CLOWNs

 

Classification: Demons

Location/Base of Operations: Unrevealed

Known Members: None have been named

Affiliations: Iktomi, the Manitou

Enemies: Ghost Dancer (Nathaniel Great Owl), Ghost Dancer (James Owl), Lori, Mike, Patti

First Appearance: Dances with Demons#1 (September, 1993)

Powers/Abilities: The Clowns have razor-sharp teeth & claws, which they used for biting and ripping apart anything they could.

Traits: The Clowns were lesser demon, serving almost exclusively in battle, where they tended to swarm over their enemies en masse. They were amused by the idea of battle or of slaying someone or destroying something. They were not observed to speak.

History: The Clown are apparently spirits of mixed lineage; normally harmless, they were corrupted into monstrous and savage form by the Manitou demon.

(Dances with Demons#1) - Alongside the Manitou demon, the Clowns confronted the weakened Nathaniel in a New York subway. Nathaniel transformed into Ghost Dancer and fought back, but one of the Clowns slashed open his chest, killing him. The Manitou then tore off Ghost Dancer's head, questioning why it hadn't received his power and where he was hiding his soul, at which point an eagle spirit (Lori, guardian to the Ghost Dancer) burst forth from his chest and escaped, despite the Clowns' efforts to stop it. She teleported away, but one of the Clowns grabbed her foot and went with her.
    Reappearing with Lori above South Central Los Angeles, the Clown wounded Lori before being cast to the alley below, where it slaughtered a homeless alcoholic. The Clown tracked Lori to the house of James Owl, successor to the Ghost Dancer title and power, and it ambushed James and Lori outside his home.

(Dances with Demons#2 (fb)) - Lori transformed into her hybrid-eagle form, engaging the Clown. It wounded her, but ultimately she slew it with her own razor-sharp talons.
    Reaching across the country, the Manitou demon revived the Clown, which slew a dog that had been sniffing its corpse. The Manitour sent the Clown back to the world of its birth to heal, stating that he would call on it again.

(Dances with Demons#2) - A number of Clowns remained behind in the Albuquerque motel in which the Manitou demon had slain the Eischer family and donned the skin of Mr. Eischer. When Iktomi arrived minutes later, one of the Clowns skewered him through the abdomen from behind. Iktomi turned and grabbed the Clown, noting it to be a small welcoming committee and asking if it had forgotten him, the teacher and example to the Clowns, at which point the rest of the Clowns swarmed down over Iktomi from the ceiling.

(Dances with Demons#3 (fb)) - A number of Clowns were present when the Manitou demon battled Lori and the Ghost Dancer (James Owl, though he was possessed by Nathaniel Great Owl for part of the battle). One of them stabbed James' friend Mike though the chest with a spear. Lori used her magic to temporarily heal Mike so that he would be able to continue to help James until he had fully accepted his destiny and power.

(Dances with Demons#3) - A number of Clowns were with the Manitou demon in a storm drain beneath the big "HOLLYWOOD" sign when Iktomi arrived and proposed an alliance. Iktomi casually slew one of the Clowns during his proposal, and the Manitou demon took no note of it. The Clowns were still with the Manitou when Iktomi led James' friend Patti there.

(Dances with Demons#4 (fb) - BTS) - Iktomi, Manitou, and the Clowns inhabited the flesh of Patti, forcing her to use her spiritual connection to James to lead them to him.

(Dances with Demons#4) - As James continued his confrontation with and training by his ancestor Ghost Dancers, Patti--possessed by Iktomi, Manitou, and the Clowns--was forced to follow the psychic trail to James in the Grand Canyon, after which they erupted from her form. Mike slaughtered the Clowns, but was then slain by the Manitou demon.

Comments: Created by Simon Jowett and Charlie Adlard.

Per this site: http://www.ausbcomp.com/redman/hopi.htm#hopi_clowns

Hopi Clowns

The sacred clowns of the Hopi have a unique function in their society and the religious right to enact by negative example what should not be done. Humiliation and ridicule are their methods, and no one is immune to their rudeness. Stripping another naked is not going too far. Misbehavior of people in the community is dramatized, and the culprit takes the hint.

The clowns are the ultimate tradition keepers. If work needs to be done the clowns recruit the workers. They cannot be denied.

White ways, such as money, missionaries, and teachers sent to the Hopi have been the subject of the clowns' derision.

In the 1960's an unusual drama was inspired. An eerie sound was made by twirling a piece of hose, and two aluminum pie tins were thrown over the houses. The clowns came down from the clouds (over the rooftops) dressed in shiny silver and painted green, demanding to be taken to the leaders. All this was done to make fun of a leader at a nearby village who was making a public uproar about UFO's.

 

Profile by Snood.

CLARIFICATIONS:
The Clown have no known connections to:

 

images: (without ads)
Dances with Demons#2

Other Appearances:
Dances with Demons#1-4 (September-December, 1993) - by Simon Jowett (script), Charlie Adlard (art), Garry Russell (editor)

First Posted: 06/29/2006
Last updated: 07/02/2006

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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