''Caballistics, Inc'' is a horror/

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...

story, set in the present day, that has been running in the weekly

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

anthology comic A comics anthology collects works in the medium of comics, typically from multiple series, and compiles them into an anthology or magazine. The comics in these anthologies range from comic strips that are too short for standalone publication t ...

'' 2000AD'' since December 2002. The strip was created by writer

Gordon Rennie Gordon Rennie is a Scottish comics writer, responsible for ''White Trash: Moronic Inferno'', as well as several comic strips for '' 2000 AD'' and novels for ''Warhammer Fantasy''. In May 2008, he announced he was leaving comics to concentrate f ...

and artist

Dom Reardon Dom Reardon is a British comics artist, whose work appears mainly in British comic '' 2000AD''. He is the illustrator of Gordon Rennie-scripted horror tale Caballistics, Inc. Biography Noted for a sketchy, deliberately rough black-and-white s ...

(the latter of whom has been the sole artist on the strip since its inception). It spawned a spin-off, ''

Absalom Absalom ( he, ''ʾAḇšālōm'', "father of peace") was the third son of David, King of Israel with Maacah, daughter of Talmai, King of Geshur. 2 Samuel 14:25 describes him as the handsomest man in the kingdom. Absalom eventually rebelled ag ...

'', based around Inspector Harry Absalom (given as "Absolam" in ''Caballistics, Inc''), written by Rennie with art by Tiernen Trevallion.

Plot

In 2004, Department Q, a

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

department originally created in the 1940s to combat Nazi occult warfare, is

privatised Privatization (also privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation when ...

by the British government. The Department, by then consisting only of the crusty

paranormal Paranormal events are purported phenomena described in popular culture, folk, and other non-scientific bodies of knowledge, whose existence within these contexts is described as being beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding. Nota ...

historian Dr Jonathan Brand and his assistant Jennifer Simmons, is bought by Ethan Kostabi, a reclusive multi-millionaire 1970s

pop star A pop icon is a celebrity, character, or object whose exposure in popular culture is regarded as constituting a defining characteristic of a given society or era. The usage of the term is largely subjective since there are no definitively object ...

. Kostabi announces that he has contracted their services as part of a new private ghost-busting outfit, to be known as Caballistics, Inc., and introduces them to their teammates, freelance occult investigators Hannah Chapter and Lawrence Verse. Even before the official

press release A press release is an official statement delivered to members of the news media for the purpose of providing information, creating an official statement, or making an announcement directed for public release. Press releases are also considere ...

for the new company can be sent out, the team is called to deal with a major

infestation on the

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent ceremonial counties of England, counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and He ...

, where they meet the fifth member of the team, the powerful and seemingly evil Solomon Ravne. The team go on to investigate various paranormal phenomena, suffering from internal conflicts and divided loyalties, and all the while it is suggested that Kostabi has some ultimate plan in mind for the team beyond that which any of them expect. ''Caballistics, Inc.'' has an extremely dark tone. Several recurring characters have been unexpectedly killed off, and there is a degree of brutality unusual for a British comic magazine. Early in the series, Simmons was possessed by a powerful

demon A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in religion, occultism, literature, fiction, mythology, and folklore; as well as in media such as comics, video games, movies, ani ...

, a state that continues to this day. More recently, Brand, usually identified by fans as the 'good' member of the team, was pushed under a

Tube Tube or tubes may refer to: * ''Tube'' (2003 film), a 2003 Korean film * ''The Tube'' (TV series), a music related TV series by Channel 4 in the United Kingdom * "Tubes" (Peter Dale), performer on the Soccer AM television show * Tube (band), a ...

train by another member, Mikey Ness. Events within the team came to a head when - after three years of intrigue and suspicion - they were eventually pushed into confrontation with their erstwhile employer. At least three members of the team were killed in the ensuing battle in addition to Kostabi himself, with only Ravne and Simmons known to have walked away unharmed. With the ultimate fates of the only two other members being left highly ambiguous, this effectively marked the end of the organisation. Besides an epilogue, "Nativity", in late 2007, the remaining plot threads would be taken up in a spin-off series, ''

'', beginning in 2011, and followed characters that had previously appeared in minor supporting roles in ''Caballistics, Inc''. Caballistics contains many overt references to both ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

'' and ''

Quatermass Professor Bernard Quatermass is a fictional scientist, originally created by the writer Nigel Kneale for BBC Television. An intelligent and highly moral British scientist, Quatermass is a pioneer of the British space programme, heading the Brit ...

