Jonni Future

Jonni Future is a fictional comic book heroine, who appeared in the pages of Tom Strong's Terrific Tales, a series published under writer Alan Moore's America's Best Comics universe. All stories were written by Steve Moore (no relation) and most of them were illustrated by Art Adams.

Jonni Future's character and stories are an amalgamation of John Carter of Mars, Captain Future, Adam Strange, Buck Rogers and Barbarella, the major thematic change being her gender compared to the stereotypical male hero. Jonni adventures' begin when a large, bipedal talking cheetah (Jermaal Van Pavane the parahuman) reveals her that the stories written by he uncle about the pulp-fiction superhero "Johnny Future" were not made up, but rather faithful recollection of his escapades in the distant future of the "Crepusculum" (billions of years in the future when the whole solar system tethers on the brinks of collapse and several planets have already disgregated in a maelstrom of asteroids).

Jonni's uncle came and went at his will from the 20th century to the Crepusculum thanks to a portal located in his home and with him gone it's up to his niece to take up the mantle of the adventurer and to roam the vastness of space dealing her own brand of justice.

The plots are deliberate homages to pulp Science fiction pulp magazines, due to the revelation 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 real-life occurrencies in the Crepusculum.

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. Specific examples in the stories include a group of 16th century Christian witch-hunters being transposed into the future, the literal "end of the world", and their reaction to technology and customs that brings them to believe Jonni Future to be a witch. A continuing theme is Jermaal's unrequited lust for Jonni Future.

Origin
Jonni travels between this far future reality and one which resembles our own. 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.

Jonni is disturbed and encounters the paraman Jermaal Van Pavane, an anthropomorphic (furry) cheetah, who crossed from the pulp universe via a dimensional bridge in the attic. He brings her back, 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 the adventures to take place.

Issues

 * Tom Strong's Terrific Tales: Book One, issues 1-6 (hardcover: ISBN 1-4012-0030-3, paperback: ISBN 1-4012-0029-X)
 * Tom Strong's Terrific Tales: Book Two, issues 7-12 (hardcover: ISBN 1-4012-0615-8)

Tomorrow Stories 64-Page Specials
 * Special #1 (26 October 2005)
 * Special #2 (8 March 2006)

Jonni Future