Grimjack is the main character of a

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

originally published by the American company

First Comics First Comics was an American comic book publisher that was active from 1983 to 1991, known for titles like ''American Flagg!'', ''Grimjack'', ''Nexus'', ''Badger'', ''Dreadstar'', and ''Jon Sable''. Along with competitors like Pacific Comics and ...

John Ostrander John Ostrander (born April 20, 1949) is an American writer of comic books, including '' Suicide Squad'', ''Grimjack'' and '' Star Wars: Legacy''. Career Ostrander studied theology with the intent of becoming a Catholic priest, but now describes ...

and

Timothy Truman Timothy Truman (born February 9, 1956) is an American writer, artist and musician. He is best known for his stories and Wild West-style comic book art, and in particular, for his work on ''Grimjack'' (with John Ostrander), '' Scout'', and the re ...

are credited as co-creators of the character, although Ostrander had been developing Grimjack with artist Lenin Delsol before Truman's arrival on the project according to Ostrander's own text piece in ''Grimjack'' #75. In that same essay, the writer also revealed having initially conceived the character to be the star of a series of prose stories, set in a

post-apocalyptic Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction is a subgenre of speculative fiction in which the Earth's (or another planet's) civilization is collapsing or has collapsed. The apocalypse event may be climatic, such as runaway climate change; ast ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. Grimjack is the street name of John Gaunt, a sword-for-hire, ex-paramilitary, war veteran and former child

gladiator A gladiator ( la, gladiator, "swordsman", from , "sword") was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gla ...

. He operates from Munden's Bar in the Pit, a slum area of Cynosure, a pan-dimensional city to which all dimensions connect.

Publication history

''Grimjack'' began as a backup feature in issue #10 of the comic book ''

Starslayer ''Starslayer: The Log of the Jolly Roger'' was an American comic book series created by Mike Grell. Publication history Grell originally created ''Starslayer'' for DC Comics, but plans to publish it were halted after the mass cancellation of title ...

''. The character of Grimjack was created by John Ostrander and Timothy Truman, but the setting, the pan-dimensional city of Cynosure, predates the character. The ''Grimjack'' backup story was very popular with the readers of ''Starslayer'', and First Comics decided to give the character his own title. The GrimJack back-up story ran from issue #10 to 17. Grimjack guest-starred in the main ''Starslayer'' story in issue #18, in July 1984. Issue #1 of ''Grimjack'' was published by First Comics in August 1984, and ran until issue #81, in April 1991, with all stories written by Ostrander. Artists who worked on the series included

Sam Grainger Samuel E. Grainger (June 14, 1930 – July 25, 1990)

Tom Mandrake Tom Mandrake (born 1956) is an American comics artist, perhaps best known for his collaborations with writer John Ostrander on several series, including ''Grimjack'' (from First Comics) and ''Firestorm'', ''The Spectre'', and ''Martian Manhunter'' ...

Jim McDermott James Adelbert McDermott (born December 28, 1936) is an American politician and psychiatrist who was the U.S. representative for from 1989 to 2017. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The 7th District includes most of Seattle, Vashon I ...

Steve Pugh Steve Pugh ( ;) is a British comic book artist who has worked for American and British comic producers including DC Comics, DC, Marvel Comics, Marvel, Dark Horse Comics, Dark Horse and ''2000 AD (comic), 2000 AD''. He broke into the industry in ...

Tom Sutton Thomas F. Sutton (April 15, 1937 – May 1, 2002) He enlisted in the U.S. Air Force after graduating from high school in 1955, and worked on art projects while stationed at Fort Francis E. Warren, near Laramie, Wyoming. Later, stationed at It ...

Paul Guinan Paul Guinan is an American writer and comic book artist. Some of his most famous works are the Boilerplate robot or DC's Chronos. He is a founding member of Helioscope studio. Paul Guinan is part of the husband-and-wife team with Anina Bennett wh ...

