Toonman Ally: Jamie Crosby (Patreon)

Alright, this next new Toonman ally isn't an Employee at Toonman's job, but is just as important. Meet Jamie, Johanna Crosby's disabled son who befriends Toonman in his adventures.

ORIGIN

Part of Johanna’s hesitancy to accept an offer for a date from Toonman was due to her son Jamie. Born Blind, Johanna had worked hard to make sure Jamie lived life on the same terms as everyone else his age, but despite this Jamie was naturally reclusive and introverted, which only worsened following the death of his father in the military. It took some effort on his part, but Toonman eventually managed to convince Johanna to let him meet Jamie and serve his purpose as a cartoon to try and bring some much-needed joy into the young boy's life.

Despite being taken back in discovering Jamie was blind, Toonman wouldn’t give up, eventually learning that Jamie’s loss of sight had given him an interest in music, something Toonman and all his people naturally enjoyed themselves. Soon every time they hung out, Toonman would introduce Jamie to also sorts of classic artists and musicians, helping Jamie understand the wonderful world of storytelling that only ears could experience through music; even getting him interested in musicals and old-time radio shows and realize Jamie’s own purpose of writing his own music. And though things didn’t work out romantically between Toonman and Johanna, Toonman promised Jamie that he would always be a part of his life, acting as his surrogate older brother and promising to one day find a cure for his blindness so that he could take him to Toontopia.

So, Jamie is kind of a funny story because the idea of him actually came before that of the staff of the Lizard King's Lounge. For a while I had wanted to give Toonman a supporting character who he could serve as a mentor and surrogate big brother to. As an added hook, I had liked the idea of this character being blind as I felt it would be an interesting and challenging dynamic for Toonman, who is a visual medium character brought to life, to serve as a mentor to someone who couldn't see his whacky antics like everyone else could. I like to imagine Toonman is naturally really good with kids, and I thought Jamie would serve as a great supporting character in helping teach Toonman paternal responsibilities almost like a really young Jimmy Olsen. So while Jamie can't see Toonman's antics, Toonman instead uses his love of music and musical storytelling to bond with Jamie. I kinda like to think this is what helps Jamie come out of his shell and his own way discover his own purpose of growing up to write music for movies, theater and especially animation. Jamie might also become a supporting character in Slamazon's stories since they're the same age and because Toonman serves something of a big brother to her too. IDK, we'll see.

I hope you guys like this new Supporting cast member for Toonman! Let me know what you think with a comment below!

Toonman: The Animated Ace © NRG Comics

Art by Danilo Cassonato

Design by SecretScrapV2