Angle Grinder Man- The Legacy Continues

Perth's Wheel Clamp Man in action.

One of the colorful characters I found in my Real Life Super Hero research was a highly disgruntled British bloke that called himself Angle Grinder Man.

Angle Grinder Man operated in London and Kent (his hometown) and his origin story is simple: he snapped after one too many parking violations. In those cities (and others around the world) you will receive what is known as the "boot" or the "clamp"-- a device attached to the wheel of your car-- if you are parked illegally. You then must pay a hefty fine to have someone come around and unlock the device to free your car.

It is aggravating and many angry motorists think it is a racket.

Enter Angle Grinder Man. He first appeared around 2002 or 03, dressed in blue tights and a gold cape, sporting goggles and revving up a gas powered angle grinder. He set up a hotline for frustrated, wheel clamped citizens and would then rush to their side, sawing through the clamps in a shower of sparks. It took him about 45 seconds to saw through a clamp.

"There are not enough parking spaces for people, and no public transport to speak of," Angle Grinder Man declared in a 2003 television interview. "It's a complete joke and yet instead of us suing the government for shambolic mismanagement, we allow them to take back money from us, the very people they have let down."

In 2005, Angle Grinder Man disappeared as mysteriously as he had appeared.

England's Angle Grinder Man

But now, almost a decade later and thousands of miles away, a new superhero has taken on Angle Grinder Man's mission. He is  Wheel Clamp Man of Perth, on the west coast of Australia.

"I'm helping people out," he told Perth's Sunday Times. "I don't feel like I'm damaging property."

Wheel Clamp Man's costume looks like RLSH meets the Village People. He asks for a donation from motorists he helps and reportedly gives the money to the homeless.

Not surprisingly, Perth police aren't happy. They've encouraged the public to turn over the superhero so they can charge him with criminal damage.

--Report from The Telegraph HERE.

Phantom Patriot Protests Aurora

Last post I wrote about a RLSH named Beast who was arrested outside of a Home Depot after observers thought they were witnessing a copycat of James Holmes, the man responsible for the shootings at the Dark Knight Rises premier in Aurora, Colorado. I received an e-mail from the conspiracy theorist RLSH known as Phantom Patriot who informed me that he traveled from his home in Las Vegas to Aurora just to protest at the Century 16 Theater, where the event occurred. 

He held a sign that read "Don't let a mind-controlled , Prozac-popping Joker destroy your freedom !" He says reaction was mostly positive. Police told him to stay on the public sidewalk. 

He further elaborates: 

"I want the RLSH Community to understand that (as crazy as this sounds) one of the (minor) reasons that the New World Order staged this bizarre crime might have been to scare us into inactivity. They don't want a bunch of "Zorros and Robin Hoods" running around and inspiring the common people to take a stand against a corrupt government. More and more , we are being sidetracked into charity events and reality TV. Where's the risk ; where's the heroism in that ? It has become apparent that my previous advice to other RLSHs was correct...don't dress like a Black Blok Anarchist / terrorist. Of course , a protest sign does wonders , to explain yourself to the public. I stuck my neck out (again) to make a point. I challenge the other RLSHs to do the same!" 

Parking Lot Patrol Ends Badly For Suburban "Beast"

Police arrest Beast, a Mansfield Township RLSH

--BREAKING NEWS--

I've not written about the tragic shooting in Aurora, Colorado at the Dark Knight Rises premier simply because I don't think I have words to express how terrible it is.

The shooting, still prevalent in the news cycle, has naturally made people on edge about...unusually clad people lurking in public places. For an example, we can look at the latest RLSH arrest, a man patrolling the New Jersey suburb of Mansfield Township (population 8,544, according to Wikipedia) that calls himself "Beast."

According to a report on lehighvalleylive.com (which you can read HERE), the Beast was hanging around a Home Depot parking lot, asking shoppers if they needed his assistance when people began to make the Colorado shooting connection in their mind. One woman saw Beast reach into his pocket and was afraid he was going for a gun. He was grabbing his cell phone.