, Martin Thomas, and Flint Henry. With issue #55, the character of James Twilley, a future incarnation of Gaunt, was introduced as the timeline jumped forward 200 years. Throughout its run, with the exception of a few full-length issues (as well as #60 with its expanded letter column), ''Grimjack'' featured a back-up story in the manner of other First Comics series. From issue #2 to 69, the backstory was titled ''Munden's Bar'', a telling of events at the eponymous bar. The story brought a small amount of fame to the series for its occasional guest stars, such as the

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' is an American media franchise created by the comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It follows Leonardo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Leonardo, Michelangelo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Miche ...

. Starting with issue #70 a new back-up feature began, as John Ostrander felt that ''Munden's Bar'' was getting too far away from his original intent and he suspended it for reworking. In its place was his own serial entitled ''Youngblood'', drawn by

. ''Youngblood'' told the story of John Gaunt's troubled childhood, via flashbacks from a point in Gaunt's life prior to his first published appearance in ''

'', but after the "Demon Wars". It concluded in issue #81. Although one of First Comics' most popular titles, after the company declared bankruptcy, it did not make it into print again until 2005. In 1990, First published ''Demon Knight'', a stand-alone

graphic novel A graphic novel is a long-form, fictional work of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comic scholars and industry ...

featuring the James Twilley incarnation of Grimjack going back in time to the Demon Wars to try to change his fate. Although a stand-alone, the story ties in thematically with the "Demon Wars" flashback storyline taking place in issues #66–69 and Twilley appears in a panel of issue #69. First's ''Grimjack Casefiles'', a reprint series covering the ''Starslayer'' back-up stories and the first issues of the ''Grimjack'' series, ran a total of 5 issues from November 1990 to March 1991. Following their recovering the rights to Grimjack, John Ostrander and Timothy Truman teamed up again to publish ''Grimjack: Killer Instinct'', a 6-issue miniseries published by IDW Publishing. The miniseries, since reprinted in graphic novel form, serves as a

prequel A prequel is a literary, dramatic or cinematic work whose story precedes that of a previous work, by focusing on events that occur before the original narrative. A prequel is a work that forms part of a backstory to the preceding work. The term " ...

to the First Comics ''Grimjack'' series and shows John Gaunt's life leading up to his first appearance in ''Starslayer'' #10. The series met with critical acclaim for its art, storyline and original setting. With a script by John Ostrander and art by Timothy Truman, the series was lettered by

John Workman John Workman (born June 20, 1950) is an American editor, writer, artist, designer, colorist and letterer in the comic book industry. He is known for his frequent partnerships with writer/artist Walter Simonson and also for lettering the entire ru ...

and edited by

Mike Gold Michael Gold (April 12, 1894 – May 14, 1967) was the pen-name of Jewish American writer Itzok Isaac Granich. A lifelong communist, Gold was a novelist and literary critic. His semi-autobiographical novel '' Jews Without Money'' (1930) was a bes ...

. All of them had worked on the original ''Grimjack'' comic. IDW Publishing also re-issued the First Comics ''Grimjack'' run in a series of trade paperbacks under the title ''The Legend of Grimjack''. As of October 2007, 8 collections have been released. The character was serialized in a new storyline, ''The Manx Cat'', as a Comicmix.com

webcomic Webcomics (also known as online comics or Internet comics) are comics published on a website or mobile app. While many are published exclusively on the web, others are also published in magazines, newspapers, or comic books. Webcomics can be co ...

in January 2011. It has since seen print as a six-issue miniseries through Comicmix's arrangement with

IDW Comics IDW Publishing is an American publisher of comic books, graphic novels, art books, and comic strip collections. It was founded in 1999 as the publishing division of Idea and Design Works, LLC (IDW), itself formed in 1999, and is regularly rec ...

. The story involves "The Manx Cat", a statuette of such a cat that at first seems to be a simple

MacGuffin In fiction, a MacGuffin (sometimes McGuffin) is an object, device, or event that is necessary to the plot and the motivation of the characters, but insignificant, unimportant, or irrelevant in itself. The term was originated by Angus MacPhail for ...

like the classic ''Maltese Falcon'' of the novel and films by that name, but which begins showing malevolent powers. The plot thickens with time travel, reincarnation, and Elder Gods. Like most modern comics, it features digitally-created art.

