T with the Heat – Labor Day 2014

THE PROUD AMERICAN

Name: The Proud American
Real Name: Unknown
Age: Late twenties
Era of activity: World War II
Group Affiliation: Watchguard
Occupation: Government sanctioned costumed adventurer
Abilities: Chemically enhanced strength, xenophobia
First appearance: BATTLE HYMN #1
Created by: B. Clay Moore & Jeremy Haun

Bio (SPOILERS): Very little is known of the Proud American prior to his involvement with the wartime group Watchguard. The American was something of a symbol of American virtue, and, unlike most of his contemporaries, held an idealistic belief in American values. His strength had been augmented by the government, and he spent time in the European theater posing for photo ops and attempting to lift the morale of American troops.

The Proud American ultimately became the public figurehead for Watchguard, a group of super-powered individuals assembled by the U.S. government for observational and propaganda purposes. After appearing with the group in their initial public appearances, he was replaced as field leader by the Defender of Liberty. The American returned to the group to help track down a rogue member (the Artificial Man), and was evidently killed while battling over the Atlantic Ocean, swept up in the nuclear blast unleashed by the government in an effort to stop the Artificial Man.

BISHOP MASAKI

Name: Bishop Masaki
Age: Unknown
Occupation: Crime lord
Base of operations: As of 1953, Honolulu, Hawaii
First appearance: HAWAIIAN DICK #2
Created by: B. Clay Moore & Steven Griffin

Bio: Very little is known of Bishop Masaki’s life beyond his later years as a drug lord/criminal kingpin in Hawaii, aside from his being of Japanese descent (if not a Japanese citizen). Masaki controlled one of the largest criminal empires in the Pacific when, in 1953, he crossed paths with Byrd, newly arrived from the United States. Byrd was hired by two of Masaki’s henchmen to find Leila Rose, Masaki’s mistress (and sister of Kahami). The two had kidnapped Leila Rose, and thrown her in the trunk of a car, which was then stolen from them by joyriders.

Masaki’s anger at the disappearance (and subsequent accidental death) of Leila Rose led him to a dockside confrontation with Byrd, which apparently resulted in Masaki’s death.

After his death, former mafia consigliere Anthony Antonio (AKA “The Thinker”) attempted to take over some of Masaki’s abandoned holdings.

MARCUS KING

Name: Marcus King
Age: Mid-thirties (circa 1976)
Occupation: Street fighter/community activist
Base of Operations: New York City
First appearance: ’76 #1
Created by: B. Clay Moore & Ed Tadem

Bio: Marcus King was a sixties-era street fighter who partnered with martial artist Jackie Karma and judo expert Bobby Howler to form a formidable trio. When Howler enlisted in the Army and left for Viet Nam, Karma and King became New York City street legends, until their retirement at some point near the end of the decade. King stayed in New York, eventually becoming a community activist. In 1976, the reemergence of an old foe, Gil Gunn, whose back King had broken years before, drew Karma and King out of retirement.

Skills: King is largely a street brawler, who uses his strength and speed to great effect, but he also has training in a variety of martial arts, and is quick to learn new fighting techniques.

DR. CURTIS LACY

Name: Curtis Lacy
Age: Early thirties
Occupation: Professor at Bainbridge University/monster hunter
First appearance: DOUBLE ACTION HORROR #1 (digital release)
Created by: B. Clay Moore & Ryan Browne

Bio: Dr. Curtis Lacy is the world’s leading research scientist on, for lack of a better term,  monsters.  A lecturer and professor at Bainbridge University (located on an island just off the Atlantic Coast), Lacy is as much a field agent as an office dweller, but leaves most of the rough stuff to his partner, Colonel Robert “Cannonball” Kennard.

Along with a small but dedicated research team, Lacy and Kennard do their best to catalog, capture and analyze the strangest creatures known (or unknown) to man.

JACK DEXTER

Name: Jack Dexter
Age: Early thirties (circa 1964)
Occupation: Government employee
First appearance: THE WALKING DEAD #15 (preview of THE EXPATRIATE #1)
Created by: B. Clay Moore & Jason Latour

Bio (spoilers): Jack Dexter was a mid-level government employee who soon found himself on the run from CIA agents, for reasons unknown. After escaping the CIA in South America, he was captured in France, and, after being returned to the United States, underwent a series of bizarre experiments in a Washington, D.C. laboratory.

