Jon Panel

John Panel (ヨウン・パーネル, Youn Pāneru) (alternatively translated as 'Jon', referred to as Ian in the anime) is an Irish immigrant, and a member of Jacuzzi Splot's gang.

He worked as a bartender on the Flying Pussyfoot in 1931, operating as Jacuzzi Splot and Co.'s 'in' for their planned train heist along with Fang Lin-Shan, who worked as an assistant cook. The subsequent cover-up of the Flying Pussyfoot Incident by Senator Manfred Beriam and the Nebula corporation caused John and Fang to lose their jobs. Upon the recommendation of Chef Gregwall, they entered into the employment of Eve Genoard as bartender and cook.

Personality
John is very blunt and straightforward--the sort of person who gives his opinions straight rather than softening them. This is evident in how he talks to Jacuzzi, occasionally lecturing him or reprimanding him when he starts to complain or cry. In this regard, John stand out a little from the others in the gang, who are more prone to teasing Jacuzzi and giving him leeway than John is. John and Nice are perhaps the most hard on Jacuzzi of the gang -- John for pointing out Jacuzzi's flaws and fallacies, Nice for pushing him into uncomfortable situations. He is calm in dangerous situations, as evidenced when he jokes in the faces of the Lemures when they invade the car.

1931: The Grand Punk Railroad
John and Fang secure employment under Chef Gregwall, head chef of The Flying Pussyfoot's kitchen, as bartender and assistant cook respectively. They are part of a planned train robbery, along with Jacuzzi Splot, Nice Holystone, Donny, Nick, and Jack (who is cut out from the 1931 timeline in the anime), who are passengers on the train. According to Jacuzzi, he hasn't seen the two of them in a long time, which may imply that John and Fang had become employees for the train months in advance, to avoid suspicion.

At some point off-screen and off-page prior to the train's departure, John and Claire Stanfield have a conversation, in which Claire relays to John the legend of the Rail Tracer (which, according to Claire, John found "not very interesting"). This becomes important when Isaac & Miria tell the story to Jacuzzi in the dining car. Neither they nor John can remember how to stop the Rail Tracer (much to Jacuzzi's horror), and it is John who suggests that Jacuzzi find "the young conductor" and ask him for the details.

John witnesses the convergence of the three factions (the Russos, the Lemures, and Nick) upon the dining car.

After Ladd Russo's brutal assault against a hapless Lemure, and the subsequent clearance of the dining car, the passengers begin to become frightened, and direct their fears against John and Fang, demanding that as employees they stop the train and let them off. John and Fang determine that as immigrants nothing they say or do will help their situation, and they lock themselves in the kitchen.

One of the passengers, Mr. Turner (who happens to be the man who framed Rachel's father), verbally abuses the two, calling them racial and ethnic slurs (he calls John a "filthy Irishman" and Fang a "yellow ape") and demanding he get a refund. Isaac and Miria spring to their defense, appalled at the man's behavior, calling him rude and boorish for upsetting the other passengers' meals. They throw money at him, saying that they'll pay his ticket and he'd better leave before Isaac uses his 'billion guns' against him. Gregwall orders John and Fang to throw Turner out, which they do readily. As they manhandle him out of the car, he continues to verbally assault them, saying "you filthy immigrants! Let go of me! You'll get your grime all over my clothes!". John threatens him with an ice pick he's been carrying, uses Turner's own words against him, and says that if he tries to return to the dining car they'll kill him.

When John returns to the dining car (the blood already cleaned up by the other cooks), he quietly thanks Isaac and Miria for defending them, but neither of them appear to hear him. They proceed to exclaim over Turner, saying that there aren't any apes or monkeys in sight so how could he call the car filthy? - and John, disturbed by the idea that perhaps they hadn't been defending him but simply hadn't understood Turner's slang, decides to forget he overheard them at all.

When Natalie Beriam tells Czes and Mary to hide, John in a show of concern asks her if she is going to hide as well. A moment later, he and Fang try to discourage Isaac and Miria from leaving the dining car, to no avail.

Later, when Jacuzzi reclaims the dining car as under his control, he asks John and Fang to take charge of the car in his stead, admitting to John that he thinks John would "be a better leader than me." To this, John replies "point taken. You do kind of get in the way at times like this." John and Fang proceed to arm the passengers with guns (though only the guns of John and Fang are loaded) and instruct them to aim at the door. Thus, when the Lemures charge in, they quickly surrender. John then proceeds to tie up the men with ripped tablecloths.

