Q and A about Vampire Guardian Angels Part 2

It’s the Halloween season, and for all you Vampire fans out there, here are some questions about my Vampire Guardian Angels that I’ve been asked recently.

Q. Is there romance in your comic book?
A. Yes, but with more of an undertone of erotic/bondage (the original vampire trilogy novel the comic books are based on contain erotic and bondage material that are only hinted at in the comic book series) and as a background to the story and sometimes used to explain the background of the characters (just as, say, a character would have a family or a previous life). It is not the main focus of the stories. The characters have love interests just like everyone else, but with no happy endings. This is NOT a romantic vampire story where the characters live happily ever after. The “love” aspect is the scream horror formula (all horror movies have a love interest in the plot somewhere), just like in any script formula, (racy scenes, action, love interest, character motivations), and sometimes as a reason for a character’s actions.  It’s also meant to make the characters relatable and show that Guardian Angels (having been locked up in Heaven for centuries) are just as capable of human emotions such as anger, annoyance, love, hate, desire. Once free of their “enslavement” to humans and coming to Earth with free reign, all bets are off—they can drink, gamble, kill, and do things that you would not expect a Guardian Angel to do—anything they want. The only difference with the love interests is that most of the heroines or “love interests” do get killed, which leads to how a character will act, sometimes predictably, sometimes unpredictably.

Q. Are there good characters and bad characters?
A. It’s not set in stone. A character could start out good but certain circumstances could cause them to become “bad”, and then back to good again. It’s never clear-cut. You don’t know when a character will turn good or bad. Or what they will do next. I make the characters conflicted. They started out as good and holy angels and began turning into vampires with human vices. For instance, when these angels kill, they think “I’m not supposed to be doing this…..but I like it.” So they transform from good to bad, but then guilt can set in and they go back to good, but then they want to be bad again. It all depends on circumstance.

Q. Why did you choose to write about Vampires?
A. It’s my favorite monster. And when I wrote my first serial killer book I wanted to eventually incorporate vampires into the stories. After completing the first story where I turned Guardian Angels into serial killers, I wondered what to do with them next, and the aha! moment was to turn them into vampires. I’ve always seen vampires as vicious, terrifying bloodthirsty monsters to be feared, and merging them with what was seen as a “good” supernatural being and turning them even more evil and horrific and creating a brand new breed of vampire was exciting. It was one of the ultimate monsters, and the psychological effect of merging holy(angels) and evil (vampires), and creating a really disturbing monster, was even better. Vampires were perfect for that. And of course, I wanted my comic books to be a homage to the classic evil bloody B-movie vampire.

Q. How would you describe the art and style in your comic book?
A. It’s a horror story with the classic, monstrous vampire in a black, white and red film-noir style with an X-files and Twilight Zone influence.

Q. How do you come up with the stories for your sequels to the comic books?
A.  Mainly from my own dreams and nightmares. The ideas and inspiration will just hit when I least expect it, like when I’m washing dishes or at any time. Which is why I have to have something to write on just in case. I’ve written an entire comic book in one sitting from just one thing that inspired me.

Q. A Vampire is undead. So are your Vampire Guardian Angels undead?
A. They are just as undead as a Vampire, because they are Vampires.
-Vampires are undead, and are immortal. I’m not sure if they can resurrect once they are killed though.
-Guardian Angels are made when a male human dies and their soul ascends to Heaven, where they resurrect as Guardian Angels. I’m not sure if a regular Guardian Angel dies, but they are just as immortal as a Vampire.
-When a Guardian Angel becomes a Vampire, it’s like they become “double-immortal”. The difference is, I guess, is that when a Vampire Guardian Angel “dies”, they can be resurrected as long as they can get back to Heaven. A wounded or dying Vampire Guardian Angel can be healed (that will be revealed in comic book issue 6).

Q. Can Vampire Guardian Angels see their reflections in the mirror?
A.  Short answer: Yes.

Q. Can Vampire Guardian Angels drink?
A. Hell yes. They get quite drunk too.

Q. What Issues to you appear in?
A. I appear as a character in Issues 3, 5 and 6. My character is also drawn on the cover of Issue 3.