The experiments ended with Dexter’s medical decapitation, apparently under the direction of aliens working in conjunction with the U.S. government. When last seen, Dexter’s head was being kept in a laboratory tank of some type. Evidently, Dexter’s DNA had been identified as matching that of a “key” to an alien gateway, although how the key would be activated, and for what specific purposes, are unclear. As of now, Dexter’s ultimate fate remains unreported.

THE MID-NITE HOUR

Name: The Mid-Nite Hour
Full Name: Daniel Durham
Nationality: British
Age: Mid-twenties (circa World War II)
Base of operations: Scotland and Europe (post World War II)
Group Affiliations: Watchguard (World War II), The Mid-Nite Hours (post war)
First appearance: LOVE IN TIGHTS #3
Created by: B. Clay Moore and Jeremy Haun, with Kalman Andrasofszky

Bio: The Mid-Nite Hour was initially a British Special Services operative during World War II. He was enlisted by Winston Churchill to join an emerging, U.S. government-led group of heroes called Watchguard, and was evidently one of the few members of the group to survive their brief existence. After the war, the Hour led a group of individuals with unusual abilities, as they investigated unusual occurrences, perhaps related to the attempted use of magic during World War II. This group was informally referred to as the Mid-Nite Hours. The group was based out of a Scottish castle, and their activities are currently regarded as classified.

KAHAMI

Name: Kahami
Full Name: Unknown
Age: Late twenties
Base of operations: As of 1954, Honolulu, Hawaii
Occupation: Executive assistant, Byrd Investigations; former cocktail waitress
Known relatives: Leila Rose (sister, deceased), Auntie Chan (deceased)
First appearance: HAWAIIAN DICK #1
Created by: B. Clay Moore & Steven Griffin

Bio: Kahami was working as a cocktail waitress at a Honolulu club called the Outrigger when she first met Byrd (circa 1953). Eventually she realized that Byrd was involved in a case that revolved around her missing sister, Leila Rose, and her fortune telling Auntie Chan. At the resolution of this initial case, she joined Byrd as his “executive assistant” when he set up his own office as a private investigator.

While working for Byrd, Kahami tends to his schedule and paperwork, and often seems more concerned about Byrd’s clients than he does. Byrd and Kahami’s relationship seems to be platonic, but she did have a brief romantic encounter with Carson Chang, a pilot with the Screaming Black Thunder fighter squadron.

JACKIE KARMA

Name: Jackie Karma
Real Name: John Carmichael
Age: Thirtysomething (circa 1976)
Occupation: Street fighter; former attorney
Base of operations: New York City
First appearance: ’76 #1
Created by: B. Clay Moore & Ed Tadem

Bio: Jackie Karma was raised by an order of fighting monks called the Sabaki Boys, evidently having been ordained the “Golden Lion,” or Chosen One, at a young age. At some point in the mid-sixties, Karma deserted the order and partnered with street fighter Marcus King and judo master Bobby Howler to form a loose crimefighting partnership. After Howler left the team for Viet Nam, Karma and King carved a niche for themselves as New York City’s premier street fighters. At some point in the late sixties, Karma and King retired to lead normal lives. Jackie, in his “real” identity as John Carmichael, became a successful attorney. Some years later, in 1976, word that a homeless Bobby Howler had encountered an old foe (Gil Gunn) brought Karma and King out of retirement, evidently for good.

Skills: Jackie Karma is a well-trained martial artist, but his particular skill set seems to be a mixture of a variety of disciplines. Karma often executes moves that defy characterization, frequently accompanied by colorful descriptive names.

BYRD

Name: Byrd
Full Name: Unknown
Age: Thirtysomething
Base of operations: As of 1954, Honolulu, Hawaii
Known relatives: Danny Byrd (deceased), Mike Byrd
First appearance: HAWAIIAN DICK #1
Created by: B. Clay Moore & Steven Griffin

Bio: Not much is known of Byrd’s life prior to his arrival in Hawaii. He was formerly a detective on a metropolitan police force, and at some point was evidently forced to kill his younger brother, Danny. Presumably, these events led him to Hawaii, where his wartime companion Mo Kalama is a detective on the Honolulu Police force. Byrd seems shaken, if not broken, by his Stateside experiences.

As of 1954, Byrd is working as a private investigator in Hawaii, with the assistance of his friend Mo and a former cocktail waitress named Kahami. Over the course of his investigations, Byrd has often been faced with what appear to be the living embodiment of Hawaiian myths and legends. He has demonstrated a reluctance to use a gun, but doesn’t mind punching people. Or drinking.