Category: Gangs

Persistence unto (and sometimes through) death

Posted on April 6, 2025 by Jackwraith

Favourite starting zone? : r/wow

It’s been a couple months since the last time I tapped out one of these. In the interim, I’ve been writing in other places, although not as often as I could’ve been there, either. I’ve also been working on the script for chapter two in the story that Jeff and I are telling- Midwife, aborted -as well as the script for a potential third chapter (still under debate) and the prose version of a potential fourth chapter. It’s hard to tell where things might go from here and that’s the same in any number of other domains. As the United States continues its slide toward outright fascism, there can come a time when people question whether it’s worth continuing to fight or even how to continue that fight. There are other places in the world to live; many with far more humane systems of assistance for those who need it. So, then the question arises: Why stay? Why remain and subject yourself to the fight that inevitably results from resisting the depredations of the world’s modern Nazis? And it’s a fair question. Some people just aren’t interested in fighting, especially in the latter stages of life and especially if a pleasant life can be found elsewhere.

 

Then it’s just a matter of principle. Are you going to allow other people to evict you from the place that you’ve, perhaps always, called your home? Are you going to allow changing circumstances to separate you from the life you’ve built and would like to continue to enjoy, right where you are? If the answer to that is “No”, then you’re in line with the motivations of that vast majority of those who reside on Four, known locally as the Dead Zone, because that unwillingness to abandon one’s home extends to many of the residents who are no longer presences in what most would consider “life.” The first story that I wrote for Fifth Panel Comics, alongside Will Kliber doing the artwork, was a nominal horror story called “Excitable Boy.” It was an idea I kind of plucked from the ether one day and jotted down in the hallowed notebook and attached to it a concept I’d dreamed up a couple years earlier called The Morgue Lords. That latter idea was something I wanted to save for a much bigger picture, but I figured it was natural to tie it in to this small series of horror story ideas that I had for an anthology that Jeff was publishing called The Picture Show, so that there could be a common background thread and then, maybe, somewhere down the line, we could point back to where things had “started” if that bigger picture came into focus. Jim Shooter did a lot of that kind of thing when he was running Valiant Comics, with the main characters of their own books appearing in minor roles in other stories before making their own debut. It’s a solid way of approaching the whole “shared universe” concept and I figured I could just follow suit.

When I envisioned Dystopia as a multi-genre setting, I knew I wanted horror (and the Morgue Lords) to be part of it, so that all kind of flowed together and I decided that the fourth level- not quite deep enough to engage the radical changes down below, but deep enough to be an environment in which the average citizen (or corporation) probably wouldn’t be interested in remaining -was the best spot for it. Instead of having a Walking Dead situation, where the last fragments of humanity are holding out against (or fighting between) the shambling hordes of undead, there could still be sections of that level where relatively “normal” city life continued for at least some of the inhabitants and the emergence of things like ghosts, zombies, vampires, werewolves, whathaveyou would still engender the unease, shock, and horror that those stories usually try to convey. The general idea was that this ring of the city would’ve been the outskirts of the original settlement when it really began to grow past the level of a mining camp or whatever, so that’s where many of the original and latterly-expanded cemeteries would’ve been. That, of course, is fertile (almost literal) ground for the kinds of stories in the horror milieu. It’s a conceit, but I tried to make it a logical one. Then, the energies released by the Collapse and the Well interacted with that ground and brought back many of the former residents who still weren’t interested in leaving, for one reason or another. The popular theory was that the Well was also acting as a beacon for other kinds of undead, such that Four became kind of a gathering place for them, as it became too problematic for a lot of them to venture deeper, although many tried.

