Jamaican jerk chicken can be found on menus across the globe and has been described as many things – spicy, fiery hot, well-seasoned, smoky – but never as a dance. That is, until Brutus Perry ‘Thorny’ Thornapple, the main character in the popular cartoon, The Born Loser, hears the name for the first time.
In the Monday, December 13 edition of The Born Loser, a newspaper comic strip created by Art Sansom in 1965, the ever-popular Jamaican jerk chicken debuts on the menu.
The comics section of The Gleaner featured the characters in their situation comedy.
In the scene, the two main characters, Brutus, who is the strip’s ‘Born Loser’ and his wife, Gladys ‘Hornet’ Thornapple, are at a restaurant. Gladys is described as “more old-fashioned than Brutus and doesn’t seem to be very bright, especially with popular culture or technology”.
She is reading from the menu and asks, “Hmm … do you know what Jamaican jerk chicken is, Brutus?”
He responds in typical Brutus fashion, “Nope, can’t say that I do. Sounds like a dance from the sixties.”
FUNKY CHICKEN
Jamaican music, food and culture have long dominated the world stage, and it is not surprising that even comic strip characters are tuned in. Over on the GoComics website, there was a spicy discussion under the cartoon about various dances, and of course, a pot shot or two at Brutus.
Among the 132 comments were the featured one from Angelolady, “Maybe that’s the funky chicken I may recall.” It had 34 responses. One such was from Ivy Valory, who stated that “There was a dance called The Jerk, too,” to which the cartoon creator, who goes by the name Brutus P Thornapple, says, “Any dance called the Jerk has to be right up Brutus’s alley.”
Quite a few of the comments showed some knowledge of Jamaica: “I thought that it was a rude barnyard fowl with dreadlocks.” “The chicken was raised with weed and she had dreadlocks.” “It’s what Red Stripe Beer goes best with.”
Raybarb44 comments, “They definitely had a lot of different styles of dancing and names for them. Today they are just called moves. Whatever, I don’t do either and haven’t for a while. However Jamaican jerk chicken is pretty good. Enjoy. Would have been a good name for a dance though….” and Brutus P. Thornapple responds, “Right, raybarb44! I can imagine some of the moves of the dance, imitating chickens and reggae singers and other fun elements.”
Sansom’s son, Chip, who started assisting on the strip in 1989, is the current artist, and the person responding to the comments. In a 2015 interview, celebrating 50 years of The Born Loser, Chip explained how he got his ideas.
“When I encounter a situation, I will find myself analysing what would it be like if this happened to Brutus. A situation that is not funny at all can become a gag if I insert Brutus and slightly change the set-up. Although I don’t consider The Born Loser to be topical humour, I will often stimulate ideas by reading the newspaper or a magazine article. As I go through my day, I will write down these seeds of ideas. Then, when I get back to the drawing board, I will try to make gags out of them,” he told www.gocomics.com.
And, what thrills him? “It is still a thrill to open the morning paper and see our work. And an even bigger thrill to think of all the readers around the world who are turning to The Born Loser for a smile to start their days.”
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