Who's This? A San Francisco private eye.
The facts: Introduced in Showcase #78 (Nov 1968), private dick Jonny Double didn't go to series, but wasn't forgotten either. In the 70s, he was the guy you brought back when you needed a P.I. for a story. He appeared in Adventure Comics' Supergirl strip, Challengers of the Unknown, three issues of Kobra, and most prominently, in white pantsuit Wonder Woman for four. In 1998, Jonny got his own Vertigo mini-series, and in 2014, he made an appearance in Scooby-Doo! Team-Up alongside other DC detectives.
How you could have heard of him: A version of Jonny Double is appearing right now in Absolute Green Lantern.
Example story: Showcase #78 (November 1968) "Jonny Double!" by Marv Wolfman, Joe Gill and Jack Sparling
How does Jonny's first appearance describe him? "A down-beat Don Quixote in a society that frowns on windmills, searching for that last dragon to slay. Meet Jonny Double, ex-cop and semi-private investigator, who makes his living wallowing through the aftermath of innocence and the tattered ruins of people's souls! Meet Jonny Double, a once-white knight in counterfeit armor, the poor man's Peter Pan!" Geez, that's... a lot to process. Wolfman and Gill are really diving into the Noir tradition with purple prose and a tainted anti-hero, but we're being TOLD, not shown, so let's see how it plays out. Dude sleeps on a cot in his office and immediately gets evicted, without an argument.
Questions I'm not sure we'll get answers to: Why isn't he on the force anymore? What does "semi" private eye mean? That he tattles on his clients? And why is he broke? Terrible at his job? Bad Yelp reviews? Or just doesn't know how to market his business? Well, after an apartment/office-hunting montage (and honestly, his new pad looks much cooler), he'll probably get the weird case that prefaced the story. But just look at this place!
Sure, the phone is outside (not great for a business), but that window is really neat. But yes, better have client meetings at the local cheesecake factory (a disco where Sparling can draw sexy chicks dancing in the foreground). The mystery: The client's twin brother was a member of a crime syndicate and was recently killed for allegedly stealing from his bosses. The weird thing is that the killers left a picture of him dead at the scene which, in these pre-Polaroid days, would seem impossible (unless someone had a twin brother who was in on it... arumph!). But if the client is shady, why does he want a P.I.'s help proving it was murder (as opposed to the police's conclusion that it was a suicide)? The price is 200$, but Jonny is ready to haggle. Just not very well.
So now we know why he's broke. At least he scams the client into paying the bill. First stop on the mystery trail - the police station. He's well known there and the cops are quick to hide the paper clips. Looks like he mostly uses his police connections to raid the office supply closet. Calm down, boys, he just wants to get screamed at by his friend Lt. Branigan. He can't have access to the Syndicate file, but Branigan does "lend" him some bullets from his own gun. We learn that, apparently, Jonny was a good detective, but something happened... And Branigan would take him back, if only... Okay, comic book, be that way. You don't need to tell me. Next stop: The pool hall for some Streetwise rolls. He fails them all, and gets jumped by Syndicate hoods as soon as he leaves.
Oof, wouldn't mind some arrows between panels to show the way here, but Jonny sure can flip a guy. Despite that, they easily knock him down and throw him a quarter for his trouble. Does he get the message yet? Don't mess with the Syndicate! Next stop: A diner where an old friend (and love interest?) works. She patches him up and fills him with coffee. "She could be big time... if she wanted to." She doesn't take care of her looks, and she has no ambition - sounds like the girl for you, honestly. In fact, she mirrors his narration back at him on the very next page, telling truth to loser. As he leaves, she sheds a tear. She cares alright. We then go to the client's fancy digs (stingy a-hole) to eat a sandwich and regroup. Client mentions business acquaintances of the victim and that's his only lead, so he gets into their offices dressed as a janitor. Be careful what you overhear, Jonny!
I'm enjoying the amount of expression, and Jonny's portrayal as a rather venal, self-centered character. Anyway, he gets noticed, a fist fight ensues, he loses again and almost gets shot. But the business guys are like, don't do that in here, bring him to the roof and make it look like a suicide! But...
Jonny runs, additional goons on his tail. He runs into fairgrounds and into the Funhouse to escape. Hall of mirrors stuff, you know the deal. And this time, Jonny prevails.
Jonny DOUBLE, get it?! As he walks out, the carny in charge offers him pictures of his fight, as the Funhouse is apparently rigged with cameras that snap pics of you getting scared. It's good evidence for the cops, and we end on Jonny waiting for his check and not being able to pay the guy who painted his name of the door, etc. Okay, but what was that whole thing with the picture of the victim's death? I think somebody forgot their own plot.
That said, I did enjoy the character and his seedy world. There are enough supporting characters and problems to fuel the proposed series, and it's got an interesting tone. But even the Who's Who page can't explain the underlying mysteries behind the character, so we're left with more questions than answers, even beyond the bungled plot.
Who's Next? One of Superman's dads.
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