The Jam, formally known as the Jammer, is a fictional costumed hero, created by writer-artist Bernie Mireault, who originally appeared in Canadian comic books published by Matrix Graphics Series. The Jammer made his first appearance in New Triumph Featuring Northguard #2 (1985).
The Jammer is the alter ego of Gordon "Gordie" Kirby, an otherwise normal guy who found he enjoyed patrolling the rooftops of his home city of Montréal in a homemade superhero costume. The Jammer is not really a superhero. He often finds himself in the right place at the right time, and is compelled to act heroically. Sometimes he is hired to do good deeds. His personal mission is to "dominate the world with peace, love, and free beer". Through the course of his career, he has battled terrorists, a delusional psychiatrist, and even servants of the Devil.
Publication history
The first published stories of the Jam appeared in New Triumph Featuring Northguard from Matrix Graphic Series between 1985 and Summer of 1986. These stories were collected, along with a new unpublished story, by Matrix Graphics Series as The Jam Special #1 in 1987. A second special, The Jam, Urban Adventure: Super Cool, Color-injected, Turbo Adventure from Hell #1, was published in 1988 by Comico, and advertised a series "bi-monthly starting this summer from Matrix".
Slave Labor Graphics published The Jam, Urban Adventure #1–5 between November 1989 and the Summer of 1991. The Jam, Urban Adventure #1 (November 1989) was an expanded version of the new story found in The Jam Special #1 (1987). Tundra Publishing colorized and republished The Jam, Urban Adventure #1–5 between January and May 1992. Dark Horse Comics picked up the title and published issues' #6-8 between October 1993 and February 1995. Finally, Caliber Comics published issues #9–14 between 1995 and 1997, as well as the Jam short story "The Chair" in Negative Burn #25 (1995). From then on several mini-series', one-shots and short stories were published (see list below).
Bernie Mireault was featured in Demi-Dieux, 40 ans de super-héros dans la bande dessinée québécoise ("Demi-Gods: 40 Years of Superheroes in Québec Comics") published by Jean-Dominique Leduc at Mem9ire (2014). The Jammer appeared, along with other notable characters, on the cover of the book.
While vacationing in Montréal with friends, the Blood King hired Jane Marble to protect him from a small but determined army of terrorists who followed in his wake. Jane contracted the Gordon Kirby to be the king's body double.
Gordon Kirby and Janet Ditko had been together for 10 years. Gordie had rediscovered his calling as a comic artist. Janet was frustrated and looking for a change.
Gordon Kirby was sent to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to personally deliver a message to Jane Marble's client Mark Trimble. She offered to tear up Mark's bill if he told Gordie about the Kinetic.
Spans The Jam, Urban Adventure #13–14 (1996–7).[29]
House of Escher
Gordon Kirby met Frank Einstein who had traveled to Montréal to uncover the mystery behind a reoccurring dream.
Snuuger Dü, Bug-Eyed Monster, Dr. Robot, and No.1 met the Jammer when they got lost following a storyline.
Found in Awesome: The Indie Spinner Rack Anthology (2007).[34]
Comic Jam
Gordon Kirby attended a regular drawing workshop and social hour for cartoonists at La Sala Rosa Restaurant. The attending artists produced a collaborative comic.
Gordon Kirby witnessed a man being shot with an arrow by a bowman from an adjoining rooftop.
Found as prose in Tesseract Nineteen: Superhero Universe (2016)[44] and adapted as comics in The Jam, Urban Adventure: Super Cool, Color-injected, Turbo Adventure from Hell #2 (2022).[47]
The works of Gordon Kirby
Mayhem in Alphabet Town
"Mayhem in Alphabet Town" was a bedtime story created by Gordon Kirby for his nephew Ronnie. It is a murder mystery wherein the residents of Alphabet Town come together to determine who killed Q.
The Jammer is athletic and in good physical shape and regularly leaps between rooftops when patrolling his neighborhood. The Jammer is a capable hand-to-hand combatant, having knocked armed assailants unconscious,[2][3] subdued a religious fanatic who was assaulting a woman in the street,[7] easily defended himself against two opponents in the back of a police wagon,[7] and performed an impeccable tomoe nage on a man who attacked him with a cane.[38] The Jammer has also displayed a resistance to hypnotic induction.[20]
Equipment
Costume
The Jammer's costume consists of a loose-fitting dark-green hooded jogging suit (from Sears); a white belt; and dirty white cavalier-style gloves and boots. Bits of orange material were added to the hood to form a mask with large square eyeholes; and an inverted orange triangle was sewn onto the chest. The clumsy hand stitching shows plainly. Gordie's sister Nancy made the costume for him as a joke in reference to his early superhero comic habit and his devotion to the original Batman television series.
Futility Belt
The Jammer's "futility belt" is a jury-rigged tool belt that features four small tubes on either side of a rectangular interlocking buckle. From this belt, he has produced a smoke pellet,[2] a business card,[4] a dog whistle,[19] a notepad & pen,[34] and a plastic pet-waste bag.[38]
1 2 Mireault, Bernard E. (14 March 2016). "The Jam: A Secret Bowman". In Lalumière, Claude; Shainblum, Mark (eds.). Superhero Universe. Tesseracts. Vol.19. Calgary, Alberta: EDGE Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing. ISBN978-1770530874.
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