Characters

Karasu · **Joined:** Mon Jul 17, 2006 9:54 am GMT **Posts:** 16

Since not much is know about the characters at this stage, here is an educated guess to their backgrounds:

Mordecai Heller -
Born ~1870
German Jew, probably emigrated in the mid- to late 19th, possibly due to growing Antisemitism.
Other possibilities could include Austro-Hungarian, Czechoslovakian or even Polish heritage.

A "Heller" is a type of German coin used until 1873. Made of silver in the 13th century it later degrades to a mix of metals. Most commonly known is the red Heller (German "roter Heller"), named for it's high copper contents it was one of the smallest coins with very low value.

Mordecai or Mordechai (מָרְדֳּכַי, Standard Hebrew Mordoḫay) is a name mentioned in the Book of Esther.

Favorite weapon: M1911

Captain Kehoe -
Born ~1860
Irish heritage

Kehoe is the name of a South Irish clan, which emigrated heavily into the United States.

Calvin 'Freckle' MacMurray -
Born 1910
Scottish heritage

Cousin to Rocky

Favorite weapon: M1928 'tommy gun' with a 100-round drum magazine

Ms. Mitzi May -
Born ??? (I could tell you, but I'd have to call Rocky afterwards)

Favorite weapon: Beretta Mod. 1920 cal. 6,35mm

Ivy Pepper -
Born ~1910
British heritage (ancient)

Favorite weapon: Springfield M1903 (cal. .30-06 possibly)

Rocky Rickaby -
Born 1908
Irish heritage

Cousin to Freckle

Favourite weapon: Browning HP

Sedgewick 'Wick' Sable -
Born ~1900
British heritage (ancient, though he hates it)

Sedgewick is a town in the parish Heversham in Westmorland.

Favorite weapon: Springfield U.S. Model 1942

Nicodeme 'Nico' Savoy -
Born ~1900
Cajun, possibly with Greek heritage.
Brother to Serafine

French wiktionary offers:
Homme simple et borné.
"C’est un grand nicodème. Il est très familier."

The name comes from Νικοδημος (Nikodemos) which meant "victory of the people" from Greek νικη (nike) "victory" and δημος (demos) "the people". Saint Nicodemus is revered in the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches as the man who put Jesus into his grave together with Joseph of Arimathea.

Favorite weapon: fist

Serafine Savoy -
Born ~1900
Cajun, possibly with Italian heritage.
Sister to Nicodeme

The word stems form 'seraph' (Hebrew שׂרף, plural שׂרפים Seraphim) a class of six winged angels. Saint Seraphina is the name of a 5th-century martyr.

Favorite weapon: BAR M1918 with sawed-off barrel

Viktor Vasko
Born ~1890
Slavic heritage

Vasko is a common name in the Balkans, more generally in the slavic area.
In the 'Sordid Sniffles' cartoon Viktor and Mordecai talk in English and Mordecai corrects Viktor. This could mean, that they come from the same country, which would be Hungary or Czechoslovakia, and Mordecai taught him English (and still does).

Favorite weapon: shotgun

Karasu · **Joined:** Mon Jul 17, 2006 9:54 am GMT **Posts:** 16

I just noticed there is a characters-page up. Eh-heh, forget the birthdates, but my guess with Viktor was right, yay!

Tracy · **Posted:** Mon Jul 17, 2006 11:33 am GMT

Places and years of birth are provided in the character section of the web site. I'm pretty impressed if you managed to surmise all of that information without seeing those descriptions, though. A lot of it is correct, or at least close.

Maybe it's the white eyebrows or the glasses, but Mordecai seems to give the impression he's older than he actually is. He was born in 1899 making him 28 at the start of the story, but it probably would please him to be mistaken for someone older than that anyway. Though his family would be of German-Jewish heritage, he was raised in a Jewish neighborhood in Manhattan.

The McMurray surname can be found in both Ireland and Scotland. In Freckle's case, it's an Irish name (and his mother certainly wouldn't allow him to forget that).

