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Mr Montibar was a mysterious being who was the overseer and host of Kokotomo Island, a magical island accessible from many different dimensions, where dreams spontaneously came true.
Description
Physical appearance
Mr Montibar appeared as a middle-aged man with a hooked nose, dark brown skin and dark gray hair, lighter at the temples. He usually wore an all-white suit. (COMIC: Tales To Behold Halloween Cameo Caper 2014)
Personality
Montibar was effusive and affable, and was prone to partaking in the holiday atmosphere of the island himself, for example dancing with abandon with Jenny Everywhere and Centennia. (COMIC: Tales To Behold Halloween Cameo Caper 2014)
Biography
Mr Montibar welcomed the Odds when they arrived on Kokotomo Island by plane, with Centennia recognising him on sight. In turn, Montibar seemed aware of the Odds' recent exertions (COMIC: Tales To Behold Halloween Cameo Caper 2014) battling the envoy of the Cosmic Order, (COMIC: Journey Out Of Misery) genially telling them that he thought they deserved some time off. Later, after most of the Odds went home on the plane back, having enjoyed the magical fulfillment of their fantasies, Jenny Everywhere and Centennia stayed behind, intent on remaining on the Island a while longer, and they ended up dancing with Montibar himself. (COMIC: Tales To Behold Halloween Cameo Caper 2014)
Behind the scenes
Montibar was one of the elements created for The Halloween Cameo Caper 2014 by L. P. Hogan, and visualised by Aggie Janicot. As the conceit of the event was that those elements could be freely used by writers in their own comics tying with the Caper, Montibar can arguably be considered an open-source character, although he has never been formally dubbed such by Hogan. Janicot, on the other hand, explicitly noted that her reference visuals for the designs of the Island and Montibar “may be copied and used within your comics; feel free to use”.[1]
Kokotomo Island was a thinly-veiled stand-in for the eponymous setting of the 1970s fantasy TV series Fantasy Island. Indeed, in Tales To Behold Halloween Cameo Caper 2014, Montibar nearly refers to his island as “Fantasy Island” before correcting himself and giving its name as Kokotomo Island. As such, Montibar serves as an analogue for Mr Roarke, the host of the series and Chief Magistrate of Fantasy Island. Roarke was played by Ricardo Montalbán, whose name “Montibar” vaguely evokes; Montibar shares the canonical Roarke's style of dress, although they look somewhat different. Much like Montibar, Roarke was an eminently mysterious figure, explicitly immortal but otherwise shrouded in ambiguity. For example, despite suggestions that he was to some degree a human being, one episode hinted that Roarke might be God in a human guise. Montalbán himself believed Roarke to be a fallen angel, for whom overseeing Fantasy Island was a form of purgatory. The controversial 2020 prequel feature film, which did not exist yet when the Halloween Cameo Caper featuring Montibar was created, instead came firmly on the side of Roarke being a human man, who had discovered and harnessed the inherent magic of the Island and was not himself of special significance.