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'''The Jam''', formally known as the Jammer, is a fictional |
'''The Jam''', formally known as the Jammer, is a fictional costumed hero, created by writer-artist [[Bernie Mireault]], who originally appeared in [[Canadian comic books]] published by Matrix Graphics Series. The Jammer made his [[first appearance]] in ''New Triumph Featuring Northguard'' #2 (1985). |
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The Jammer is the alter ego of Gordon “Gordie” Kirby, an otherwise normal guy who found he enjoyed patrolling the rooftops of his home city of Montréal in a homemade superhero costume. The Jammer is not really a superhero. He often finds himself in the right place at the right time, and is compelled to act heroically. Sometimes he is hired to do good deeds. His personal mission is to “dominate the world with peace, love, and free beer.” Through the course of his career, he has battled terrorists, a delusional psychiatrist, and even servants of the [[List of Jam Urban Adventure Characters#The Devil|Devil]]. |
The Jammer is the alter ego of Gordon “Gordie” Kirby, an otherwise normal guy who found he enjoyed patrolling the rooftops of his home city of Montréal in a homemade superhero costume. The Jammer is not really a superhero. He often finds himself in the right place at the right time, and is compelled to act heroically. Sometimes he is hired to do good deeds. His personal mission is to “dominate the world with peace, love, and free beer.” Through the course of his career, he has battled terrorists, a delusional psychiatrist, and even servants of the [[List of Jam Urban Adventure Characters#The Devil|Devil]]. |
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Revision as of 20:01, 18 October 2017
| The Jam | |
|---|---|
| Publication information | |
| Publisher |
|
| First appearance | New Triumph Featuring Northguard #2 (1985) |
| Created by | Bernie Mireault |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Gordon “Gordie” Kirby |
| Species | Human |
| Place of origin | Montréal, Quebec, Canada |
| Partnerships | |
| Notable aliases |
|
| Abilities |
|
The Jam, formally known as the Jammer, is a fictional costumed hero, created by writer-artist Bernie Mireault, who originally appeared in Canadian comic books published by Matrix Graphics Series. The Jammer made his first appearance in New Triumph Featuring Northguard #2 (1985).
The Jammer is the alter ego of Gordon “Gordie” Kirby, an otherwise normal guy who found he enjoyed patrolling the rooftops of his home city of Montréal in a homemade superhero costume. The Jammer is not really a superhero. He often finds himself in the right place at the right time, and is compelled to act heroically. Sometimes he is hired to do good deeds. His personal mission is to “dominate the world with peace, love, and free beer.” Through the course of his career, he has battled terrorists, a delusional psychiatrist, and even servants of the Devil.
Publication history
The first published stories of the Jam appeared in New Triumph Featuring Northguard from Matrix Graphic Series between 1985 and Summer of 1986. The backup stories were collected by Matrix Graphics Series as The Jam Special #1 in 1987. The special featured an new unpublished story.
A second special, The Jam, Urban Adventure: Super Cool, Color-injected, Turbo Adventure from Hell #1, was published in 1999 by Comico.
Slave Labor Graphics published The Jam, Urban Adventure #1-5 between November 1989 and the Summer of 1991. The Jam, Urban Adventure #1 (November 1989) was an expanded version of the new story found in The Jam Special #1 (1987).
Tundra Publishing colorized and republished The Jam, Urban Adventure #1-5 between January and May of 1992.
Dark Horse Comics picked up the title and published The Jam, Urban Adventure #6-8 between October 1993 and February 1995.
Caliber Comics published The Jam, Urban Adventure #9-14 between 1995 and 1997. The short story “The Chair” appeared in Negative Burn #25 from Caliber Comics in 1995.
In 1998, Dark Horse Comics published Madman/Jam, a two-issue series featuring Mike Allred’s character Madman. Madman/Jam #1-2 and Nexus Meets Madman were collected and reprinted as the Madman Boogaloo! Starring Nexus & The Jam trade paperback from Dark Horse Comics(1999).