Rocky's weapon of choice is anything but a gun. He's hopelessly twitchy with firearms, but that suits him fine as he prefers a somewhat more, um...avant-garde approach.

Viktor is Slovakian. The Slovak Republic is a sovereign nation now, but would have been part of Austria-Hungary when he was born.

Karasu · **Joined:** Mon Jul 17, 2006 9:54 am GMT **Posts:** 16

I apologize for declaring a Browning HP to be Rocky's fav. It would have made sense from the drawing in 'Trouble Boys' as well as the fact that it is an intimidating, big and powerful gun, which is Rocky's primary purpose for using it.

Then I noticed that the first usable HP model the P-35 first appeared 1935, so scrap this idea, I declare it to be a 1911 and I am _very_ curious as to what his avant-garde method is!

I just love the degradation visible in Mordecai, his family coming from Schlesia or East-Prussia (Danzig?) educated and well-kept, slowly integrating into the mafia and two generations later you have ... Mordy!

Grandmother Heller to Mordecai after both have passed away: "Ach, Mordekai, what would have become of you, if we had stayed in Germany..."
Mordecai: "I don't know. Soap perhaps, or a coat for the Lagerkommandant."

Does he still speak German? I'm pretty sure. It is such a violent language, he would love to use it:
*Blam* *Blam* ... "Abschaum."
YAY!!!
Can't wait, can't wait...

Karasu · **Joined:** Mon Jul 17, 2006 9:54 am GMT **Posts:** 16

And of course Wick's fav is:

Springfield U.S. Model 1842

and not 1942... (Though an MG42 would be kewl)

Will we see maxims, or an antiquated gatling? Please, pleese, pah-leez!

Woo-hoo, cats and guns, I waited for this since Sonoda.

frenches-monroe · **Posted:** Fri Oct 27, 2006 9:58 pm GMT

so how old would they all be?

Tracy · **Posted:** Fri Oct 27, 2006 11:25 pm GMT

Their years of birth are all listed on their respective descriptions on the character page. The story starts in 1927. It's not hard to figure out their ages....except Mitzi. She's not liable to tell. =)

Faebee · **Posted:** Sat Oct 28, 2006 12:07 pm GMT

I have a question about Mordy -excuse me- Mordecai.

What is his job exactly? Is he an actual hitman or does he just sit in the back seat and fire when needed?

Tracy · **Posted:** Sat Oct 28, 2006 5:48 pm GMT

He's a multi-purpose gunman. Hitman is part of his repertoire. You'll find out more about his occupations, past and present, once I introduce him in the comic.

Faebee · **Posted:** Sat Oct 28, 2006 11:01 pm GMT

Presenting the Mordecai 2.0! The multi-purpose cleanser, toner, and hitman! Now only $29.99!

Mr. Mistoffelees · **Posted:** Mon Oct 30, 2006 2:32 pm GMT

Faebee wrote:

Presenting the Mordecai 2.0! The multi-purpose cleanser, toner, and hitman! Now only $29.99!

call in the next ten minutes and we'll supersize it!

that's right! now you can get two Mordecai multipurpose cleansers for the price of one.

here's how to order

Faebee · **Posted:** Mon Oct 30, 2006 3:06 pm GMT

Call 555555555555-1 NOW and we'll include a free Molotov Cocktail!

Stuff'n'Junk Enterprises cannot be held accountable if any customer gets their head smashed with a hammer.

Mr. Mistoffelees · **Posted:** Mon Oct 30, 2006 3:25 pm GMT

Faebee wrote:

Call 555555555555-1 NOW and we'll include a free Molotov Cocktail!

Stuff'n'Junk Enterprises cannot be held accountable if any customer gets their head smashed with a hammer.

or shot if their noses leak...or if they smell of mayonaise

Faebee · **Posted:** Mon Oct 30, 2006 9:33 pm GMT

Hell, I'd buy one. *is shot dead. Like really dead*

Elias_Aquarius · **Joined:** Tue Apr 17, 2007 8:51 pm GMT **Posts:** 103

Mordecai is easily my favorite cat. His conversation with Viktor is just solid gold. I hope we'll see more of him.

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