13 September: Uncle Sam Day

In the USA, today is Uncle Sam Day. 10 things you might not know about the Uncle Sam character.

1. Uncle Sam is a personification of the federal government of the United States or the country in general.

2. He has the same initials as United States.

3. Uncle Sam is based on a real person called Samuel Wilson, who lived in Troy, New York. He and his brother owned a meat packing business. During the War of 1812, he supplied food for the American soldiers. The food barrels had “U.S.” stamped on them. The troops knew a man called Samuel was sending the food and called it “Uncle Sam’s.”

4. Illustrator Thomas Nast was the first to popularise the image of Uncle Sam, around 1860-1870. Nast gave him a white beard and a Stars and Stripes suit.

5. In 1916, James Montgomery Flagg drew a new version of Uncle Sam. In his version Uncle Sam was wearing a tall Top Hat, blue jacket, and was pointing straight at the viewer.

6. Flagg's image was also used during World War II, which led to the German intelligence agency Abwehr using "Samland" as a codename for the United States.

7. Uncle Sam isn’t the only personification of America. There was also the female figure of Columbia, who represented the United States as a nation, rather than the government. She was often associated with another female personification, Lady Liberty, who pretty much superseded her.

8. Another character, Brother Jonathan, represented the American people.

9. President George HW Bush declared September 13 as Uncle Sam Day in 1989.

10. Marvel Comics’ first African-American superhero, the Falcon, is also called Samuel Wilson. It’s not known whether Stan Lee named him that on purpose or if it’s a coincidence, but it’s interesting to note that he has taken on the persona of Captain America in recent years.

Character birthday

Dicken McKenzie, father of model Puffball, from the Infinitus dimension. He caused a scene at her wedding by turning up assuming he would be giving her away, but their relationship had broken down years before and she had assigned that role to the superhero Power Blaster. See Closing the Circle.

Closing the Circle

A stable wormhole has been established between Earth and Infinitus. Power Blaster and his friends can finally go home.

Desi Troyes is still at large on Earth - Power Blaster has vowed to bring him to justice. His wedding to Shanna is under threat as the Desperadoes launch an attempt to rescue their leader. Someone from Power Blaster's past plays an unexpected and significant role in capturing Troyes.

The return home brings its own challenges. Not everyone can return to the life they left behind, and for some, there is unfinished business to be dealt with before they can start anew.

Ben Cole in particular cannot resume his old life as a surgeon because technology no longer works around him. He plans a new life in Classica, away from technology. Shanna hears that there could be a way to reverse his condition and sets out to find it, putting herself in great danger. She doesn't know that she is about to uncover the secret of Power Blaster's mysterious past.

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