Caballistics, Inc.

Plot

In 2004 Department Q, a Ministry of Defense originally created in the 1940s to fight Nazi occult warfare, is privatized by the British government. The Department, by then consisting of the crusty paranormal historian Dr. Jonathan Brand and his assistant Jennifer Simmons, is bought up by Ethan Kostabi, a reclusive multi-millionaire pop star of the 1970s, clearly modeled to some extent on David Bowie . Kostabi announces that he has contracted their services as part of a new private ghost-busting outfit, to be known to Caballistics, Inc., and introduces them to their teammates, and freelance occult investigators Hannah Chapter and Lawrence Verse. Even before the officialpress release for the new company can be sent out, the team s’intitule to deal with a major paranormal infestation on the London Underground , Where They meet the fifth member of the team, and The Powerful Seemingly evil Solomon Ravne. The team goes on to investigate various paranormal phenomena, suffering from internal conflicts and divided loyalties, and all the while it is suggested that Kostabi has some ultimate plan in mind for the team than expected.

Caballistics, Inc. has an extremely dark tone. Several recurring characters have been unexpectedly killed off, and there is a degree of brutality unusual for a British comic magazine. Early in the series, Jennifer Simmons was possessed by a powerful demon , a state that continues to this day. More recently, Jonathan Brand, usually APPROBATION by fans as the ‘good’ member of the team, Was Pushed under a Tube Train Reviews another member by Mikey Ness.

Events within the team have come into play when they are confronted with their erstwhile employment. At least three members of the team were killed in the ensuing battle with Kostabi himself, with only Ravne and Jenny known to have walked away unharmed. With the ultimate fate of the only two other members being highly ambiguous left, this effectively marked the end of the organization. Besides an epilogue, “Nativity”, in late 2007, the remaining stud threads Would Be taken up in a spin-off series, Absalom , Beginning in 2011 and Followed characters That HAD Previously Appeared in minor roles in Supporting Caballistics, Inc .

Many references to the world of Caballistics are the same as that of Doctor Who (and also Quatermass , reflecting a fan theory that the two series share a universe). The strip also contains many eclectic references to other cult television, film and literary mythologies . Among the mentions are Gnosticism , Kabbalah , the Rosicrucians , the Tetragrammaton , Opus Dei , Zoroastrianism , the Illuminati , paranormal warfare in World War II , the Thule Society , Aleister Crowley, Faust , Grant Morrison ‘s Zenith , Green Delta , The Omen , The Exorcist and references to Clive Barker , Robert W. Chambers , Roger Corman , William Hope Hodgson , Shaun Hutson , HP Lovecraft , Palo Mayombe , Kim Newman , Edgar Allan Poe and Hammer Studios . ^[1]

Major characters

Ethan Kostabi

Also known as Citizen Strange, David Smith [real name], possibly Nyarlathotep .

• 1970’s rock star, turned New Media Entrepreneur / Internet Guru / Venture Capitalist
• Owner & Founder of Caballistics Inc.
• Lives in Bern , Switzerland
• Also owns Abraxas Research Facility ( Wenley Moor , Yorkshire ), Ludgate Studios and multiple & other other holdings (legal and otherwise)

Mr. Howard Slater

• Manager of Caballistics Inc. / Legal Representative of Ethan Kostabi (12 years)

Solomon Ravne

Aka: Der Teufel The Devil , Master Raven, Dominus, Ravenous

• De facto leader of the Caballistics team, due to his knowledge and magical powers.
• Over 300 years old & has no soul (his admission).
• Known to have been a denizen of Prague , 1672, he was soon reported living in Edinburgh , Scotland in 1737, Germany, 1945-46 (where he was SS Obergruppenführer of Thule Sonderkommando (Nazi Occult Warfare Division, Operation Doppelgänger , Peenemunde, 1945) ), Bangkok , Thailand in 2003, and London, England, 2003-. Kostabi, part of the last of his efforts to cheat death.
• Hobbies: Bathing in fresh human blood; Tantric rituals with Slavs Gustav and Gretchen.
• Special Kit: Hand of Power ; Lamp of Alhazred ; Infernal Pocket Watch; Healing & regeneration tank
• Father to a child by the possessed Jenny Simmons

Doctor Jonathan Brand

Aka Professor Brand, Brainiac

• Paranormal Historian, Q Department (formerly British Government Ministry of Defense )
• Smoker pipe
• Has written a book: “History of the British Rocket Group “.