Fictional character biography

John Gaunt

John Gaunt, alias Grimjack, was born in The Pit, a slum area of the pan-dimensional city of Cynosure, where both magic and technology, humans and aliens intermingle. His mother Anya (née Laughton) died in childbirth. John had two older brothers, Nick (nicknamed "Young Nick" and named after their father, "Old Nick") and Jake. His father married Anya's sister, Maite (nicknamed "Mouse") and they had one child together, Joe. Joe was the only of his brothers for whom John cared, and he vowed to Mouse that he would watch out for him.''Grimjack'' #75 Old Nick had one brother, Jack. Young Nick hated and resented John, blaming him for the death of their mother, the only person who loved him. Throughout John's life, Young Nick manipulated their father into hating John in hopes that he would kill John.''Grimjack'' #79 When John was about five years old, Old Nick attacked and killed Jack in a drunken rage. He was sentenced to prison but later escaped. The day he returned home Mouse vanished. It is unknown whether Old Nick killed her. On John's eighth birthday, Old Nick, having decided that Gaunt was actually Jack's son, attacked John with a broken bottle. This caused the distinctive vertical scar that Gaunt carried through his life. Old Nick fell in the fireplace and burned to death. Following their father's death, the four brothers survived on the streets by stealing. One night they broke into the house of a merchant to rob him. Jake killed the merchant when he discovered them in the house. Nick, Jake and Joe escaped but Nick knocked John unconscious and abandoned him to take the rap for the murder. John was found guilty and sentenced to fight in the Arena of Cynosure. The day he arrived in the Arena he vowed to kill Nick. Gaunt joined one of the gangs of child warriors called "Wolfpacs". During that time, Gaunt went by the name of "Grinner" and was known as the second-best fighter in the Arena, second only to The Dancer. Gaunt was released from the Arena at age 22 because, while he fought and killed, he refused to make his kills entertaining to the crowd.''Grimjack'' #66 Following his release, Gaunt began a search for his brothers. Attacked and badly wounded in a street fight, Gaunt stumbled upon the entrance to the dimension of Pdwyr. There he was nursed back to health and met the love of his life, a woman named Rhian. He studied magic with Rhian's father, Maethe Mathonwy, but while Gaunt could summon power he did not have the inner peace needed to properly control it. Another Cynosure resident, Major Lash, found his way to Pdwyr and informed Gaunt that the city had been invaded by Hell itself. Lash convinced Gaunt to return to Cynosure and fight in the Demon Wars by persuading him that if the city fell the demons would find and destroy Pdwyr. The city's forces were able to repel Hell but demons invaded Pdwyr, causing the destruction of the land and the death of all those Gaunt loved, including Rhian. After burying his dead, Gaunt joined the Major's group of temporal bounty hunters, the Lawkillers, not knowing that it was Major Lash who had betrayed Pdwyr to the demons. Gaunt would not learn the truth for some 25 years. At age 30, John Gaunt had a final fateful confrontation with his brothers. Nick shot John, leading Joe to draw his gun and shoot Nick. Jake then shot Joe and Joe shot Jake. John shot Nick. Jake shot Joe again, killing him. John then finished Jake. Nick shot John again and John killed Nick. After leaving the Lawkillers, Gaunt joined the Trans-Dimensional Police, Cynosure's police department. Upon quitting the TDP, he was enlisted as the first member of Cadre, a spy agency of the Cynosure government. After the events detailed in the ''Grimjack: Killer Instinct'' storyline, he abandoned Cadre and set himself up as a mercenary and

private investigator A private investigator (often abbreviated to PI and informally called a private eye), a private detective, or inquiry agent is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. Private investigators of ...

in Cynosure. At some point he purchased the bar known as Munden's, apparently named after bartender Gordon Munden, from Munden's ex-wife.