Evil Twin Comics published a story called “Team Jam” in Awesome: The Indie Spinner Rack Anthology (2007) featuring the Jammer and other Bernie Mireault characters.[1]
In 2009, CO2 Comics posted an animated version of the second Jam story, first published in New Triumph Featuring Northguard #3 (1985).
In 2011, the graphic novel To Get Her was published by BEM Graphics and documented the continued adventures of Gordon Kirby and Janet Ditko.
In March of 2013, Bernie Mireault posted colorized versions of the first Jam story and “The Chair” feature from Negative Burn to his Comic Art of Bernie Mireault blog.
In 2016, EDGE Science Fiction and Fantasy published a short prose story “The Jam: A Secret Bowman” in Tesseracts Nineteen: Superhero Universe.
In 2017, About Comics published a collection of Bernard Edward Mireault’s independent work called “XVI Short Stories” which included the colorized versions of the first four Jam stories.
Images of the Jammer were featured in Canadian Comics Cavalcade (Artworx, 1986), Amazing Heroes Swimsuit Special #2 (Fantagraphics Books, 1991), the Caliber Comics 1996 Calendar (Caliber Comics, 1995), Overstreet’s Fan #7 - Indy Jam Variant (Gemstone Publishing, 1995), Comic Eye (Blind Bat Press, 2007), Modern Masters, Volume Sixteen: Mike Allred (TwoMorrows Publishing, 2008), and Madman 20th Anniversary Monster! (Image Comics, 2012).
| Date | Publication | Publisher |
|---|---|---|
| 1985 | New Triumph Featuring Northguard #2[2] | Matrix Graphic Series |
| 1985 | New Triumph Featuring Northguard #3[3] | Matrix Graphic Series |
| 1986 | New Triumph Featuring Northguard #4[4] | Matrix Graphic Series |
| 1986 | New Triumph Featuring Northguard #5[5] | Matrix Graphic Series |
| 1986 | Canadian Comics Cavalcade[6] | Artworx |
| 1987 | The Jam Special #1[7] | Matrix Graphic Series |
| 1988.05 | The Jam, Urban Adventure: Super Cool, Color-injected, Turbo Adventure from Hell #1[8] | Comico |
| 1989.11 | The Jam, Urban Adventure #1[9] | Slave Labor Graphics |
| 1990.01 | The Jam, Urban Adventure #2[10] | Slave Labor Graphics |
| 1990.03 | The Jam, Urban Adventure #3[11] | Slave Labor Graphics |
| 1990.05 | The Jam, Urban Adventure #4[12] | Slave Labor Graphics |
| 1991.01 | Amazing Heroes Swimsuit Special #2[13] | Fantagraphics Books |
| 1991 | The Jam, Urban Adventure #5[14] | Slave Labor Graphics |
| 1992.01 | The Jam, Urban Adventure #1[15] | Tundra Publishing |
| 1992.02 | The Jam, Urban Adventure #2[16] | Tundra Publishing |
| 1992.03 | The Jam, Urban Adventure #3[17] | Tundra Publishing |
| 1992.04 | The Jam, Urban Adventure #4[18] | Tundra Publishing |
| 1992.05 | The Jam, Urban Adventure #5[19] | Tundra Publishing |
| 1993.10 | The Jam, Urban Adventure #6[20] | Dark Horse Comics |
| 1994.03 | The Jam, Urban Adventure #7[21] | Dark Horse Comics |
| 1995.02 | The Jam, Urban Adventure #8[22] | Dark Horse Comics |
| 1995.07 | Negative Burn #25[23] | Caliber Comics |
| 1995 | The Jam, Urban Adventure #9[24] | Caliber Comics |
| 1995 | The Jam, Urban Adventure #10[25] | Caliber Comics |
| 1995 | The Jam, Urban Adventure #11[26] | Caliber Comics |
| 1995 | Caliber Comics 1996 Calendar[27] | Caliber Comics |
