Characters In "Ghost Hounds"

Mr. Hennessy
There is, so far, only two adult characters in the strip, one is Mr. Hennessy. Mr. Hennessy is unlike any other cartoon character you've encountered. He is a homeless man, seemingly destitute, living by his wits. But their is more to Mr. Hennessy than meets the eye, as, indeed, there is more in this strip than meets the eye. Mr. Hennessy is very fond of Zak, and knows that Zak considers him a sort of sage. Indeed, Mr. Hennessy, if not wearing the glad rags of a homeless person, might don the costume of a wizard. He is always seen carrying a walking stick like a magical staff, and his first love just happens to be magic. Is Mr. Hennessy the helpless homeless person he appears to be? Only time will tell as his character unfolds in the strip.

Buddy Perkins
Buddy is the youngest character in my strip. He is friendly, smart, inquiring, and a thorn in Zak's side. Buddy's favorite activity, it seems, is to play one joke after another on Zak. Why is never exactly clear, but certainly there is no malice of intent. In fact, Buddy likes Zak. Perhaps it's just a source of amusement for him. Zak can get too serious about things, so Buddy is like a kick in Zak's side, a message to cool it, relax, enjoy the ride. Perhaps, also, because of his age, Buddy doesn't understand everything Zak carries on about -like ghosts, aliens, and conspiracies- and so sees Zak as an excentric of sorts.

Randy DeBunker
Scientific righteousness, born of the religion of science, is what Randy DeBunker and his team of debunkers, SAPS or Students Against Paranormal Stuff, suffer from. If Ghost Hounds is built on any principle at all, it's uncertainty, or, better yet, Heisenberg Uncertainty. Such a state of inexactitude, unpredictability, in short, chaos, cannot be tolerated by the sufferers of this spreading illness. Symptoms of the desease are easily observed: unquestioning alliegence to "The Big Bang" theory, extoling the Darwinian "theory" of evolution, having a verilent anti-Velikovski fever, treating the paranormal, or any other phenomena that seems to fall outside the paradigms of the science religion, as hocus bocus and nonesense. There is no foreseeable cure nor medicine for the temporary relief of symptoms. It keeps spreading -even NASA has caught it- so beware. Perhaps, in time, it will mutate to a non-infecteous form and mankind will again broach the Universe with open minds and caring hearts.*

Aunt Celeste Foxworth
She's 60ish, a Hippie from the '60s, and is deeply into the New Age. Her clothes give her the look of a wondering sage. Of greatest concern to her is the alien invasion. She believes that "reptilians" from the Alpha Draconis star system have been on earth for ages infiltrating humanity with the purpose of doing much harm and are now on the cusp of a complete take-over. Aunt Celeste is Karloff's owner (he's the bloodhound) and has graciously given the "Ghost Hounds" permission to borrow the dog for his ability to smell ghosts. Her favorite past-time is channeling, an ability she utilizes when reading her crystal ball.

MT
MT evolved from a David Bowie song entitled "Space Oddity" (released in 1969), in which astronaut Major Tom takes a "trip" around the Earth. However, MT's "look" derives from Ziggy Stardust. Like Ziggy, MT is from Mars, that is, he believes he's from Mars. Like Major Tom, he is apt to pop a protein pill, converse with ground control and sit in his "Tin Can." Unappologetically arrogant, sophisticatedly zany and irritatingly aloof, MT examines the human condition and comes to less than pleasant conclusions about humanity -- and he's only 11 years old!

* (No, I am not a creationist, so do not link me to those trying desparately to teach "Intelligent Design" along side evolution in our public schools to acheive some sort of balanced view on the origins of man and universe. "Intelligent Design" is merely a tactic to bring a particular religious point of view into the science class, and this is NOT where it belongs. There is plenty of room to debate the matter in an appropriate context, such as in a philosophy or comparative religion class.)