This is the level where the Walker patrols are still fairly frequent, so the whole nature of the setting begins to change from one of exertion of human influence to survival against what may be greater powers. But it’s one of the best mixes in that respect because, again, some level of society and community still exists. One can see that in the presence of figures like Macabre, the self-labeled crimelord of Dystopia. He’s still trying to keep the rackets running and extend them down to Five, as well. Similarly, the gangs are a bit less tribal and a bit more about keeping a community together. The Knightshift is perhaps the best example, fusing a group of survivalists with a gathering of people that are halfway between actual sorcerors and LARPers. The motivation for them is less about holding turf and more about establishing a perimeter in which the residents of the level can still carry on their daily lives to some degree. These are the people pushing back against the criminals like Macabre in the same way that the modern American population should be pushing back against the criminals in charge of the government. But groups like the ‘Shift and Control/Alt/Delete, a gathering of self-avowed hackers trying to exploit the ShadowNet, are also set to try to contain the excesses of other phenomena on the level, like the Blessed, a loose group of vampires, and Canis Majoris, a much more tight-knit association of werewolves. (There are no limits on that “horror” theme.)

Vampire: The Masquerade Guide – Creating A New Clan

But that attraction of the Well works both ways, in that individuals focused on the containment (or extermination) of the undead are also present, like The Gargoyle, who is both a vampire hunter (led here by the presence of the Blessed) and the main focus of the second story Will and I presented to Jeff for publication (another “pre-Dystopia” refugee, as it were.) Another is The Hanged Man, whom I mentioned alongside Macabre, the Morgue Lords, and C/A/D when I mentioned the planned third book of the Dystopia collection, Shadows on the ‘Net. So, a lot of these characters have been around for a while, figuratively and literally. All of them are intent on surviving in the changed circumstances that the Collapse created. All of them are willing to fight for what they think is right or simply to protect the home that they’ve known; sometimes for the years that make up their lives and sometimes for many centuries before that. They answered that second question of whether they were going to allow those circumstances or forces released by them to push them from their homes with a resounding “No.” In truth, that’s the one I favor, as well, although I can understand the reasoning behind simply going somewhere else to enjoy one’s life (or unlife) in the way that is most readily available. But it’s the answer of “No” that tends to leave the city as what is still nominally a functioning community on several of the levels, so that’s probably a reflection of its creator in that respect and the foundation for many of the attached stories.

The tribal mentality

Posted on November 18, 2024 by Jackwraith

Gang - Wikipedia

As I mentioned in the historical publication piece, the gangs have almost always been a fascinating topic for whomever has read the bible. When I started listing them off on that day that I dumped the majority of this whole concept onto a keyboard, a lot of them had come from the fabled notebook but in various stages of creation. Some of them were almost fully realized, like the Knightshift, and some of them were just names, like the Gorekings. Some of them had an identity firmly established, like Jerry’s Kids, and some of them had one that was only a wisp of an idea, like the Catclaws. And, certainly, some of them have been updated down through the years, as I’ve thought about stories that involved them and realized that there was a better concept that I hadn’t even considered when first naming and imagining them. I’m still doing that as I continue to write about the place. The Anarchrists of my current mindset aren’t the Anarchrists of the moment I first set them to paper, electronic or actual, in 1991. But I think the lure that their overall presence creates is that tribal mentality that most humans have to one degree or another. People want to belong to something and the gangs of Dystopia are like their own little nation-states unto themselves. Indeed, many of them are formed around actual genetic or other identities, like Bloodpulse and the Posh Street Flaming Screamers.

Mafia of the Poor: Gang Violence and Extortion in Central America | Crisis Group

Tribalism is hardwired into the human condition and manifests itself in any number of ways. The idea of Us vs Them is very much a part of the human condition, even if it wasn’t already encouraged by public institutions, like governments with their national borders, or cultural training, like racism. It also manifests itself in different ways, even when one discards one type of tribalism for another. I detest nationalism, as I think it divides people that would otherwise be working together (aka “They got you distracted with the national war so you don’t think about the only war that matters: the class war.”) It’s that disdain for nationalism that largely makes me indifferent to international football. Of course, I’m also a lifelong Liverpool fan, so my football tribalism expresses itself in another fashion. But it also depends on how you let it shape your thinking. I have good friends who are Manchester United, Manchester City, Real Madrid, and Chelsea fans and it doesn’t affect our friendship, even during matches. (Can’t say I know any Everton fans, though. I have limits.) The difference being that I am me first and Liverpool fan/club member, second. But a lot of people wrap themselves up in an identity that often defines how they interact with others. They’ll frame interactions in the context of being this or that identity, rather than simply a unique human with unique reactions to and interpretations of everything and everyone around them.