1931-1932 - Drugs & The Dominos
After the train arrives in New York in January 1932 and the police finish their investigation, John remains in the dining car along with Chef Gregwall and Fang. John and Fang discuss what will become of them now - it is very likely they will be fired, since there are plenty of witnesses who can tie them to Jacuzzi's gang. Fang suggests that they go find work at The Alveare, where his older sister Lia works, but their conversation is interrupted by Gregwall, who informs them that all the train's employees, including, him, are going to lose their jobs--everything that happened on the train, he says, legally 'never happened'. He informs them that he's heard the Genoards are looking for a bartender and cook, and that he's going to use his personal connections to get John and Fang the jobs, as he was impressed with their skills and doesn't 'give a damn' about whether or not the two are criminals. Gregwall then proceeds to give them one hundred servings of stew, which they proceed to share with the rest of the gang once they arrive at Fred's medical clinic, where Jacuzzi is hospitalized.

The next day, John accompanies Fang as he visits his sister Lia in her room. That evening, John and Fang visit the Genoard manor on Millionaire Row and present themselves to Benjamin, Eve's steward as the new hires, ready to take on the proposed one-month probationary contract with the Genoards. If their performance for the next month proves satisfactory, they'll move to the New Jersey manor as the permanent staff. Benjamin and Eve's maid, Samantha (Samasa) go to introduce John and Fang to Eve but find she is not in the house. Fang finds a note that Eve wrote, explaining where she has gone and to not worry.

John and Fang follow Benjamin and Samantha to the DD Newspaper Agency, where the four plan to spend the night in wait for news of Eve. There, they learn that the information broker Henry may have been the one who put Eve's life in danger; furious, Benjamin gives Henry a thrashing. John and Fang manage to pull him off Henry, only to see Samantha pick up where Benjamin left off.

Afterwards, Eve is safely ensconced back at the mansion, where John and Fang serve her food and drink.

John is one of the members of Jacuzzi's gang who show up at the warehouse during the confrontation between Graham Specter and Claire, Chane, and Jacuzzi.

1933 - The Slash
John convinces Eve to let their friends stay and housesit at her manor on Millionaire Row, claiming that it will be too much work for just two men to maintain the manor alone when Eve eventually returns to her manor in New Jersey. Eve agrees to let them stay, not knowing just how many people the two mean by 'some friends'. Thus, about twenty members of the gang (but not all) move into the Genoard mansion.

When Jacuzzi, in an attempt to clean up accidentally breaks a vase, John berates Jacuzzi and is about to launch into a lecture when some of the others get him to back down, pointing out that he's "made Jacuzzi cry again." John informs Jacuzzi that he won't be angry with him anymore and that he'll be the one to break the news to Eve about the vase. When Jacuzzi tries to protest, John reminds him that it wouldn't do for someone sporting a fierce tattoo on their face to approach Eve.

The doorbell rings and Jacuzzi dives under a table in fright, and tells John and the others to hide when John asks him what he's doing. It turns out to be Isaac and Miria, there for a visit.

The Larvae, led by Tim (with Dallas Genoard in tow), show up and bring up the subject of immortality to Jacuzzi's gang. When Adele reveals that she knows the gang had been chased out of Chicago by the Russo family, both Nice and John, who had up to that point been watching the proceedings somewhat amusedly, tense at the name Russo. The idea, Tim and Adele explain, is that they want Jacuzzi's gang to join up with them. In return, Jacuzzi and his friends will become immortal. As a demonstration, Adele impales Dallas' throat with her spear. When Dallas revives, only Nice and John are unconvinced and serious about the situation, sharing a glance while the others in the gang chatter away frivolously.

With the arrival of five more people: Chane Laforet, Tick Jefferson, Maria Barcelito, Ronny Schiatto and Ennis, John and Nice both realize the full gravity of the situation (what with the Gandor torture specialist and the Martillo's Ronny Schiatto having appeared) and John attempts to wake up Jacuzzi from where he has fainted. Events ensue and Jacuzzi's gang escapes to a construction site near the Hudson river, only to have Dallas show up and starting smoothtalking them, having decided to use them in his plan to get revenge against the Larvae. John, suspicious, asks Dallas "you mean to tell us that you're Miss Eve's brother, then?" Dallas demands to know how John knows Eve, and John informs him of their relationship. John makes no attempt to hide his critical opinion of Dallas as a person, and along with Nice and Jacuzzi is one of the few who catches onto Dallas' real plans for them.

Later in the novel, John is worried and points out to Jacuzzi that they forgot about Fang, who had been left behind at the manor.

Trivia

 * John is an Irish immigrant
 * He had at some point been kicked out of his community for causing some sort of unspecified trouble.
 * John had once made his living in the "seedy underbelly of Chicago society," which is the reason why he isn't intimidated or cowed by Turner's words.
 * It is possible that within the loose hierarchal organization of Jacuzzi's gang, John is somewhere near the top, as he is one of the most skeptical and vocal of the group, much less prone to gullibility or frivolity as are the majority of Jacuzzi's gang.
 * Since the story is set during the Prohibition, John was serving non-alcoholic drinks to the passengers on the Flying Pussyfoot.
 * He knows how to use a gun.