“I just want to make the world a less complicated place.”
– Sam Guydude
Who Is This Mysterious Author?
Sam Guydude’s identity remains a conundrum. But we do know a bit from traces he left around the web. We know he grew up in the ’80s, the best era there ever was. As he puts it: Entertainment was simpler. The messages were pretty naive. The producers had a pretty straightforward goal: If it’s fucking cool, and if even a six-year-old gets it, it’s probably gonna sell!
No wonder we got some of the most iconic action movies back in these days!
According to the tales, Lil’ Sam swallowed all of it with great pleasure. Predator. Commando. Kickboxer. Masters of the Universe. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. You name it! He loved the clear boundaries between good and evil. He imagined growing up to become the next American Ninja or He-Man.
As he writes in this review on Goodreads:
Spent my childhood standing in the living room doing these [Kung Fu] poses. However, the only one who really seemed to respect my newfound capabilities was my mom. “What a funny new dance, you’re doing,” she would say and I would answer that I had just saved our home from over 100 violent ninjas. She would laugh and pat my head, and I would think to myself, “Lucky, you’re my mom, you silly layman.”
– Sam Guydude reviewing Wing Chun Kung Fu by J. Yimm Lee, Bruce Lee
The Great Realization
But alas, turns out Lil’ Sam was pretty naive himself. He instead grew up as a regular old dude, working for the man every night and day. And at some point he finally understood what the good old ’80s simplicity offered: A chance to flee for a moment. An opportunity to escape whatever atmosphere one was surrounded by.
And in that perspective it makes sense; the ’80s were indeed quite grim for some.
Time to Give Something Back!
Upon this realization, Sam Guydude knew he wanted to give something back to the world. A chance for people to escape the just as crazy 2020s. Some good old unsophisticated action with great one-liners that might stand out in the middle of the chaos. Some nostalgia. And most importantly: Something completely new!
Hence, Coolman was born, a simple-minded action hero who is strong enough to take on the entire world (with a little help from his friends). You won’t find anything sophisticated here – in fact, there’s both room for absurdity and weird twists and turns. You will find some pastiche. Some retro-style satire. But mostly, you’ll get to swallow a lot of highly exaggerated action.