Cousin Gloria was a second cousin that I knew from family dinners back in New York.  When my parents moved us to California, I went back one summer as a teenager to visit, and was shuffled around to various relatives who wanted to see me.  One such relative was Gloria, who lived at that time in New Jersey, and I stayed with her for a few days. 

 

She lived alone and never had kids, and was a lot of fun.  She played the piano for me, and we stayed up late watching movies and eating popcorn.  There were some younger girls that lived next door, and they were all delighted with my visit and were flirtatious with me.  I was happy for the attention but not too interested since they were a bit younger than me.  Cousin Gloria teased me about it, saying how they were all going crazy because I was so handsome…the kind of thing a teenage boy loves to hear!  

 

Years later when I was in my forties, she had migrated to Las Vegas, and I used to drive up there a few times a year to stay with her for a weekend.  I would bring tools so as to help her around the house, simple maintenance and doing things like putting up shelves or rearranging furniture.  

 

Over the years she had become very disagreeable and this attitude had isolated her from most of the family, but I always loved her and fondly remembered that summer I had spent with her, and so was willing to put up with her negativity.  

 

And just like her appearances in my comic, she also had Buddy, this horrible in-bred, crippled Chihuahua.  It could barely walk and seemed like it was always in pain, but the vet had assured her that it was not, and she had spent thousands of dollars on operations and drugs to keep it alive.  I always felt like it would be doing it a favor to have it put to sleep.   So in the comic, that began Buddy’s constant request to Gonj (who has the ability to talk to animals) to “Do me a solid bro and KILL ME!”

 

After she passed away I had the idea of having her in my comic, and the character at first just embodied her “in your face”, ball-busting attitude.  But gradually through the years she became more and more sinister, and gradually devolved into the Queenpin of crime, the perfect foil for our heroes!   

Click here to see her first appearance in the Adventures of Gonj and Duby.