An introduction to Jazz Age

Here's a look at the cast and setting of our adventure tale

Before you start reading the adventures…

Jazz Age is the continuing story of a group of adventurers battling threats both supernatural and worldly in 1920s Boston, including a rather snooty over-achieving Harvard archaeologist and a blue-collar underachieving Scollay Square private eye, and the people around them. They’re flawed but earnest and they’re usually just about up to the task in the end. For the most part.

The stories I’m running here are from the early 2000s webcomic that was a follow-up to the black-and-white comic book Jazz Age Chronicles published in the early ‘90s by Caliber Press (and available in graphic novel form here). You can just start reading from scratch — and I think you’ll figure things out pretty quickly — but if you want a heads-up on who’s who, check out the Cast of Characters below.

Cast of Characters

CLIFTON M. JENNINGS

Dashing and handsome, heroic and charming, the boomerang-wielding Professor Jennings is a world-renowned professor of Archaeology and Anthropology at Harvard University. His skill and expertise have made him a valuable member of the secret society founded by Professor Carlisle.

At times, however, his interests have not always been in perfect alignment with the secret society's. How long can Jennings balance loyalty with personal ambition?

ACE MIFFLIN

A nickel-and-dime private eye, Mifflin wisecracks his way into, and often out of, paying jobs, much to the chagrin of his beleaguered secretary Rita. After an inauspicious beginning, Mifflin has proved a valuable asset to Jennings’ and Carlisle’s secret society on several occasions.

Despite Mifflin's utter lack of professionalism and inherent disdain for authority, Carlisle continues to involve him in cases and investigations. Does Carlisle detect some hidden inner strength in Mifflin, unbeknownst to even Mifflin himself?

NATHANIEL CARLISLE

Seeking none of the fame and glory of his colleague, Professor Jennings, Professor Nathaniel Carlisle is the head of the small, covert group of Boston adventurers fighting to keep the world safe from supernatural incursions. His breadth and depth of knowledge of the world beyond our own remains unparalleled.

Underneath his composed exterior, Prof. Carlisle has had to deal with seeing things no man was ever meant to see. Will Carlisle be able to suppress the effects of such encounters indefinitely?

THE BARONESS MARLENE VON TRESKA

Beautiful and wealthy, the Baroness has been a thorn in the side of the secret society, and of Jennings in particular, for quite some time. Whether her efforts have a deeper purpose or are primarily the actions of a bored aristocrat remains to be seen.

The Baroness and Jennings share a connection that may not be completely adversarial. Does the baroness hold some secret sway over Professor Clifton Jennings?

RITA BURNS

The underpaid and overworked secretary of Ace Mifflin, Rita Burns holds out hope that her lover and Ace's old partner Nick will someday return. Her stoic determination and almost a sense of resignation keep her coming back to the office, day in and day out. Or is there some other reason?

NORA CARLISLE

The brilliant daughter of Professor Nathaniel Carlisle, Nora seems wise beyond her years and possesses a voracious appetite for knowledge. Will Nora always remain in her father's prodigious shadow, or will she soon come into her own as an intellectual force?

RONNIE STONE

Witty & bubbly, high-spirited & determined, Veronica Stone has finally met a man resistant to her charms in Professor Clifton Jennings. Her attempts to impress Jennings have resulted in trouble on more than one occasion.

Ronnie will do almost anything to get her man. But will her singlemindedness lead her into more problems than even she can handle?

JONATHAN FLYNT

Wealthy playboy and childhood friend of Clifton Jennings, Jonathan Flynt often accompanies Jennings on secret society investigations. His wealth, connections and unflagging friendship make him a valuable ally in the battle against the supernatural.

DR. HANS FARGUS

No rundown of the Jazz Age cast is cimplete without a mention of Jennings’ unseen nemesis, Dr. Fargus! He’s an unscrupulous underworld collector of rare and dangerous artifacts, and he often sends his goons to try and steal whatever Jennings is on the trail of finding. He rarely succeeds, but his constant interfering is a constant thorn in the side of our adventurers.

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