Grimjack clone

During a bloody conflict with the Lawkillers, Gaunt managed to kill two of Major Lash's men, Preacher and Grunt, but turned his back on Lash, disgusted with the senseless bloodshed and murder, including the revelation that the enemy he had killed months ago was his biological son. Lash seized this opportunity and killed Grimjack. Gaunt was shocked to find himself in Heaven, where he was reunited with his former love, Rhian. He was informed that for all his faults, he always stood by his friends, and for that he was judged worthy. But he soon discovers that The Dancer has reanimated Gaunt's corpse in order to murder his friend Blackjacmac. Gaunt was horrified at this, as Blackjacmac would likely go to Hell if he were to die at this point in his life. Forfeiting a peaceful Afterlife, but continuing to act for the benefit of his friends, Gaunt returned to Cynosure by animating a clone body of himself at an age several decades younger than his original body. In this body, Gaunt operated under the alias "Chaney"''Grimjack'' #39 and had increased psychic sensitivity. Gaunt operated under this identity for several months, gradually re-establishing relationships with his friends, until he met a man claiming to be an incarnation of himself from 3,000 years in the future. This "FutureJack" tells Gaunt that when he left Heaven, he was barred from returning to either Heaven or Hell. Gaunt is condemned to be reborn eternally. "FutureJack" convinces Gaunt that his doom is tied to the fate of Cynosure and to accompany him on a mission to hasten the destruction of the city. During the mission Gaunt realizes that "FutureJack" is lying to him and shoots him. "FutureJack" is apparently destroyed.

James Twilley

Grimjack was reborn as James Edgar Twilley, the son of a rich Cynosure family. Initially unaware of his past life, Twilley began remembering at around age 14 when he witnessed a thug murdering a jock who bullied him in high school. Twilley murdered the thug and marked himself with the trademark Grimjack scar of his previous life. Twilley went underground, disappearing from his family and friends as he set about re-learning his past skills. When he was ready, Twilley showed up at Munden's and, using a clause written into the ownership contract of the bar, claimed his identity as well as the bar. Sometime later, his family, distraught over the changes that their son had undergone, kidnapped him and forced him into a personality restructuring therapy to erase the troubling memories, but when presented with a copy of John Gaunt as supposed proof that Twilley's memories were false, he flew in a frenzy and ripped out the Gaunt copy's throat with his teeth. Discovering his family's manipulations, James Twilley left his family and assumed once again the street name of Grimjack with Munden's Bar as his base of operations. James Twilley died in issue #81 of ''Grimjack'', concluding First Comics' run.

Supporting characters

:''See

List of characters in Grimjack A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to: People * List (surname) Organizations * List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America * SC Germania List, German rugby union ...

Other appearances

Grimjack's first published appearance was in a back-up story in First's ''

Warp Warp, warped or warping may refer to: Arts and entertainment Books and comics * WaRP Graphics, an alternative comics publisher * ''Warp'' (First Comics), comic book series published by First Comics based on the play ''Warp!'' * Warp (comics), a ...

'', "The Dogs of War", featuring the character Sargon, Mistress of War. The story opens in Munden's Bar and Gaunt appears in shadow in one panel, although this was not known at the time. Ostrander identified this figure as Gaunt years later. In addition to his own series, Grimjack made appearances in two ''Munden's Bar'' specials and a few First Comics crossover specials including ''The Gift'' and ''Crossroads''. Away from First, Gaunt's corpse made a one-panel appearance as a

sight gag In comedy, a visual gag or sight gag is anything which conveys its humour visually, often without words being used at all. The gag may involve a physical impossibility or an unexpected occurrence. The humor is caused by alternative interpretation ...

in issue #5 of the

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

horror anthology title ''

Wasteland Wasteland or waste land may refer to: * Desert or barren area * an uncultivated area of land, whether wooded or not, whether common land or not Art, entertainment, and media Comics * ''Wasteland'' (DC Comics), 1987–1989 anthology-style horror/ ...

''. In the fourth chapter of his 1986

Amber Amber is fossilized tree resin that has been appreciated for its color and natural beauty since Neolithic times. Much valued from antiquity to the present as a gemstone, amber is made into a variety of decorative objects."Amber" (2004). In Ma ...

novel '' Blood of Amber'',

Roger Zelazny Roger Joseph Zelazny (May 13, 1937 – June 14, 1995) was an American poet and writer of fantasy and science fiction short stories and novels, best known for ''The Chronicles of Amber''. He won the Nebula Award three times (out of 14 nomin ...

introduced a character named "Old John", who works as an emissary for the King of Amber. Old John is described as having a "nasty-looking scar running both above and below his left eye" and a "nasty grin", wearing a dark feathered hat. Zelazny, a fan of the Grimjack series since its premiere issue, later contributed the introduction to the Grimjack graphic novel ''Demon Knight''. In the short story "The Shroudling and the Guisel", published posthumously in ''

Amberzine ''Amberzine'' is a magazine that was published by Phage Press that covered '' The Chronicles of Amber'' books, the Amber Diceless Roleplaying Game, and associated material. Publication history Phage Press published ''Amberzine'' #1 (March 1992) ...