| 1995.12 | Overstreet’s Fan #7 (Indy Jam Variant)[28] | Gemstone Publishing |
| 1996 | The Jam, Urban Adventure #12[29] | Caliber Comics |
| 1996 | The Jam, Urban Adventure #13[30] | Caliber Comics |
| 1997 | The Jam, Urban Adventure #14[31] | Caliber Comics |
| 1998.07 | Madman/Jam #1[32] | Dark Horse Comics |
| 1998.08 | Madman/Jam #2[33] | Dark Horse Comics |
| 1999 | Madman Boogaloo! Starring Nexus & The Jam[34] | Dark Horse Comics |
| 2007.10 | Awesome: The Indie Spinner Rack Anthology[35] | Evil Twin Comics |
| 2007 | The Comics Eye [36] | Blind Bat Press |
| 2008.04 | Modern Masters, Volume Sixteen: Mike Allred[37] | TwoMorrows Publishing |
| 2009.10 | “The Jam Lives”[38] | CO2 Comics Comics |
| 2011 | To Get Her[39] | BEM Graphics |
| 2012.10 | Madman 20th Anniversary Monster![40] | Image Comics |
| 2013.03 | “The Jam 00a”[41] | Comic Art of Bernie Mireault |
| 2013.03 | “The Chair”[42] | Comic Art of Bernie Mireault |
| 2016.03 | Tesseracts Nineteen: Superhero Universe[43] | EDGE Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing |
| 2017.03 | XVI Short Stories[44] | About Comics |
Fictional character biography
Major story arcs
Fun with Flarks
--Needs additional content--
- Spans The Jam, Urban Adventure #1–5 (1989–91).[9]
Broken Hearts
--Needs additional content--
“…Said the Madman.”
--Needs additional content--
- Spans The Jam, Urban Adventure #6–8 (1993–5).[20]
To Get Her
--Needs additional content--
- To Get Her (2011).[39]
Multi-issue stories
Ask Him About the Kinetic
Gordon Kirby was sent to to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to personally deliver a message to Jane Marble’s client Mark Trimble. She offered to tear up Mark’s bill if he told Gordie about the Kinetic.
- Spans The Jam, Urban Adventure #13–14 (1996–7).[30]
House of Escher
Short stories
What Are You Doing to My Mother?
The Jammer happened upon Jane Marble being mugged in an alleyway at knifepoint.
- Found in New Triumph #2 (1985).[2]
Fight! Fight! Fight!
The Jammer happened upon a mother and her child being threatened on an adjacent rooftop by an angry man with a gun.
- Found in New Triumph #3 (1985).[3]
I’m Gonna Screw Up Your Float.
Gordon Kirby tried to return bottles to a convenience store when it was robbed at gunpoint.
- Found in New Triumph #4 (1986).[4]
Time to Get Rich
Gordon Kirby called Jane Marble about a job opportunity and overheard an intruder breaking into her office.
- Found in New Triumph #5 (1986).[5]
You’re Such a Pig, Roger.
The Jammer happened upon an angry Dave Brave as he dangled his brother-in-law Roger from the roof of a building by a rope.
- Found in The Jam Special #1 (1987).[7]
The Price Is High.
Gordon Kirby dreamed he was the Jammer Omniscient, ruler of Hell for Assholes.
- Found in The Jam, Urban Adventure: Super Cool, Color-injected, Turbo Adventure from Hell #1 (1988).[8]
Don’t Forget the Rent.
Gordon Kirby visited his bank and noticed two suspicious men walking in and another waiting outside behind the wheel of a car.
- Found in The Jam, Urban Adventure: Super Cool, Color-injected, Turbo Adventure from Hell #1 (1988).[8]
New Talent Night
Gordon Kirby and Janet Ditko attended the debut of the Balloons at the Blue Angel Bar’s New Talent Night.
