The comic was one of the first of the independent and dark superhero stories of the 1980s and "helped usher in the grim and gritty sensibility that came to define the genre.

Also, many of the stories of Sable's hunting exploits in Africa were influenced by Peter Hathaway Capstick's novels, while Grell also drew on his own military experience.

In 1997 Grell announced to write and draw the character in a new black-and-white Jon Sable Freelance from Caliber Comics, debuting in October,[5] but the series never materialized.

In 2019, Mike Grell revealed some inked artwork and a brief description of the project on his official website: "...the untold story of Sable’s first case… and nearly his last.

Unlike many such characters, his literary agent is aware of his other identity's activities, but is most persuasive in enforcing his writing contract obligations as well.

[1] Publishers Weekly has described the series as featuring "an unstoppable hero, realism in the weaponry and settings, lots of beautiful women and a combination of action and detection.

"[9] KISS frontman Gene Simmons is a fan of the comic and purchased the rights to the series with the hope of turning it into an action movie with Pierce Brosnan as the lead.

The TV series was notable only for its changes to the premise, and for introducing supermodel turned actress Rene Russo to audiences as one of the leads.

A new character for the TV series was "Cheesecake" Tyson, played by Broadway actor Ken Page as a hacker friend who inevitably supplied exposition.