'' #8, Zelazny refers to Grimjack by name: "I stood among the grave markers of unknown mortals— Dennis Colt, Remo Williams, John Gaunt—and swore to be her champion if ever she needed one". This story was later reprinted in the Zelazny collection ''

Manna from Heaven {{Infobox book , , name = Manna from Heaven , title_orig = , translator = , image = Manna from heaven.jpg , caption = Dust-jacket from the first edition. , author = Roger Zelazny , cover_artist = Bob Eggle ...

''.

Legal history

Following the bankruptcy of First Comics in 1991, the legal rights to ''Grimjack'' became tied up with First Comics' other assets. Ken F. Levin, co-founder of First Comics, and Mike Gold, ''Grimjacks original editor, set out to free the rights to the character from legal limbo. There were several reports over the years that the problem was not the rights to Grimjack, invariably stated in these accounts to be owned outright by Ostrander, but those to its setting, the pan-dimensional city of Cynosure, which was the property of First Comics. The unique nature of the place was crucial to many of Ostrander's storylines, and some observers even considered it to be a "character" in its own right. After 12 years of efforts, all rights to ''Grimjack'' were released and a new company was founded, NightSky GrimJack Rights and Production Vehicle (Four Wheel Drive Model), LLC, with legal ownership to the character. John Ostrander and Timothy Truman are said to have "substantial equity positions" in the venture.

In other media

J. Michael Straczynski Joseph Michael Straczynski (; born July 17, 1954) is an American filmmaker and comic book writer. He is the founder of Synthetic Worlds Ltd. and Studio JMS and is best known as the creator of the science fiction television series ''Babylon 5'' ( ...

had reportedly planned to write a film adaptation of ''Grimjack'' during his time on ''

Babylon 5 ''Babylon 5'' is an American space opera television series created by writer and producer J. Michael Straczynski, under the Babylonian Productions label, in association with Straczynski's Synthetic Worlds Ltd. and Warner Bros. Domestic Tele ...

''. He initially planned to produce the script during the summer of 1996, but timing conflicts prevented him from doing it. As a result, the project was put on hold, and has not been resurrected since. According to Straczynski, the film was budgeted for $30 million, and as scriptwriter, Straczynski intended to remain as faithful as possible to the source material. At

San Diego Comic-Con San Diego Comic-Con International is a comic book convention and nonprofit multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California since 1970. The name, as given on its website, is Comic-Con International: San Diego; but it is co ...

2019, the

Russo brothers Anthony Russo (born February 3, 1970) and Joseph Russo (born July 18, 1971), collectively known as the Russo brothers (), are American directors, producers, and screenwriters. They direct most of their work together. They are best known for dir ...

announced their production company AGBO were developing a animated television series adaptation for Amazon. It's being written by Kevin Murphy and the Russo brothers will produce the show.

References

Notes

Sources

* Zelazny, Roger (1986). ''Blood of Amber''. collected in ''The Great Book of Amber: The Complete Amber Chronicles, 1–10''. New York, Avon Books (1999). .

External links

* {{official, http://www.grimjack.com
Cynosure at An International Catalogue of Superheroes

* ttp://www.toonopedia.com/grimjack.htm Grimjackat

Don Markstein's Toonopedia Don Markstein's Toonopedia (subtitled A Vast Repository of Toonological Knowledge) is an online encyclopedia of print cartoons, comic strips and animation, initiated February 13, 2001. Donald D. Markstein, the sole writer and editor of Toonopedi ...

Archived
from the original on September 1, 2016.
Grimjack at IDW

Timothy Truman's website
Characters created by John Ostrander Characters created by Timothy Truman Comics characters introduced in 1983 Fictional bartenders Fictional gladiators Fictional mercenaries in comics Fictional swordfighters in comics Fictional war veterans Orphan characters in comics