Creation
Jonni Future’s first appearance was in ABC Sketchbook #1. She made subsequent appearances in Tom Strong’s Terrific Tales, a series published under writer Alan Moore‘s America’s Best Comics line of comic books for Wildstorm. Jonni Future’s stories were written by Steve Moore (no relation) and illustrated by Art Adams.
Jonni Future’s character and stories are an amalgamation of John Carter of Mars, Captain Future, Adam Strange, Buck Rogers, Flash Gordon, and Barbarella. The major thematic change being her gender, compared to the stereotypical male hero.
The plots are deliberate homages to pulp science fiction/ pulp magazines, due to the plot point that her uncle Johnny Future often returned to 20th century Earth and wrote up his adventures as pulp fiction in a magazine named Startling Stories, a reference to the real-life magazine Amazing Stories. The result is that many of the characters and situations that are considered outlandish and silly by the heroine (and readers) are actually reality in the stories.
The plots usually involve binary opposition. Jonni Future often becomes a barely-clothed damsel in distress despite being a strong female character and eventually winning by her own efforts.
ORIGIN
Her entry into the life of a costumed pulp adventuress comes when she inherits her uncle’s spooky old mansion, on the condition it cannot be sold. On spending the night, she finds her uncle’s old magazines and starts reading about his fanciful exploits.
Soon after, Jonni is disturbed and encounters the paraman Jermaal Van Pavane, a humanoid cheetah, who crossed from the pulp universe via a dimensional bridge in the attic. He brings her back with him, shows her the ropes and becomes her sidekick (and ardent admirer) in the campy action; explaining that her uncle wished her to take up his mantle as a hero and protector of the Grand Array, the fantastic universe he lost his life defending. His legacy to Jonni includes trappings like the fish-shaped spaceship Coelacanth, a war suit and a “universal translator” helmet that enable her to communicate with Jermaal and various other aliens. Thus, the adventure begins.
Powers
Abilities/Equipment
Jonni Future has no known super-powers of any sort, but is smart and capable. She possesses a “universal translator” helmet, a fish-shaped spaceship and a ray gun along with other “pulp-style” equipment.