Ichabod P. Freely

Name: Ichabod P. Freely First Appearance: Belch Dimension Comics #10, |February 2006 ("The I.P. Freely Inhumane Society"). Abilities: extensive knowlege of veterinary medicine, skill with a whip Affiliations: The Nefarious Four

Dr. Ichabod P. Freely is a Smoking Cat Productions supervillain. Created by Jonathan M. Sweet  J. M. Sweet, he first appeared in The Belch Dimension Comics (|February 2006).

Fictional character biography
Ichabod P. Freely began as a country veterinarian. One day a patient came to him with her sick dog, and Dr. Freely fell in love with it. He forged a set of medical results saying the dog's condition was untreatable and that he had no choice but to euthanize the poor animal. In actuality Freely adopted and renamed the dog. His secretary Arlene Crunt, however, produced both the fake document and the original, showing them both to the dog's real owner. She was so enraged that she filed a lawsuit against Freely. The dog was returned to its real master, and Freely has his veterinary license suspended. (This is based on an actual incident that happened in Collierville, Tennessee, not far from creator J.M. Sweet's hometown.) In his personal diary Freely called Crunt a "Judas whore" and even drew a number of very graphic doodles of her being tortured in spectacular ways. This incident greatly affected the doctor, and he would note in his journal that it was "mawkish sentiment" that has made him "weak" and cost him everything. He (he wrote) had become "frozen" to all human emotion because of the experience. Thus he is able to justify the harm or torture of animals (and even people) with little regard to their welfare.

Freely's first actual appearance in the series was in "The I.P. Freely Inhumane Society" (#10), in which he had established Freely Laboratories, ostensibly for legitimate research. In actuality it was a front for an illegal testing and animal brokering business, which kept animals in small cramped pens and sold them to other less-than-reputable facilities. Will I. Ketchum, local dogcatcher, worked to procure strays for Freely on the sly, and was paid handsomely. One day he brought Buddy and Brandy in from one of his jobs. Freely locked them in a cage, but they escaped. The dogs had to swipe Freely's master key to spring the other animals, nearly getting caught in the process. The police arrived just then, presumably alerted by the disturbance. Freely was arrested and jailed; Ketchum was temporarily suspended from animal control for his unethical side project.

Freely appeared next in "Carnival Knowledge" operating the Freely Brothers Carnival on the outskirts of town. Jon, Josh, Angela, Flunger and Gort visited and found it a shabby and unimpressive affair, boasting overhyped attractions. However, Freely himself invited them to see an attraction he promised would "interest even the hardest cynic".

His "something" turned out to be a female Flungarian whom Freely called "Chi-Chi". Flunger became enraged and insisted her name was Khani. Khani, it turned out, was his wife. They had become separated during an earthquake that was the precursor to the planet's ruin, and he had though her dead. However, she had survived...and through a harrowing adventure involving near-starvation, kidnap by space pirates, and a daring breakout, had found herself ironically only miles from her husband's home on Earth. However, Freely found her, and soon proved to be a very cruel master, physically abusing her with his whip if she failed to obey or perform her routines correctly. The gang rescued Khani from Freely and--barring a brief setback where Freely captured all three of their alien friends--managed to see her off safely to the settlement on New Flung and have Freely taken away again by the police.

Freely's third appearance was as one of Hiss Hole's Nefarious Four, with Demi-Jon, Captain Maggot, and Dung Tung Wu. In the Black Labyrinth he also conducts a painful sneak attack on Flunger and Gort, leaving a crossword puzzle for them. Later he is seen using his whip on Ben, who goes into a spin, with Freely holding onto his walking-stick and being twirled about.

Inspiration
Jonathan Sweet says that Freely's look is based on "an undertaker in a 1940-s era Warner Bros. cartoon". He also bears a striking resemblance, with his monocle and bald head, to The Penguin and Col. Klink. His long mustache is very reminiscent of Snidely Whiplash.

Design
Freely is a tall thin man with a monocle in his right eye, long pointed nose, and a rather skull-like face and pale complexion. He dresses in a coat that has a collar similar to a Nehru jacket but with long tails in the back, pinstriped pants, and a tall silk top hat. A black bow tie completes the ensemble. He has a long black mustache and a single gold tooth in the back of his mouth. He frequently carries a walking-stick that doubles as a weapon and smokes cigarettes in an ornate black holder.

Powers/Abilities
Freely has no supernatural abilities; however, he is extremely intelligent and holds a veterinary degree and a (suspended) medical license. He is extremely familiar with medicines; his personal favorite is sleeping pills. He is quite proficient with a special cane he carries, which contains a concealed whip in the shaft. He has used the head as a handy bludgeon, and the hollowed shaft as a crude tool for administering pills to a stubborn animal. The cane seems to be primarily a weapon and a bit of a vanity rather than a necessity to get about, as he has been seen to walk and even run capably without it.

Appearances

 * The I.P. Freely Inhumane Society, #10 (Feb 2006)
 *  Carnival Knowledge, #15 (July 2006)
 * The Nefarious Four, #37 (May 2008)