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In the last post I boldly announced my plans...

"to reclaim the title of Man of Mystery and give it new meaning...own it."

And in the hours following that post,  I caught myself seriously wondering what the hell I actually meant. I mean, it sounds great, but it's a probably a bit prolific for a 23 year old nobody living in Corinth, Texas.  So I turned to the first place any  internet-savvy person in the modern age would; Google. To say I was simply disappointed would be a serious understatement, but amidst the mix of half-naked pictures of Mike Myers as Austin Powers, home-made music videos for a certain Muse song, and not-so-relevant (albeit interesting) articles about about Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, and his ego-trip to British prison, I found my first lead:

Now, before you tell me I'm certifiably insane, bear with me for a minute...The Scarlet Pimpernel (adapted from a play by the same name) is the first in a series of historical adventure novels set in the most violent period of the French Revolution. You can read a bit more about the book itself here and here. Most important to me is the fact that the protagonist, Sir Percy, is one of the first widely popular Man of Mystery personas in the literature of the past century. The novel is apparently the basis for nearly the entire spectrum of early secret identity hero narratives; Zorro, Superman, Spiderman, you name it... This story championed the idea that even the most average everyman is capable of incredible courage, spirit, valor, and greatness. 

So although the Google Gods did not bestow upon me an encyclopedia article or a formal definition for the term Man of Mystery, in 5-7 business days, when a copy of The Scarlet Pimpernel arrives on my doorstep,  I'm going to jump right in. With any luck, I'll be smacked in the face with inspiration. Regardless, I'll be sure to let you know about it...

Until next time,

Eric Hawkins

Modern Man of Mystery (in Making)