''. The strip also contains many passing references to other cult television, film and literary

mythologies Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrat ...

alongside various religious traditions. Among the many mentions are

Gnosticism Gnosticism (from grc, γνωστικός, gnōstikós, , 'having knowledge') is a collection of religious ideas and systems which coalesced in the late 1st century AD among Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people ...

Kabbalah Kabbalah ( he, קַבָּלָה ''Qabbālā'', literally "reception, tradition") is an esoteric method, discipline and Jewish theology, school of thought in Jewish mysticism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ( ''Məqūbbāl'' "rece ...

, the

Rosicrucian Rosicrucianism is a spiritual and cultural movement that arose in Europe in the early 17th century after the publication of several texts purported to announce the existence of a hitherto unknown esoteric order to the world and made seeking its ...

s, the

Tetragrammaton The Tetragrammaton (; ), or Tetragram, is the four-letter Hebrew language, Hebrew theonym (transliterated as YHWH), the name of God in the Hebrew Bible. The four letters, written and read from right to left (in Hebrew), are ''yodh'', ''he (l ...

Opus Dei Opus Dei, formally known as the Prelature of the Holy Cross and Opus Dei ( la, Praelatura Sanctae Crucis et Operis Dei), is an institution of the Catholic Church whose members seek personal Christian holiness and strive to imbue their work an ...

Zoroastrianism Zoroastrianism is an Iranian religions, Iranian religion and one of the world's History of religion, oldest organized faiths, based on the teachings of the Iranian peoples, Iranian-speaking prophet Zoroaster. It has a Dualism in cosmology, du ...

, the

Illuminati The Illuminati (; plural of Latin ''illuminatus'', 'enlightened') is a name given to several groups, both real and fictitious. Historically, the name usually refers to the Bavarian Illuminati, an Enlightenment-era secret society founded on ...

, paranormal warfare in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the

Thule Society The Thule Society (; german: Thule-Gesellschaft), originally the ''Studiengruppe für germanisches Altertum'' ("Study Group for Germanic Antiquity"), was a German occultist and '' Völkisch'' group founded in Munich shortly after World War I, ...

Aleister Crowley Aleister Crowley (; born Edward Alexander Crowley; 12 October 1875 – 1 December 1947) was an English occultist, ceremonial magician, poet, painter, novelist, and mountaineer. He founded the religion of Thelema, identifying himself as the pro ...

, ''

Faust Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust ( 1480–1540). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a pact with the Devil at a crossroads ...

'',

Grant Morrison Grant Morrison, MBE (born 31 January 1960) is a Scottish comic book writer, screenwriter, and producer. Their work is known for its nonlinear narrative A narrative, story, or tale is any account of a series of related events or experiences, w ...

's ''

Zenith The zenith (, ) is an imaginary point directly "above" a particular location, on the celestial sphere. "Above" means in the vertical direction (plumb line) opposite to the gravity direction at that location (nadir). The zenith is the "highest" ...

'',

Delta Green ''Delta Green'' is a contemporary era setting for the ''Call of Cthulhu'' role-playing game created by Adam Scott Glancy, Dennis Detwiller, and John Scott Tynes, a.k.a. the Delta Green Partnership, of the Seattle gaming house Pagan Publishin ...

, ''

The Omen ''The Omen'' is a 1976 supernatural horror film directed by Richard Donner and written by David Seltzer. An international co-production of the United Kingdom and the United States, it stars Gregory Peck, Lee Remick, David Warner, Harvey Spencer ...

'', ''

The Exorcist ''The Exorcist'' is a 1973 American supernatural horror film directed by William Friedkin and written for the screen by William Peter Blatty, based on his 1971 novel of the same name. It stars Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Lee J. Cobb, Kitty W ...

'' and references to the works of

Clive Barker Clive Barker (born 5 October 1952) is an English novelist, playwright, author, film director, and visual artist who came to prominence in the mid-1980s with a series of short stories, the ''Books of Blood'', which established him as a leading h ...

Robert W. Chambers Robert William Chambers (May 26, 1865 – December 16, 1933) was an American artist and fiction writer, best known for his book of short stories titled '' The King in Yellow'', published in 1895. Life Chambers was born in Brooklyn, New York, t ...

Roger Corman Roger William Corman (born April 5, 1926) is an American film director, producer, and actor. He has been called "The Pope of Pop Cinema" and is known as a trailblazer in the world of independent film. Many of Corman's films are based on works t ...

William Hope Hodgson William Hope Hodgson (15 November 1877 – 19 April 1918) was an English author. He produced a large body of work, consisting of essays, short fiction, and novels, spanning several overlapping genres including horror, fantastic fiction, and sci ...

Shaun Hutson Shaun Hutson (born 1958) is a British novelist in the horror and crime genres. Under his own name and various pen names, he has written at least thirty novels. Background A native of Letchworth Garden City in Hertfordshire, England, Hutson now ...

