We see pictured below Ma Pounder, also known as the Ole Widder Pounder. Ma is not originally from Cremation -- she was actually born into a family of Yankee farmers in Massachusetts. Her husband and many brothers owned a string of prosperous farms along the shores of the mighty Miskatonic River, not far from where the Aylesbury Pike branches off into the uplands of Dunwich.
Tragically, one by one, each of her siblings (and their families) died. Some went missing; some wasted away as lunatics in Arkham Asylum; others were butchered in the wilderness with strange, ritualistic wounds; and a few were found as liquescent corpses, almost as if they had been half-digested. Her husband, Melchizedek Pounder, passed after eating a cabbage irradiated by a strange meteor that had landed in their vegetable garden. No one knows for sure how Ma Pounder survived all these calamities, but her proficiency with a double-barreled 12-gauge may not be a coincidence. In any case, she retired to Cremation "fer some peace and tranquility."
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| Dr. Schadenfreude |
In the 1880's, Felix Schadenfreude was the toast of Vienna. A talented doctor and an early proponent of psycho-analysis, he had many rich and noble clients. His career took a turn when he pioneered "laughing therapy". His technique was to encourage a patient to disclose his deepest insecurities and desires, at which point Dr. Schadenfreude would laugh uproariously in his face.
In 1889, this course of treatment led directly to the double suicide of Crown Prince Rudolf (the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne) and Rudolf's mistress. Hounded by the wrath of the Hapsburgs, every hospital in the civilized world was closed to the good doctor. He has come to Arizona and opened a medical clinic with the goal of rehabilitating the reputation of laughing therapy. If it can work on mental illness, surely it can also cure gunshot wounds.
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| Eustace Bledge |
Eustace Bledge is the closest thing that Cremation has to a leading citizen. He began as the local coffin seller and undertaker. The rich returns of this business allowed him to open the Cremation Bank & Deposit, the Cremation Hostelry, and then the Firearm Emporium. His business dealings are so Machiavellian, it is rumoured that he hires outlaws to rob his own bank.
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| Ennio Leone |
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| Albert Prince |
No one knows why Albert Prince always appears to be wincing in pain. Apparently, he once consulted with Dr. Schadenfreude, but the good doctor laughed so hard that he fell out of a window.
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| Caleb Cain |
The outlaw Caleb Cain attempts to intimidate his enemies by shouting out long passages from the Bible before, during and after every gunfight. Caleb views this as a trademark move. Unfortunately, Caleb's appears to select his verses at random, resulting in some perplexing choices: "While the king sitteth at his table, my spikenard sendeth forth the smell thereof. A bundle of myrrh is my well-beloved unto me; he shall lie all night betwixt my breasts. Muthafukka!"
I leave you with one last shot: Ma Pounder defending Cremation from Pinky and his bandits...
Thanks for looking!