Martin Q. Blank

Living… in Los Angeles, but he is currently visiting his hometown – Grosse Pointe, Michigan – for his 10-year high school reunion. Grosse Pointe has changed significantly since Martin was last there. A bust of George Michael replaced the George Orwell monument, and Main Street has been expanded into a four-laner. And Grosse Pointe is now officially the new sister city to Lower Hutt, New Zealand. They have fiber-optic town meetings every two months.

Profession… successful assassin. Martin has begun to question his career choice, however, especially since his rival hired killer, the Grocer, wants to form some sort of union. Martin has even started to think about possible back-up professions. Some of the alternatives he has considered include a pet psychiatrist, a couch insurance seller, or becoming the leader of a weekend men’s group.

Interests… catching up with the people he knew growing up. Martin is somewhat taken aback by his former schoolmates’ value system. Most questions directed his way center on material wealth and status, while topics like happiness and character remain on the periphery. Martin actually tells people he’s a professional killer, but they all assume he’s joking. But he still feels a real connection with his high school girlfriend, a radio DJ named Debi, though he abandoned her on prom night a decade ago to join the army.

Relationship Status… single. But lately Martin is thinking that he is ready to settle down. Martin explains, “I was afraid to commit to a relationship, but now I know I'm ready to make it happen… My soul was empty – and it's up to me to fill it.” Maybe Debi could give him a second chance, because she could be the one. But he has a few work things to wrap up first – which might include wrapping up corpses in bodybags.

Challenge… getting out of his profession in one piece. It turns out that it's not easy to simply walk away from being a hitman. Even back in Grosse Pointe, there are frequent attempts made on Martin’s life. It seems only a matter of time before Debi sees his darker side, even if he’s “only” killing in self-defense. Plus he has one last contract as a hired killer that he’s been putting off...

Personality… self-conscious, practical, methodical, and self-reflective. Martin has a hard time getting out of his own head. As he puts it, “I love sports and sex and have no real relationships with anyone. I have no illusions about the future. What is, is. We make choices. And we become the sum total of our choices. I can live with that.” He’s recently decided he’d prefer a more normal life with someone like Debi – actually, with Debi specifically. But he has so much baggage, much of which keeps arriving in Grosse Pointe with guns a-blazing, that it’s hard to see if that will ever work.