The Warriors movie review & film summary (1979) | Roger Ebert

Many of the gangs are of the former perspective, where their gang membership and the identity that allows or encourages them to be part of that gang, is like their armor against those not like them. In the city, of course, being part of a group that is closely-bonded is often a matter of literal survival, as opposed to social advancement or comfort that often defines gang membership in the current era (which can also be about survival in some cities, I am fully aware.) If you aren’t part of something like the Phalanx or the Shadow Dragons on Six, you may not live to see the next day. In contrast, your membership in something like Jerry’s Kids may not only be a matter of your physical makeup, but also might risk your life more than simply living on Three would ever do, which is a pretty high bar to clear in most parts of Dystopia. But in some cases, it’s not even a question of identity. The only thing that keeps the Phalanx tied together is the presence of the Warlord. It’s a cult of personality just like the modern Republican party, which is centered solely around Bronzo the Clown. Again, the fact that political parties throughout history were often just better organized and better funded street gangs (occasionally oriented around sports teams, like the Blues and Greens of Constantinople) makes those kinds of associations and personality cults that much easier. Again, many nations are essentially “gangs” of people who share an identity and often point that identity at other nations to announce: “They not like us.” That erroneous outlook of our modern era is often a side note in the identities of Dystopia’s gangs and that’s part of what science fiction is for: an extrapolation of what we see today into what we could see tomorrow.

Juggalos vs. the FBI: The fight for identity beyond the gang label - Sqauk

Canis Majoris, for example, is made up of lycanthropes on Four, both human and Morlock. Similarly, the Cyberrats on Seven are only made up of the cybernetically-enhanced and genetically-mutated servants of Hakker, which is still a cult of personality, to some degree. Both of their identities are also shaped by the level they inhabit, which was also part of the overall concept. I wanted to be able to do multi-genre stories in the same location, so the fact that werewolves exist on Four is entirely in keeping with the “horror” theme of that level. But I also wanted to do a different kind of SF/horror on Seven (about which I can’t really say that much until we get there…), which is why the Cyberrats (and Hakker) are what they are. But, again, sometimes it’s just a matter of self-interest. One could easily see any of the Rogue Corps on Three as “gangs.” For that matter, it’s easy to look at Macabre’s mob on Four, the Iron Wizards on Three, and The Morgue Lords and The Deathless across the city as different forms of “gangs”, even if they’re not identified as such in the bible. Human tribalism infects most aspects of modern society. Few people want to be alone all the time, so you find other people that are like you or think like you do or are fans of the same thing you are and you join them. That social animal characteristic, while not unique to humans, is far more refined and often esoteric than it is among other mammals. Elephants don’t band together because they like the same singer, but humans do and it means that even the most exotic motivations of any of the gangs in Dystopia still make sense at some level. That instinct to band together becomes even more prominent when you’re in the midst of a metropolis that just collapsed in on itself and it’s hang together or get hanged together. (The Hanged Man, however, remains one of the distinct loners in the city…)

So that’s some of the background thinking on the gangs and their presence in the setting. We’ll be running into one of them in the second story and the fourth story in the serial novel basically revolves around the activities of both the Knighshift and Control/Alt/Delete, so there will be plenty of gang action to come. One of these days, I might get back to that Bloodpulse story from the original digest-sized comic, too. Meanwhile, next time I might get back to the survey and explore the Control Ring, but no guarantees.