Showing posts with label Jimmy Yama. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jimmy Yama. Show all posts

Friday 15 September 2023

What's the Deal with Deacon's Den?

 

Every now and then I like to shine a light on some of the more obscure MC2 characters. In that tradition, today’s post we will be taking a look at the mysterious and magical mentor of Doc Magus, the man known only as Deacon.

 



First appearing alongside the young Sorcerer Supreme, Doc Magus in A-Next #3, Deacon is the one to suggest Doc Magus aka Dormagus recruits the recently reassembled new team of Avengers to counter Doctor Strange and his Defenders team comprised of the Incredible Hulk aka Bruce Banner and Namor the Sub-Mariner. While it’s not identified in this issue, we can presume this location is Dormagus’Sanctum Sanctorum’.

 

The following month over in the pages of J2’s own title, we learn that Deacon too possesses magical ability when he aids Doc Magus by casting Zane Yama aka J2’s astral form into a strange nightmare dimension. He is relieved when the pair of heroes return unscathed, having seen their unconscious bodies spasm while they were in peril (J2 #4).


 






It’s not until J2 #12 we learn that the Doc Magus operates out of his Sanctum Sanctorum which is really just the back room of Deacon’s Den, a comic book store owned and operated by Deacon. When J2 and Doc Magus ignore Doctor Stange’s warning and journey into a pocket dimension via the Crossroads of Infinity to rescue Cain Marko aka The Juggernaut they discover it’s a trap too late and become trapped when their gateway back to Earth is destroyed by Nemesus. Notably, the energy backlash from this is shown to surround Deacon and his eyes glow red as he senses what has happened.


 






Found and assisted by Zane’s curious school associates, Deacon reveals he instinctively raised a protective shield around the gateway. With the help of the highschooler’s they manage to create a trail for the heroes to follow home…using Dormagus’ comic book collection. The bizarre events are explained away by Cain Marko as a temporal anomaly, and we learn via Zane’s closing monologue that Deacon’s Den closed down within a week and was replaced by a dry cleaner business (J2 #12).


 




While Zane believes Deacon’s Den to have closed down, it’s possible it makes an off-panel appearance as a target of Mr. Abnormal’s crime-spree. The super stretchy criminal notably steals a complete collection of Police Comics from a comic shop, so perhaps it was Deacon’s Den? Either way, Mr. Abnormal is defeated by the combined efforts of Speedball and Spider-Girl (Spider-Girl #15).


 




Deacon’s Den is definitely open and running again by the time the events of Spider-Girl #71 take place, with a ‘New’ sign and different appearance. Deacon is seen working the counter when J2 and Spider-Girl come seeking Doc Magus, who is once again using the store’s back room as his Sanctum Sanctorum. The three heroes thwart an invasion of invisible Darklings sent by Nemesus, though Deacon, sadly, isn’t an active participant in events this time around.

 


A little while later, during the events of Last Hero Standing, we get a confirmation that Deacon’s Den is located in Manhattan when Doctor Strange unsuccessfully attempts to recruit his son Doc Magus to his Defenders team so they can find the growing number of missing heroes. Deacon tells Dormagus he shouldn’t have turned down the assistance but gives up when the young Sorcerer Supreme brushes him off too. Shortly afterwards, Doc Magus is captured by the mastermind behind the plot, the Asgardian god of mischief Loki, leaving behind nothing but a smoking crater in the ground for the intestinally distressed Deacon to discover (Last Hero Standing #2).

 



When up and coming comic creators Jimmy Yama and Reynard ‘Wes’ Westin approach Deacon in the hope he’ll stock their Spider-Girl comic in his store, he initially declines but is convinced when Jimmy promises an appearance from the super heroine (Amazing Spider-Girl #4).

 


Of course, Jimmy asks his girlfriend Heather Noble to dress up as the fictional version of Spider-Girl from the comic he and Wes developed together. The promotional event at Deacon’s Den is advertised in the newspaper which draws the attention of the villainous Hobgoblin (Amazing Spider-Girl #5).

 


Sure enough, with Heather in costume as Spider-Girl, the Hobgoblin descends on Deacon’s Den (which also stocks MC2 comics, dontcha know) and kidnaps her. The Hobgoblin uses Heather as bait to draw out the one, true Spider-Girl. While the promotion had a good turn out, Deacon picks the perfect moment to ask if Jimmy and Wes obtained Spider-Girl’s permission to use her in their comic which, of course, they did not. Spider-Girl manages to save Heather and fight off the Hobgoblin with some unexpected assistance (Amazing Spider-Girl #6).

