Character Profile: Joseph

 

Joseph is a selfish, insecure, self-absorbed young man who still suffers from grief and trauma from the death of his mother, and from Cameron turning him into a Vampire after killing his mother when he was a young boy. He is hell-bent on revenge against Cameron, who accidentally killed his mother, Christina, when Cameron suddenly transformed into a Vampire Guardian Angel after being bitten in Heaven and falling back to Earth. But Joseph was not aware that he was a reincarnated Guardian Angel, called "The Killer of Angels" for his power of light that could send Angels to their deaths and resurrection back in Heaven.

Joseph still cannot find himself to forgive Cameron, and his anger is so great that he is contemplating joining forces with whoever can destroy Cameron, even if it means finding an ally in Gabriel, who is still vengeful about what Joseph did to him but he hates Cameron more, or by leading the Vampire Guardian Angels himself. In the process, Joseph finds his desire for power growing. But he knows he is inexperienced and still young and that no one takes him seriously, and he is resentful of that, and it makes him insecure and more determined to prove himself. He also wants to be more powerful than Gabriel and Cameron, and resents Cameron’s pleas for him to “stay good”. Like Janos and Gabriel, Joseph is so traumatized he can no longer feel much human emotion, and Cameron is determined to make Joseph hang on to what little empathy he has left.

Joseph is highly intelligent and unlike Janos and Gabriel, he is not reckless and impulsive. He plans before he acts. He knows he has incredible power that he still needs to learn how to use, but is undecided whether for good or for evil. He is ambitious and intuitive and also very secretive. He watches and learns, and tries to find vulnerability. He finds ways to use people and situations to his advantage. He sees himself as a better leader and no matter how difficult, he is focused on that goal and on gaining the respect of all the Vampire Guardian Angels. He is actually fearless, courageous, and willing to find ways to achieve his goal. He can be stubborn and confrontational, and likes to be in charge and does not want to be told what to do. Deep inside is a brooding passion for a challenge and he seeks to discipline that energy and make it work for him, which makes him a formidable contender for future leadership.

Character Profile: Gregory

Gregory Adamson is one of the first Vampire Guardian Angels on earth, bitten by an Earth Vampire and unable to get back to Heaven. He fathers Janos with Countess Elizabeth Bathory, and though Janos is born a stillborn, Janos later reincarnates and Gregory waits until his son is older to tell him about his heritage and convince him to become the leader of the Vampire Guardian Angels and that he must find a way to bring all the angels down from Heaven to take over Earth.

But he soon finds that Janos is a reluctant leader, difficult to manage, and, because he is so blindly dedicated to his quest on finding a leader, he goes as far as impregnating Janos’s girlfriend Leah in order to try to make another “heir” and leader. However, she commits suicide before the child is born. Gregory wanders the earth in anger, and decides to try to make a leader out of Joseph, Cameron’s stepson. But Gregory is killed by a mysterious plague that targets vampires which, it turns out, was a virus sent by his own son Janos.

Gregory is a calculating, greedy, lustful character who is blinded by the need for power and by his desire to fulfill the prophecy and find a leader for the Vampire Guardian Angels. He has a laser focus on this goal and will do anything and everything to find, or even create, a leader. He lacks complete empathy and sympathy for humans and sees them as slaves to be used or eaten, and is relentless and manipulative in getting his way. This shows in his unending stalking and harassment of his son, and his brutal taking of Leah.

Character Profile: Janos

Janos Bathory is a reclusive, introverted, gloomy, brooding, moody, irritable, temperamental, and sulky character who later turned out to be a reincarnated Vampire Guardian Angel and a prince, son of a notorious vampire countess from the 15th century and of the ancient Vampire Guardian Angel Gregory. He is secretive, sensitive to criticism, a loner, and emotionally distant, even to his girlfriend, Leah. He believes he is mentally ill, because he hears voices, which turns out to be the prayers of the despairing. He panics when he realizes that, while in a trance, he has been responding to these prayers by feeding on humans and that he is a serial killer. He also believes he is delusional because he sees fanged angels, who turn out to be his followers who are waiting for him to “lead” them, which causes him to seek psychiatric help and he becomes further withdrawn as a result.  He needs convincing that he is more than human and destined for something else, so his father Gregory constantly appears to him, revealing who he is and attempting to convince him to become the leader of the Vampire Guardian Angels due to an ancient prophecy that only a Vampire Guardian Angel of royal blood can unite and lead them, and take over Earth and enslave all humans and “Earth Vampires”.

