Jonni Future is a
fictional
Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying character (arts), individuals, events, or setting (narrative), places that are imagination, imaginary or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent ...
comic book
A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...
heroine
A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or Physical strength, strength. The original hero type of classical epics did such thin ...
, who appeared in the pages of ''Tom Strong's Terrific Tales'', a series published under writer
Alan Moore
Alan Moore (born 18 November 1953) is an English author known primarily for his work in comic books including ''Watchmen'', ''V for Vendetta'', ''The Ballad of Halo Jones'', Swamp Thing (comic book), ''Swamp Thing'', ''Batman: The Killing Joke' ...
's
America's Best Comics
America's Best Comics (ABC) was a comic book publishing brand. It was set up by Alan Moore in 1999 as an imprint of WildStorm, an idea proposed to Moore by WildStorm founder Jim Lee when it was still under Image Comics.
History
''America's ...
line of comic books for
WildStorm Comics
Wildstorm Productions (stylized as WildStorm) is an American comic book imprint. Originally founded as an independent company established by Jim Lee and Brandon Choi to publish through Image Comics, Wildstorm became a publishing imprint of DC C ...
. The stories were written by
Steve Moore (no relation) and most of them were illustrated by
Arthur Adams.
Concept
Jonni Future was created in 2002 by writer
Steve Moore and artist
Arthur Adams, as a pastiche of a pulp science fiction series like
Adam Strange
Adam Strange is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by editor Julius Schwartz and designed by Murphy Anderson, he first appeared in '' Showcase'' #17 (November 1958).
Adam Strange made his live-action de ...
and
Barbarella. It was published in eight-page installments in the
America's Best Comics
America's Best Comics (ABC) was a comic book publishing brand. It was set up by Alan Moore in 1999 as an imprint of WildStorm, an idea proposed to Moore by WildStorm founder Jim Lee when it was still under Image Comics.
History
''America's ...
anthology ''Tom Strong's Terrific Tales'', the first ten issues of which Adams penciled from 2002–2004. Adams' work on "Jonni Future" has been characterized as exhibiting a
romantic influence, with greater amounts realism and fine
hatching
Hatching () is an artistic technique used to create tonal or shading effects by drawing (or painting or scribing) closely spaced parallel lines. When lines are placed at an angle to one another, it is called cross-hatching. Hatching is als ...
, which Adams refers to as "noodling". Adams says he was inspired by sources such as
Paolo Eleuteri Serpieri,
Warren Publishing
Warren Publishing was an American magazine company founded by James Warren (publisher), James Warren, who published his first magazines in 1957 and continued in the business for decades. Magazines published by Warren include ''After Hours (magazin ...
's ''
Vampirella
Vampirella () is a vampire superheroine created by Forrest J Ackerman and comic book artist Trina Robbins in Warren Publishing's black-and-white horror comics magazine ''Vampirella'' #1 (Sept. 1969), a sister publication of '' Creepy'' and ''E ...
'', and the character designs in
Capcom
is a Japanese video game company. It has created a number of critically acclaimed and List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises, with its most commercially successful being ''Resident Evil'', ''Monster ...
video game character books when he drew "Jonni Future", and refrained from using straight edges or templates in order to achieve a more elegant, hand-drawn appearance. Adams drew the first three chapters of "Jonni Future" at twice the printed comic size, and also drew the fifth chapter, "The Garden of the Sklin", at a size larger than standard, in order to render more detail than usual in those stories. He regards "Jonni Future" as his best work.
[George Khoury and Eric Nolen-Weathington. ''Modern Masters Volume Six: Arthur Adams'', 2006, TwoMorrows Publishing.]
Despite the well-endowed character's incredulity at the idea that her uncle intended her to wear the revealing costume that she wears in the series, Jonni nonetheless accepts her role as an adventurer, with much of the plots centering on or making mention of her attractive nature, or barely clothed
damsels in distress in general. For example, in the second installment, "
Moth
Moths are a group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not Butterfly, butterflies. They were previously classified as suborder Heterocera, but the group is Paraphyly, paraphyletic with respect to butterflies (s ...
