Bad Jack

In my latest book, "SDF: Pulp", I introduce a brand new character named Bad Jack. Although Jack is a new character, he's not a new concept for me. He's actually the latest (and hopefully greatest) in a long line of what I call "Fallen Heroes".

The Fallen Hero concept is an idea I've been working with since Year One of TORC Press. The idea goes like this: Once upon a time, from the 1960s through the early 1990s, the TORCverse was very similar to any other Superhero Universe. There were Superheroes in flashy costumes, and Super Villains in flashy costumes, and the Good Guys fought the Bad Guys and the Good Guys won most of the time and everything was peachy keen (that was a hell of a run on sentence). Then something Really Bad Happened. I'm not sure what, but I know that the catalyst was the formation of the Ortex Corporation, and it's rapid rise to power throughout the world. Long story short, bad things started happening to all of the Superheroes and Supervillains. Some died in horrible ways. Others got maimed. Others disappeared. Some were tortured, mutilated, and then killed in a gruesome and highly embarrassing manner. Regardless of how it happened, all of the brightly colored Super Heroes and Villains vanished from the Earth within the space of a few short years. Supernatural and Otherworldly Beings, like the Ortex Corporation, the Bob Mafia, O.V.E.R.T., and the Cult laid claim to the world. And the only things left to combat them were... well, other monsters, like Cactus Joe the Clown.

BUT, not all of the old Super Heroes (and Villains) died off completely. Some survived, but all of the survivors were... changed. The Old Guard Super Heroes were all reduced to mutilated freaks, monsters, cyborgs, zombies, and so forth and so on. Despite falling from grace, the men and women who at one time protected the earth, continued their vigilance, even in their new forms.

We've actually seen several of these Fallen Heroes in the TORCverse. The most prominent, of course, is Mr. Dark, who debuted in "Pulp Horrorshow" and later reemerged in a new form in "Gulatta!" (same guy, interestingly enough. I might explain it someday. Maybe). That Mysterious Soldier that appears in the "Welcome to Mosquito Island" segment in "SDF: Drifter's Rhapsody" is another one (You can also see him on the back cover of "SDF: End of an Era", and look out for him in upcoming issues of "SDF: Pulp"). And lastly, there's poor, freaky deaky, I have no idea what else to do with him, Doom Eagle who appeared in "Pulp Horrorshow" Volume 2. All three of these guys used to be Marvelesque do-gooders, until something horrible happened to each of them. Now they're strange, dark monsters. Fun!

Which brings us to Bad Jack. Bad Jack used to be a good guy. He was a normal human gifted with extreme physical skills and a razor sharp mind. He fought criminals as Gold Hawk, shiny champion of the people. Then, something terrible happened, and it all went wrong. Gold Hawk died, and in his place stands Bad Jack, a withered husk fueled by pure hatred. Having invented a horrible mystic art called Black Science, Bad Jack lives only to get vengeance on the man who broke him. And that man is none of other than one of the worst villains in the TORCverse, the nefarious Dr. Dendull.

Check out "SDF: Pulp" Issue One at www.torcpress.com.