellen “Ellie” Arroway.
On a personal level, I connect very deeply with Carl Sagan’s novel Contact (and later movie) main protagonist Ellie and what she strives for: to prove that we’re not alone. Science has always been a very influential method on my life–that it’s more about the facts; the hard evidence to seek answers to the mysteries of the world around us. Is it scary? Sure. But the unknown always will be for the human psyche.
In the old West, it wasn’t the easiest thing in the world to go from outlaw to respectable citizen–when you had a bounty on your head, it was only a matter of time before you met your maker. No lawyer was going to get you out of your predicament. But for one woman, she hung up her guns and settled down into civilian life peaceably.
BORING.
Fortunately, her past catches up with her, and she has to walk a fine line between justice and just plain foolhardy.
Daisy Kutter.
Back when I was still working as an editor for the magazine, I had one glorious year that I got to go to San Diego ComicCon and cover any and all subjects I wanted. I met a lot of great talent–both in electronic and print media; and then I came across the Viper Comics table where I met a talented and friendly fellow named Kazu Kibuishi who not only drew, but wrote a great Old West-meets-steampunk four-issue saga with today’s character.
The incredible thing about the story The Last Train is that in addition to having a very animated style to his art and his page layout, it even manages to have one scene with a very intense poker match. Whoever thought a game of Texas Hold ‘em could be so riveting on the page?
Sadly, no additional stories followed, but hopefully someday Kibuishi will return to Daisy’s world and see what she’s up to.