- Found in the The Jam, Urban Adventure #2 (1990).[10]
The Mighty Jan
Janet Ditko dreamed she was a superhero attempting to rescue Gordon Kirby (in his Jammer costume) from the clutches of the evil Hell Lord.
- Found in the The Jam, Urban Adventure #4 (1990).[12]
God’s Window
Tony Matootsi was killed in a freak accident. His wife Nina held a religious vigil.
- Found in The Jam, Urban Adventure #6 (1993).[20]
The Chair
Gordon Kirby and Janet Ditko scrambled to acquire nice a chair that had been abandoned in an alley across from their apartment building.
- Found in Negative Burn #25 (1995).[23]
Story Time at the Blue Angel
Gordon Kirby met his friend Rex at the Blue Angel Bar to talk about an event that had been bothering him.
- Breakfast
- --Needs additional content--
- Asphalt
- --Needs additional content--
- Insects!
- --Needs additional content--
- Found in The Jam, Urban Adventure #11 (1995).[26]
Megan’s Story
Gordon Kirby and Janet Ditko were invited to Studio C by Janet’s Aunt Zoe for the opening of Klee Shonin’s new show.
- Found in The Jam, Urban Adventure #12 (1996).[29]
Team Jam
Snuuger Dü, Bug-Eyed Monster, Dr. Robot, and No.1 met the Jammer when they got lost following a storyline.
- Found in Awesome: The Indie Spinner Rack Anthology (2007).[35]
Comic Jam
--Needs additional content--
- Found in To Get Her (2011).[39]
A Secret Bowman
--Needs additional content--
- Found in Tesseract Nineteen: Superhero Universe (2016).[43]
The works of Gordon Kirby
Mayhem in Alphabet Town
“Mayhem in Alphabet Town” was a bedtime story created by Gordon Kirby for his nephew Ronnie. It is a murder mystery wherein the residents of Alphabet Town come together to determine who killed Q.
- Found in The Jam, Urban Adventure #9 (1995).[24]
Internal Dialogue
“Internal Dialogue” is a 16-page comic written and illustrated by Gordon Kirby about a man who is held ransom by his mistreated organs.
- Found in To Get Her (2011).[39]
Hi-hat
“Hi-hat” is a series of newspaper-style comicstrips written and illustrated by Gordon Kirby that serve as an allegory to his struggles as an artist.
- Found in To Get Her (2011).[39]
Asshole
“Asshole” is a 10-panel newspaper-style comicstrip about a clown asking for a handout from a disillusioned good samaritan.
- Found in To Get Her (2011).[39]
Resume summary
- Rescued a woman from muggers[2]
- Rescued a woman and her child from an armed assailant[3]
- Educated a clerk in the practice of bottle deposits and returns[4]
- Prevented the robbery of a convenience store[4]
- Counseled children on the importance of being polite[5]
- Persuaded a man not to kill another in a fit of rage[7]
- Rescued a woman from being bludgeoned to death in the street[8]
- Aided local police in the apprehension of three bank robbers[8]
- Mentored at-risk youth[10]
- Helped prevent the assassination of a foreign leader[14]
- Counseled a woman in crisis[20]
- Helped free two people being held in against their will in another dimension[33]
Income accrued
| From | Service Rendered | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Depanier Go-Go | Stopped armed robbery[4] | $20 |
| Bank of Montréal | Alerted police to a bank robbery and assisted in the capture of the thieves[8] | $3,500 —technically found and not returned |
| Ms. Jane Marble Inc. | Hired as a body double for the Blood King[12] | $200,000 |
| Dr. Andrew Mandigo | Attended two therapy sessions/interviews[20][21] | $3,000 |
| Ms. Jane Marble Inc. | Personally delivered a message to Mark Trimble in Philadelphia, PA[30] | ??? |
| City of Montréal | Compensation for being wrongfully tased[39] | ??? |
| The Joans Family | Money to keep quiet about their son’s psychotic break[39] | $20,000 |
Powers and abilities
The Jammer is athletic and in good physical shape. He regularly leaps between rooftops when patrolling his neighborhood. The Jammer is a capable hand-to-hand combatant. He has knocked armed assailants unconscious,[3][4] subdued a religious fanatic who was assaulting a woman in the street,[8] easily defended himself against two opponents in the back of a police wagon,[8] and performed an impeccable tomoe nage on a man who attacked him with a cane.[39] The Jammer has also displayed a resistance to hypnotic induction.[21]
Equipment
Costume
The Jammer’s costume consists of a loose-fitting dark-green hooded jogging suit (from Sears), a white belt, and dirty white cavalier-style gloves and boots. Bits of orange material were added to the hood to form a mask with large square eyeholes; and an inverted orange triangle was sewn onto the chest. The clumsy hand stitching shows plainly. Gordie’s sister Nancy made the costume for him as a joke in reference to his early superhero comic habit and his devotion to the original Batman television series.