 







This next one isn’t an appearance of either Deacon or his Den but I’ve included it for the sake of completeness. Wes is seen with a newly bought comic (complete with carry bag) heading for a bus stop before a surprise encounter with April Parker. Does Wes frequent Deacon’s Den and why does he fold his precious comics? (Spectacular Spider-Girl vol. 1 #4/Amazing Spider-Man Family #8).

 


We get our last glimpse of Deacon in a fleeting cameo many overlooked in the MC2 story published as a back-up feature in the Secret Wars: Spider-Island mini-series. Yes, that’s Deacon carrying a sign decrying this Battleworld of Doctor Doom’s as a lie. So, once again, Deacon can see things beyond those of normal men. Thanks to Ron Frenz for confirming this appearance! (Secret Wars: Spider-Island #1)

 

Deacon is something of an enigma, he appears to live a mundane existence as a lowly comic book store owner, while displaying mystic abilities and being involved with events that are far more bizarre. Perhaps we’ll learn more about him someday? Thank you to arias-98105 for help with this post!

 

Until I buy a comic book store rather than buy from them, I remain

 

frogoat

Sunday 21 June 2020

More Star Trek in the MC2

My laptop is in its last days, so I’m not able to easily produce posts at the moment. So, if I’m slow to release anything on Mainframe, A-Next Ages and some other things I hadn’t gotten around to starting, I’m sorry everyone. But for now, please accept this flimsy post about Star Trek in the MC2…again.



It would appear that not only are Star Trek: The Original Series and Star Trek: The Next Generation referred to in the MC2 Universe, but so is Star Trek: Voyager! This comes in the form of a hidden reference that I completely missed until fairly recently. As I mentioned in my previous post covering May ‘Mayday’ Parker’s early years, her friend Jimmy Yama once urinated in Katie Mulgrew’s sandbox.


For those who don’t know, this is almost certainly a reference to the American actor, Kate Mulgrew. Mulgrew portrayed the iconic Captain on Star Trek: Voyager’s titular starship, Kathryn Janeway, appearing in seven seasons along with a cameo in the theatrical film Star Trek: Nemesis opposite Patrick Stewart's own Captain Jean-Luc Picard.

I wonder if Mayday ever told anybody what Jimmy did?

Until I have more time, a new computer and less obligations, I remain

frogoat

Saturday 24 June 2017

The Yama Family Tree

Just a little something I put together after dwelling on this previous post about Jimmy's mystery sister.


Until I find a better use for online family tree websites, I remain

frogoat

Sunday 15 May 2016

The Mystery of Jimmy's Sister



Just a brief post today. I came across a little something while looking through early issues of Spider-Girl recently. 

Jimmy Yama, the nerdy friend of May ‘Mayday’ Parker is mentioned in the letters page for Spider-Girl #4. In a letter speculating about the connection between Jimmy Yama and Zane Yama, also known as the Avenger J2, the letter-writer suggests Jimmy and Zane are brothers. Obviously, as we learn in Spider-Girl #8, Zane and Jimmy are cousins. Curiously, however, whom ever addressed readers’ letters for this issue (I’m assuming series writer/editor Tom Defalco) mentions in response ‘Jimmy has an older sister, but no brothers. (He does however have many cousins.)’




While the latter statement references the soon-to-be-revealed familial connection between Jimmy and Zane, it is the first part of Tom’s answer that really grabbed my attention. Jimmy has a sister? Does that ever come up again?  


Well, let’s take a look. We are introduced to Jimmy’s parents -Catherine and Donald- in Spider-Girl #8. Jimmy’s family are at the Queens County Courthouse discussing the charges against Jimmy (following his fight with ‘Moose’ Mansfield) with Donald’s sister Sachi Yama, who is the Assistant District Attorney. Sachi is Zane Yama’s mother and Cain Marko aka the Juggernaut is his seemingly-dead father. Now you know the story! So Jimmy’s mother, father, aunt and cousin show up to support him, but not his unseen sister.

…and that’s it. Unless I’m mistaken, we don’t see Jimmy’s family again. So…do we assume he doesn’t have a sister or that she was merely absent (at college, maybe? She is older) for his court date. Is this a case of early installment weirdness? Does it even count if it's only mentioned in the letters page?

Until I stop re-reading old letters pages from 18 years ago, I remain

frogoat