Miss Jennifer Simmons

Aka Demon Jenny, Edwina Scissorhands, She Who Stalks By Night, Baarish-Shammon

• Possession : Jenny was possessed by a demon which claims that she is dead. Ravne insists that she is still alive but may be insane.
• Paranormal Historian, Q Department (formerly British Government Ministry of Defense)
• Recently revealed that she is pregnant with Ravne’s child
• It is now the target of several occult factions of the British Government, who have decided that her imminent child is potentially too dangerous to let live

Mr Lawrence Verse

Aka Father Lawrence

• Originally teamed up with Hannah Chapter as freelance paranormal consultants
• Employment: Priest / Exorcist ( defrocked following “chainsaw exorcism”) Martinique 1995; freelance with Chapter (Guatemalan Were-Jaguar Cult Inc .: 1999, Zagreb, Croatia); 2-year freelance contract with Caballistics Inc.
• Weaponry: shotgun, taser , stake / holy cross hybrid, shades

Miss Hannah Chapter

• Employment: Majored in Cryptozoology at Arkham University. American Government [specialist work: colleagues: Warren (alive), Percent (alive), Charteris (dead), Niland (dead)], freelance with Verse ( Guatemalan Were-Jaguar Cult: 1999, Zagreb , Croatia ); 2-year freelance contract with Caballistics Inc.
• Weaponry: Spook Detector, 2 pistols (9mm steel-jacketed parabellum / armor-piercing / hollow point Vatican silver), shades
• Favorite tipple: Double Jack Daniels & black, straight up.
• Has written (unpublished) book: Mixed-Up Flicks For Mixed-Up Chicks

Mr. Mikey Ness

Aka The Nessy Monster, Bravo Two Zero

• Employment: SAS , Gulf War , 1991; mental hospital patient (sectioned), 1991-2003; Caballistics employee, 2004-2007)
• Has murdered a British Cabinet Minister and Jonathan Brand
• Heavy Glasgow accent
• Weaponry: expert in many kinds, but prefers a knife.

Bibliography

Comics

All installations have been written by Gordon Rennie and drawn by Dom Reardon :

• Going Underground (128 pages, Rebellion Developments , February 2006, ISBN  1-904265-74-X )
  • “Going Underground” (in 2000 AD Prog 2003, # 1322-1326, 2002)
  • “Moving In” (in 2000 AD # 1331-1333, 2003)
  • “Breaking Out” (in 2000 AD # 1337-1340, 2003)
  • “Downtime” (in 2000 AD # 1363-1368, 2003)
• Creepshow , (144 pages, Rebellion Developments , January 2007, ISBN  1-905437-06-4 )
  • “Krystalnacht” (in 2000 AD Prog 2004, 2003)
  • “Picking Up The Pieces” (in 2000 AD # 1400, 2004)
  • “Creepshow” (in 2000 AD # 1401-1408, 2004)
  • “Weird War Tales” (in 2000 AD Prog 2005, 2004)
  • “Safe House” (in 2000 AD # 1420-1424, 2004)
  • “Northern Dark” (in 2000 AD # 1443-1448, 2005)
  • “Strange Bedfellows” (in 2000 AD Prog 2006, 2005)
  • “Changelings” (in 2000 AD # 1469-1474, 2006)
• Uncollected:
  • “Ashes” (in 2000 AD # 1551-1558, 2007)
  • “The Nativity” (in 2000 AD Prog 2008, 2007)

Novels

So far there have been two novel adaptations:

• Caballistics, Inc .: Hell on Earth (By Mike Wild, Black Flame , August 2006, ISBN  1-84416-386-5 )
• Caballistics, Inc .: Better the Devil (by Mike Wild, Black Flame , March 2007, ISBN  1-84416-432-2 )

Notes

References