Futility Belt
The Jammer’s “futility belt” is a jury-rigged tool belt that features four small tubes on either side of a rectangular interlocking buckle. From this belt, he has produced a smoke pellet,[3] a business card,[5] a dog whistle,[20], a notepad & pen,[35] and a plastic pet-waste bag.[39]
See also
List of Jam Urban Adventure Characters
List of Jam Urban Adventure Settings
Footnotes
- ^ Bug-Eyed Monster, Dr. Robot & No.1, the Jam, and Snuuger Dü
- ^ a b c Mireault, Bernie (w, a). “The Jam [What Are You Doing to My Mother?]”. New Triumph Featuring Northguard #2 (1985), Matrix Graphic Series.
- ^ a b c d e Mireault, Bernie (w, a). “The Jam [Fight! Fight! Fight!]”. New Triumph Featuring Northguard #3 (1985), Matrix Graphic Series.
- ^ a b c d e f Mireault, Bernie (w, a). “The Jam, Urban Adventure [I’m Gonna Screw Up Your Float.]”. New Triumph Featuring Northguard #4 (1986), Matrix Graphic Series.
- ^ a b c d Mireault, Bernie (w, a). “The Jam [Time to Get Rich]”. New Triumph Featuring Northguard #5 (1985), Matrix Graphic Series.
- ^ Mireault, Bernie (w, a). “The Jam”. Canadian Comics Cavalcade (1986), Artworx.
- ^ a b c Mireault, Bernie (w, a). The Jam Special #1 (1987), Matrix Graphic Series.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Mireault, Bernie (w, a). The Jam, Urban Adventure: Super Cool, Color-injected, Turbo Adventure from Hell #1 (May 1988), Comico.
- ^ a b c Mireault, Bernie (w, a). The Jam, Urban Adventure #1 (November 1989), Slave Labor Graphics.
- ^ a b c Mireault, Bernie (w, a). The Jam, Urban Adventure #2 (January 1990), Slave Labor Graphics.
- ^ Mireault, Bernie (w, a). The Jam, Urban Adventure #3 (March 1990), Slave Labor Graphics.
- ^ a b c Mireault, Bernie (w, a). The Jam, Urban Adventure #4 (May 1990), Slave Labor Graphics.
- ^ Mireault, Bernie (a). “The Jam”. Amazing Heroes Swimsuit Special #2 (January 1991), Fantagraphics Books.
- ^ a b Mireault, Bernie (w, a). The Jam, Urban Adventure #5 (1991), Slave Labor Graphics.
- ^ Mireault, Bernie (w, a). The Jam, Urban Adventure #1 (January 1992), Tundra Publishing.
- ^ Mireault, Bernie (w, a). The Jam, Urban Adventure #2 (February 1992), Tundra Publishing.
- ^ Mireault, Bernie (w, a). The Jam, Urban Adventure #3 (March 1992), Tundra Publishing.
- ^ Mireault, Bernie (w, a). The Jam, Urban Adventure #4 (April 1992), Tundra Publishing.