Women of the Myriad Moons", Jonni battles a swarm of creatures with greatly exaggerated female characteristics like her own. In the third chapter, "The
Seraglio
A seraglio, serail, seray or saray (from , via Turkish, Italian and French) is a castle, palace or government building which was considered to have particular administrative importance in various parts of the former Ottoman Empire.
"The S ...
of the Stars", Jonni is captured with the intent of making her a sex slave, but escapes with a plan in which she and the other slaves use their sexuality against their captors, one that includes Jonni being briefly nude.
In the fourth story, "The Witch of the World's End", a group of 16th century
Christian
A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
witch-hunters are transported into the future, and encounter a city whose motifs indicate a liberated view of sexuality and nudity, causing them to conclude that they have reached the literal "end of the world", and that Jonni Future is a witch.
Fictional character biography
Jonni's uncle came and went at his pleasure from the 20th century to the Crepusculum, a time billions of years in the future when the whole solar system teeters on the brink of collapse and several planets have already disintegrated in a maelstrom of asteroids. He made these journeys via a portal located in his home.
After his death, he leaves his home to his
ethnobotanist
Ethnobotany is an interdisciplinary field at the interface of natural and social sciences that studies the relationships between humans and plants. It focuses on traditional knowledge of how plants are used, managed, and perceived in human societi ...
niece, Jonni. She inherits the house, she learns, on the condition that she keep it, and resell it to no one. In her first night in the house (which is intended to resemble
Norman Bates
Norman Bates is a fictional character created by American author Robert Bloch as the main protagonist in his 1959 horror novel '' Psycho''. He has an alter, Mother, who takes the form of his abusive mother, and later victim, Norma, who in hi ...
' house from the film ''
Psycho''
[George Khoury and Eric Nolen-Weathington. ''Modern Masters Volume Six: Arthur Adams'', 2006, TwoMorrows Publishing.]), she finds her uncle's old magazines and starts reading about his fanciful exploits. Jonni encounters Jermaal Van Pavane, an
anthropomorphic
Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics to ...
cheetah
The cheetah (''Acinonyx jubatus'') is a large Felidae, cat and the Fastest animals, fastest land animal. It has a tawny to creamy white or pale buff fur that is marked with evenly spaced, solid black spots. The head is small and rounded, wit ...
, who crossed from the pulp universe via a dimensional bridge in the attic. He brings her back to her uncle's old lair, explains to her the truth about him. Jermaal becomes her
sidekick
A sidekick is a close companion or colleague who is, or is generally regarded as, subordinate to those whom they accompany.
Origins
The first recorded use of the term dates from 1896. It is believed to have originated in pickpocket slang of ...
in the campy action, explaining that her uncle wished her to take up his mantle as a
hero
A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or Physical strength, strength. The original hero type of classical epics did such thin ...
and protector of the Grand Array, the
fantastic universe
''Fantastic Universe'' was a U.S. science fiction magazine which began publishing in the 1950s. It ran for 69 issues, from June 1953 to March 1960, under two different publishers. It was part of the explosion of science fiction magazine publishi ...
he lost his life defending. His legacy to Jonni includes trappings like the fish-shaped spaceship
Coelacanth
Coelacanths ( ) are an ancient group of lobe-finned fish (Sarcopterygii) in the class Actinistia. As sarcopterygians, they are more closely related to lungfish and tetrapods (the terrestrial vertebrates including living amphibians, reptiles, bi ...
, a war suit and a "universal translator" helmet that enable Jonni to communicate with Jermaal and other aliens.
Issues
* ''Tom Strong's Terrific Tales: Book One'', issues #1-6 (hardcover: ,
paperback
A paperback (softcover, softback) book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, also known as wrappers, and often held together with adhesive, glue rather than stitch (textile arts), stitches or Staple (fastener), staples. In contrast, ...
: )
* ''Tom Strong's Terrific Tales: Book Two'', issues #7-12 (hardcover: , paperback: )
Tomorrow Stories 64-page specials
* Special #1 (26 October 2005)
* Special #2 (8 March 2006)
Notes
{{reflist
Future, Jonni
Characters created by Art Adams
Comics characters introduced in 2002
Female superheroes
Female characters in comics
Fictional botanists