, H. P. Lovecraft,

Palo Mayombe Palo, also known as Las Reglas de Congo, is an African diasporic religion that developed in Cuba during the late 19th or early 20th century. It arose through a process of syncretism between the traditional Kongo religion of Central Africa, the Rom ...

Kim Newman Kim James Newman (born 31 July 1959) is an English journalist, film critic and fiction writer. Recurring interests visible in his work include film history and horror fiction—both of which he attributes to seeing Tod Browning's ''Dracula (1931 ...

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wide ...

and

Hammer studios Hammer Film Productions Ltd. is a British film production company based in London. Founded in 1934, the company is best known for a series of Gothic fiction, Gothic horror and fantasy films made from the mid-1950s until the 1970s. Many of thes ...

Major characters

Ethan Kostabi

Also known as Citizen Strange, David Smith eal name possibly

Nyarlathotep Nyarlathotep is a fictional character created by H. P. Lovecraft. The character is a malign deity in the Cthulhu Mythos, a shared universe. First appearing in Lovecraft's 1920 prose poem "Nyarlathotep", he was later mentioned in other works by ...

. *1970's rock star, turned New Media Entrepreneur / Internet Guru / Venture Capitalist *Owner & Founder of Caballistics Inc. *Lives in

Bern german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen , website ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

*Also owns Abraxas Research Facility ( Wenley Moor,

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

), Ludgate Studios and multiple & diverse other holdings (legal and otherwise)

Mr. Howard Slater

*Manager of Caballistics Inc. / Legal Representative of Ethan Kostabi (12 years)

Solomon Ravne

Aka: Der Teufel

The Devil Satan,, ; grc, ὁ σατανᾶς or , ; ar, شيطانالخَنَّاس , also known as the Devil, and sometimes also called Lucifer in Christianity, is an entity in the Abrahamic religions that seduces humans into sin or falsehood. ...

, Master Raven, Dominus, Ravenous *De facto leader of the Caballistics team, due to his knowledge and magical powers. *Over 300 years old & has no soul (his admission). *Known to have been a denizen of

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

, 1672, he was subsequently reported living in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, Scotland in 1737, Germany, 1945-46 (where he was SS Obergruppenführer of Sonderkommando Thule (Nazi Occult Warfare Division, Operation

Doppelgänger A doppelgänger (), a compound noun formed by combining the two nouns (double) and (walker or goer) (), doppelgaenger or doppelganger is a biologically unrelated look-alike, or a double, of a living person. In fiction and mythology, a doppelg ...

, Peenemunde, 1945)),

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estima ...

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

in 2003, and London, England, 2003-. Since revealed to be an homunculi originally created by Kostabi as part of the latter's efforts to cheat death. *Hobbies: Bathing in fresh human blood; Tantric rituals with slaves Gustav and Gretchen. *Special Kit: Hand of Power; Lamp of Alhazred; Infernal Pocket Watch; Healing & regeneration tank *Father to a child by the possessed Jenny Simmons

Doctor Jonathan Brand

Aka Professor Brand, Brainiac *Paranormal Historian, Q Department (sold; formerly British Government

) * Pipe smoker *Has written a book: "History of the British Rocket Group".

Miss Jennifer Simmons

Aka Demon Jenny, Edwina Scissorhands, Baarish-Shammon, She Who Stalks By Night *

Possession Possession may refer to: Law * Dependent territory, an area of land over which another country exercises sovereignty, but which does not have the full right of participation in that country's governance * Drug possession, a crime * Ownership * ...

: Jenny was possessed by a demon which claims that she is dead. Ravne insists that she is still alive but may be insane. *Paranormal Historian, Q Department (sold; formerly British Government Ministry of Defence) *Recently revealed that she is pregnant with Ravne's child *Is now the target of several different occult factions of the British Government, who have decided that her imminent child is potentially too dangerous to let live

Mr Lawrence Verse

Aka Father Lawrence *Originally teamed up with Hannah Chapter as freelance paranormal consultants *Employment: Priest /

Exorcist In some religions, an exorcist (from the Greek „ἐξορκιστής“) is a person who is believed to be able to cast out the devil or performs the ridding of demons or other supernatural beings who are alleged to have possessed a person, ...

(

defrocked Defrocking, unfrocking, degradation, or laicization of clergy is the removal of their rights to exercise the functions of the ordained ministry. It may be grounded on criminal convictions, disciplinary problems, or disagreements over doctrine or d ...

following "chainsaw exorcism")

Martinique Martinique ( , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago: or ) is an island and an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of the French Republic, Martinique is located in th ...