- ^ Mireault, Bernie (w, a). The Jam, Urban Adventure #5 (May 1992), Tundra Publishing.
- ^ a b c d e f Mireault, Bernie (w, a). The Jam, Urban Adventure #6 (October 1993), Dark Horse Comics.
- ^ a b c Mireault, Bernie (w, a). The Jam, Urban Adventure #7 (March 1994), Dark Horse Comics.
- ^ Mireault, Bernie (w, a). The Jam, Urban Adventure #8 (February 1995), Dark Horse Comics.
- ^ a b Mireault, Bernie (w, a). “The Chair”. Negative Burn #25 (July 1995), Caliber Comics.
- ^ a b c Mireault, Bernie (w, a). The Jam, Urban Adventure #9 (1995), Caliber Comics.
- ^ Mireault, Bernie (w, a). The Jam, Urban Adventure #10 (1995), Caliber Comics.
- ^ a b Mireault, Bernie (w, a); Oliver's, Chris (w); Deschaine, Scott (w, a); Gilbert, Michael T. (a); Gagnon, Rick (w). The Jam, Urban Adventure #11 (1995), Caliber Comics.
- ^ Mireault, Bernie (w, a). “The Jam”. Caliber Comics 1996 Calendar (1995), Caliber Comics.
- ^ Mireault, Bernie (a). Overstreet’s Fan #7 (Indy Jam Variant) (December 1995), Gemstone Publishing.
- ^ a b Mireault, Bernie (w, a). The Jam, Urban Adventure #12 (1996), Caliber Comics.
- ^ a b c Lang, Jeff (w); Mireault, Bernie (a). The Jam, Urban Adventure #13 (1996), Caliber Comics.
- ^ Lang, Jeff (w); Mireault, Bernie (a). The Jam, Urban Adventure #14 (1997), Caliber Comics.
- ^ a b Allred, Mike (w, a); Mireault, Bernie (w, a); Allred, Laura (c). Madman/Jam #1 (July 1998), Dark Horse Comics.
- ^ a b c Allred, Mike (w, a); Mireault, Bernie (w, a); Allred, Laura (c). Madman/Jam #2 (August 1998), Dark Horse Comics.
- ^ Allred, Mike (w, a); Baron, Mike (w); Mireault, Bernie (w, a); Rude, Steve (a). Madman Boogaloo! Starring Nexus & The Jam (1999), Dark Horse Comics.
- ^ a b c Mireault, Bernie (w, a). “Team Jam”. Awesome: The Indie Spinner Rack Anthology (October 2007), Evil Twin Comics.
- ^ Mireault, Bernie (w, a). “The Jam”. The Comic Eye (2007), Blind Bat Press.
- ^ Nolen-Weathington, Eric. “Madman/The Jam”. Modern Masters, Volume Sixteen: Mike Allred (2008), TwoMorrows Publishing
- ^ Mireault, Bernie (w, a). “The Jam Lives”. CO2 Comics, October 2009, http://www.co2comics.com/pages/co2_the_jam_demo.html.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Mireault, Bernie (w, a). To Get Her (2011), BEM Graphics.
- ^ Fiffe, Michel (p); Allred, Mike (i, c). “Madman Party Pin-Up”. Madman 20th Anniversary Monster! (October 2012), Image Comics.
- ^ Mireault, Bernie (w, a). “The Jam 00a [What Are You Doing to My Mother?]”. Comic Art of Bernie Mireault, 15 March 2013, https://tmblr.co/ZQIErsgInxW5.
- ^ Mireault, Bernie (w, a). “The Chair”. Comic Art of Bernie Mireault, 21 March 2013, https://tmblr.co/ZQIErsgoXqOr.
- ^ a b Mireault, Bernard E. (w). “The Jam: A Secret Bowman”. Tesseracts Nineteen: Superhero Universe (March 2016), EDGE Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing.
- ^ Mireault, Bernard Edward (w). XVI Short Stories (March 2017), About Comics.