Unknown to many, the journalist Everett True took his name from the
protagonist of turn-of-the-century comic strip
The Outbursts of Everett True.
The fictional Everett was a rotund, bowler-hatted clerk who could be sparked into fits of psychopathic anger by the most mundane things. Each week, he would come into contact with a different minor annoyance and respond with physical or verbal abuse.
Given that Everett's victims were often deeply unpleasant themselves, he was usually portrayed as something of a hero, the only person with the guts to actually stand up to those who irritate the majority of people. His creators did recognise his monstrousness, however, and he did occasionally come a cropper.
People attacked by Everett include:
- An acquaintance who made the mistake of calling him "Ev" instead of "Mister True". (punched in the face)
- A passerby who lauged when Everett slipped on ice. (picked up and dropped onto the ice)
- An unhelpful policeman. (beaten with his own truncheon)
- Two lovers canoodling in public. (hosed down with water)
- A man who tied up a horse in driving snow. (tied up himself while his horse was led away to a barn)
- A commuter who refused to move so that people could step off a tram. (head slammed into cobbles)
- An annoying fishing quide who gave useless information. (smashed over the back of the head with an oar)
- A con-man. (tossed into the floor like a javelin)
As well as two children, Everett has a wife who frequently beats and yells him into submission - the only person in the world capable of doing so.
Sources:
http://www.barnaclepress.com/comics/archives/comedy/outbursts_of_everett_true/index.html - Scanned samples of the comic
http://www.toonopedia.com/true.htm - A potted history of Everett True
http://www.moviepoopshoot.com/breakdowns/79.html - An interview with Tony Isabella (near the bottom)