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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" 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.
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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
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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.
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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. 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.
580:. 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.
466:, "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
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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
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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,
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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
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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
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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
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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
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s 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
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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
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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
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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.
246:, 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),
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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.
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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
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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.
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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
280:, 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.
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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"
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384:, 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.
333:#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
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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.
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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
199:. 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
207:, and First Comics decided to give the character his own title. The Grimjack backup story ran from issue #10 to 17. Grimjack guest-starred in the main
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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.
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164:#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
254:, 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
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in Cynosure. At some point he purchased the bar known as Munden's, apparently named after bartender Gordon Munden, from Munden's ex-wife.
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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
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announced their production company AGBO were developing an animated television series adaptation for Amazon. It's being written by
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was getting too far away from his original intent and he suspended it for reworking. In its place was his own serial entitled
528:, John Gaunt—and swore to be her champion if ever she needed one". This story was later reprinted in the Zelazny collection
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899:"Russo Brothers' AGBO Studios Developing 'Grimjack Comics' & Japanese Anime 'Battle Of The Planets' – Comic Con"
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featured a backup story in the manner of other First Comics series. From issue #2 to 69, the backstory was titled
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Following their recovering the rights to Grimjack, John Ostrander and Timothy Truman teamed up again to publish
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Grimjack is the street name of John Gaunt, a sword-for-hire, ex-paramilitary, war veteran and former child
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became tied up with First Comics' other assets. Ken F. Levin, co-founder of First Comics, and Mike Gold,
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in January 2011. It has since seen print as a six-issue miniseries through Comicmix's arrangement with
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storyline taking place in issues #66–69 and Twilley appears in a panel of issue #69.
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series and shows John Gaunt's life leading up to his first appearance in
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Grimjack's first published appearance was in a backup story in First's
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storyline, he abandoned Cadre and set himself up as a mercenary and
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series, ran a total of 5 issues from November 1990 to March 1991.
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later contributed the introduction to the Grimjack graphic novel
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specials and a few First Comics crossover specials including
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The Great Book of Amber: The Complete Amber Chronicles, 1–10
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began as a backup feature in issue #10 of the comic book
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comic. IDW Publishing also re-issued the First Comics
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had reportedly planned to write a film adaptation of
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run in a series of trade paperbacks under the title
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988:An International Catalogue of Superheroes
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554:After 12 years of efforts, all rights to
341:. All of them had worked on the original
897:D'Alessandro, Anthony (July 19, 2019).
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424:Grimjack: Killer Instinct
315:Grimjack: Killer Instinct
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656:"The Legend of Grimjack"
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49:Publication information
1084:Fictional war veterans
984:"John Gaunt, Grimjack"
801:Grimjack: The Manx Cat
568:J. Michael Straczynski
351:The Legend of Grimjack
129:Sensitivity to magic
1064:Fictional gladiators
1059:Fictional bartenders
887:Zelazny, pp. 740–41.
428:private investigator
360:, as a Comicmix.com
325:to the First Comics
103:In-story information
585:San Diego Comic-Con
574:during his time on
482:in issue #5 of the
186:Publication history
131:Psychic sensitivity
16:Fictional character
300:Grimjack Casefiles
1016:IDWPublishing.com
1005:May 27, 2024, at
531:Manna from Heaven
456:Other appearances
376:like the classic
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266:, drawn by
244:Paul Guinan
1033:Categories
1012:"Grimjack"
993:"Grimjack"
975:"Cynosure"
662:2009-03-04
619:"Grimjack"
599:References
587:2019, the
476:Crossroads
393:John Gaunt
370:such a cat
366:IDW Comics
331:Starslayer
304:Starslayer
277:Starslayer
272:Youngblood
268:Steve Pugh
264:Youngblood
240:Tom Sutton
236:Steve Pugh
209:Starslayer
205:Starslayer
196:Starslayer
142:comic book
89:Created by
80:#10 (Nov.
77:Starslayer
577:Babylon 5
548:Grimjack'
517:Amberzine
489:Wasteland
484:DC Comics
480:sight gag
374:MacGuffin
339:Mike Gold
293:flashback
176:gladiator
126:Abilities
108:Alter ego
55:Publisher
1039:Grimjack
1003:Archived
966:Archived
913:July 19,
903:Deadline
876:Grimjack
864:Grimjack
852:Grimjack
840:Grimjack
825:Grimjack
813:Grimjack
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556:Grimjack
544:Grimjack
472:The Gift
450:Grimjack
362:webcomic
347:Grimjack
343:Grimjack
327:Grimjack
308:Grimjack
298:First's
248:Grimjack
216:Grimjack
201:Grimjack
191:Grimjack
180:Cynosure
162:Grimjack
138:Grimjack
119:Grinner
37:Grimjack
25:Grimjack
926:Sources
628:2 April
323:prequel
169:Chicago
943:
499:novel
121:Chaney
39:#1 by
604:Notes
497:Amber
941:ISBN
915:2019
630:2020
474:and
463:Warp
156:and
82:1983
1014:at
995:at
986:at
977:at
878:#54
866:#53
854:#40
842:#39
827:#38
815:#36
791:#80
779:#66
767:#16
755:#76
743:#74
731:#73
719:#72
707:#79
695:#70
683:#75
645:#26
583:At
380:of
1035::
1001:.
964:.
901:.
832:^
803:#5
671:^
621:.
534:.
524:,
505:,
492:.
270:.
242:,
238:,
234:,
230:,
226:,
222:,
171:.
152:.
62:/
947:.
917:.
665:.
632:.
84:)
43:.
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