Afraid they were observing an Aurora shooting "copycat,"concerned customers and store employees called police, who arrested Beast in front of Home Depot's garden section. They charged him with disorderly conduct and possession of handcuffs, according to the report. They also drove him to Hackettstown Regional Medical Center "to be evaluated for crisis intervention."

The Beast has a court date set for August 21.

Superheroes Turn to Crowdfunding

Rock N Roll (left) and Night Bug, members of the California Initiative,are fundraising to produce a series of books for children.

In late May I posted a blurb about Austin,Texas RLSH Zimmer's effort to raise funds to build a solar poweredphone recharger for his gadget building company Zimtelligence. His Kickstarter campaign to fund the project was a success, raising over $3,000 and started what appears to be a new trend for RLSH (X-ALTS, RCSM,etc.)-- crowdfunding to support projects and equipment upgrades. There are two current campaigns I'm aware of and will mention here.

Members of the California Initiative are currently trying to raise a little over $8,000 through the site FundRazr to pay for the production of a series of RLSH themed children's books. The FundRazr page states:
"Through our stories, wehope to teach children the importanceof being kind,standing up for what you believe in, getting involved in your community, and much more from the code of ethics that all true superheroes live by."

The group says 10 percent of book sales will be divided between children's charities and are offering incentives at a number of donation levels similar to Kickstarter.

The donation page and more info can be found HERE.

Also a hot topic is Phoenix Jones' effort to raise$10,000 for a new "supersuit" via paypal donations. The Seattle superhero, leader of the Rain City Superhero Movement, says the upgrades include bulletproof armor and face shield, and built in cameras that will allow viewers to follow his patrols live. His effort is off to a strong start,but other RLSH have been critical of his budgetary priorities. (See for example, this post from the Seattle Weekly.)

Jones is also offering a number of incentives for donating at different levels. High rollers can even get their name engraved on the suit. The donation page and more info can be found HERE.

Heroes in the Night will be published in Fall 2013 by Chicago Review Press

News of the EXCELSIOR! New RLSH Show Hosted by Stan Lee

I had been hearing whispering about this for quite awhile, but a couple of days ago the official trailer was released for Stan Lee's Academy of Heroes, a Real Life Super Hero reality show produced for the YouTube channel.

There have been several disastrous attempts to create a RLSH reality show, but this appears to be the first to make it out the other end of the tunnel alive. Readers of this blog will recognize several faces here, as I've met all off the contestants on this show and some have starring roles in my upcoming book. I'm very interested to see what Stan the Man has in store for the RLSH. Check out the trailer below.

Heroes in the Night will be published in Fall 2013 by Chicago Review Press

HEROES IN THE NIGHT GETS PUBLISHER

Author Tea Krulos on the street with The Watchman. Photo by Paul Kjelland.

Hello, my friends. I'm very pleased to announce that after a lot of hard work and focus, I've signed a contract with a publisher for Heroes in the Night.

The publisher is Chicago Review Press, a company that offers an excellent catalog of non-fiction. I am very happy with the deal between us and have faith they are going to do a fantastic job and give the book the best presentation possible. Another bonus is that the company is just a short train ride away, so I can stop in and see how things are going in person if need be.

Here are some tentative details: the book is scheduled to have a Fall 2013 release. My final manuscript will be done in the next few months, and then the team at Chicago Review Press will work on editing and lay out.

The book will be available in an affordable paperback and e-book version.

Thanks to everyone who has helped me out so far. Being a published author has been my dream for a long while, and now it has come true.

I will be taking a couple weeks off this blog to work on some stuff and take a short vacation, but in July I will be offering some more Hero Profiles of some folks you'll be reading about in my book.

And now, I suppose, I should get back to work.

HERO PROFILE #93: Rouroni

Rouroni's XJL teammates and family transport him to his final resting place.

Status: Deceased (car accident)

Team Affiliation: Xtreme Justice League

Activities: Patrols, charity, public appearances

Quote: From his team mate, Urban Avenger: "He was very humble and always kept to himself, but at the same time he could make everyone laugh. He never wanted to be in the spotlight and never wanted to be mentioned or take credit for anything. He was really the epitome of what a RLSH should be. We all learned a lot from him."

Author's notes: R.I.P., Rouroni.