1995; freelance with Chapter (inc. Guatemalan Were-Jaguar Cult: 1999; Zagreb, Croatia); 2-year freelance contract with Caballistics Inc. *Weaponry: shotgun,

taser A taser is an electroshock weapon used to incapacitate people, allowing them to be approached and handled in an unresisting and thus safe manner. It is sold by Axon, formerly TASER International. It fires two small barbed darts intended to ...

, stake / holy cross hybrid, shades

Miss Hannah Chapter

*Employment: Majored in

Cryptozoology Cryptozoology is a pseudoscience and subculture that searches for and studies unknown, legendary, or extinct animals whose present existence is disputed or unsubstantiated, particularly those popular in folklore, such as Bigfoot, the Loch Ness ...

Arkham Arkham () is a fictional city situated in Massachusetts. An integral part of the Lovecraft Country setting created by H. P. Lovecraft, Arkham is featured in many of his stories and those of other Cthulhu Mythos writers. Arkham House, a publis ...

University. American Government pecialist work: colleagues: Warren (alive), Perconte (alive), Charteris (dead), Niland (dead) freelance with Verse (inc.

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...

n Were-Jaguar Cult: 1999;

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

); 2-year freelance contract with Caballistics Inc. *Weaponry: Spook Detector, 2 pistols (9mm parabellum steel-jacketed / armour-piercing / hollow point

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...

silver), shades *Favourite tipple: Double Jack Daniels & black, straight up. *Has written (unpublished) book: Mixed-Up Flicks For Mixed-Up Chicks

Mr. Mikey Ness

Aka The Nessy Monster,

Bravo Two Zero Bravo Two Zero was the call sign of an eight-man British Army Special Air Service (SAS) patrol, deployed into Iraq during the First Gulf War in January 1991. According to Chris Ryan's account, the patrol was given the task of gathering intelli ...

*Employment:

SAS SAS or Sas may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''SAS'' (novel series), a French book series by Gérard de Villiers * ''Shimmer and Shine'', an American animated children's television series * Southern All Stars, a Japanese rock ba ...

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...

, 1991; mental hospital patient (sectioned), 1991–2003; Caballistics employee, 2004–2007) *Has murdered a British Cabinet minister and Jonathan Brand *Heavy

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

accent *Weaponry: expert in many kinds, but prefers a knife.

Bibliography

Comics

All installments have been written by

and drawn by

: * ''The Complete Caballistics Inc'' (304 pages,

Rebellion Developments Rebellion Developments Limited is a British video game developer based in Oxford, England. Founded by Jason and Chris Kingsley in December 1992, the company is best known for its ''Sniper Elite'' series and multiple games in the ''Alien vs. Pre ...

, February 2019, ) ** "Going Underground" (in ''2000 AD'' Prog 2003, #1322-1326, 2002) ** "Moving In" (in ''2000 AD'' #1331-1333, 2003) ** "Breaking Out" (in ''2000 AD'' #1337-1340, 2003) ** "Downtime" (in ''2000 AD'' #1363-1368, 2003) ** "Krystalnacht" (in ''2000 AD'' Prog 2004, 2003) ** "Picking Up The Pieces" (in ''2000 AD'' #1400, 2004) ** "Creepshow" (in ''2000 AD'' #1401-1408, 2004) ** "Weird War Tales" (in ''2000 AD'' Prog 2005, 2004) ** "Safe House" (in ''2000 AD'' #1420-1424, 2004) ** "Northern Dark" (in ''2000 AD'' #1443-1448, 2005) ** "Strange Bedfellows" (in ''2000 AD'' Prog 2006, 2005) ** "Changelings" (in ''2000 AD'' #1469-1474, 2006) ** "Ashes" (in ''2000 AD'' #1551-1558, 2007) ** "The Nativity" (in ''2000 AD'' Prog 2008, 2007) ** "Visiting Hour" (in ''2000 AD'' Prog 2111, 2019)

Novels

So far there have been two novel adaptations: *''Caballistics, Inc.: Hell on Earth'' (by Mike Wild, Black Flame, August 2006, ) *''Caballistics, Inc.: Better the Devil'' (by Mike Wild, Black Flame, March 2007, )

Notes

References

''Caballistics, Inc''
at Barney * * {{Refend

External links

Caballistics mini-site
2000ad.org
2004 interview with 2000ADReview.co.uk2006 interview with 2000ADReview.co.ukReview of ''Hell on Earth'' novel
by

Richmond Clements Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a ...

2003 comics debuts 2000 AD comic strips Contemporary fantasy novels Cthulhu Mythos comics Fictional exorcists Fantasy books by series Fictional demons and devils Horror comics