But due to his personality, Janos is seen by many of the Vampire Guardian Angels as a leader who is reluctant, pessimistic, and hesitant to make major decisions. Though he finally accepts his role, he does resent it and does his best to stall on things that require his attention, such as finding a way to invade Earth from Heaven. When his girlfriend Leah commits suicide, Janos becomes even more withdrawn and indecisive, completely traumatized and still grieving over her death, unable to get over it. He tends to keep things inside,  filled with self-pity, regret, and is too self-absorbed to concentrate on his role, stifling his feelings, and exploding into rare rages that last briefly. He dreads feeling any kind of emotion, and even when his father Gregory is killed later in the series, he shows no grief or emotion, other than the grief he has for Leah, as he thinks he cannot handle any more emotion of any kind.

But when he does “snap out of it” to try and lead, he is brutal, homicidal, and feels the need to make up for being seen as weak  by demonstrating savagery on enemies in gory ways. (For instance, by decapitating a victim as a way of sending or emphasizing a message and drinking from the still-bleeding neck). He can also be possessive and jealous and it’s all or nothing for him. He responds by rejecting those who reject him or who do not do what he wants or when things do not go his way., which he struggles to control since he knows he needs allies and he needs the cooperation of his followers, otherwise, he fears, they might rebel.

Character Profile: Ms. Price (“The Author”)

The Author (Ms. Price) is an intellectual, reclusive writer who “discovers” the existence of the Vampire Guardian Angels in biblical texts and is determined to prove their existence. However, in doing so and by acknowledging their existence, she inadvertently “frees” them and they come to life and begin to take over humans and Earth Vampires. So strong is her power to make these Angels real that she is considered the “Creator” and her blood contains healing powers that the Vampire Guardian Angels crave. Jeromos figures this out and kidnaps her, turns her into a vampire to give her immortality, and keeps her prisoner in his fortress/castle in Sweden, using her blood to heal his soldiers.

Ms. Price is socially awkward, preferring instead to live a reclusive life of research and writing, until she meets Detective Costa, who slowly brings her out of her shell and into the world, despite her being cold, suspicious and resentful of him and his skepticism of her work, which she is stubbornly devoted to. However, she is kidnapped and Costa is determined to find her. Despite her being surrounded by dangerous Vampire Guardian Angels, she manages to stay calm, does not panic, and keeps her wits together.

Character Profile: Cameron

Cameron is a guilt-ridden, morally-driven character and the only existing “good” Guardian Angel left. Disguised as a detective on Earth and tasked with finding and bringing Gabriel back to Heaven and determined to turn him back to good, Cameron finds he has his hands full when he realizes he is the only good angel left, and that even his own adopted stepson Joseph is growing torn between good and evil.

Cameron is also struggling with grief and self-torture for his accidental killing of his girlfriend  Christina, Joseph’s mother, and he constantly seeks the forgiveness of Joseph. He is also grieving over the death of his former human detective partner, Kirkland, at the hands of Gabriel. This clouds his judgement and blinds him to the fact that his own son may become evil. Cameron believes that there is still good in the Angels and that they will eventually come around and stop their takeover, and he is unable to realize that this makes him too trusting and vulnerable and willing to give them a chance. Because of this trust, Cameron ends up being betrayed by his own son Joseph, who tries to side with Janos. But Cameron continues his role of good cop and father, protecting Joseph, mankind and anyone who he sees as needing his help. He does kill Vampire Guardian Angels when he needs to, but not without fights that often leave him wounded and damaged. He is still determined to stop Gabriel and still believes he can turn him back to good, but finds that he also needs to find a way to stop not only Janos, but also Prince Jeromos, another Vampire Guardian Angel determined to take over leadership. Cameron, however, is protected by the fact that he can kill any Vampire Guardian Angel as long as he remains “good”. so no matter how many beatings he takes, he manages to recover. Cameron has no desire for power. He still wants to save mankind, his son, and bring the Angels back to good. He later teams up with a human Detective,  Sebastian Costa (who later becomes a Vampire), who he hopes will continue to stay on the “good” side.

Cameron’s personality is that of the good cop, constantly trying to do the “right” thing in a fair and just way, which is why he is so traumatized by his killing of Christina, which was not his fault and was the result of transforming into a Vampire, and he fed on her accidentally. So he is obsessed with trying to “make things right” again. Her death haunts him and makes him ever more driven to do the right thing. But Cameron should not be seen as weak. Don’t underestimate him. He is a badass.

Character Profile: Gabriel

Gabriel is the first character in the comic book series. He is a disillusioned Guardian Angel who “snapped” and rebelled against his “job” of answering prayers and helping humans. He becomes a serial killer, responding to the desperate and suicidal humans. He appears to them with promises to “end their pain” and is charming, soothing, and pretends to be helpful. Then he kills them in gruesome ways, taking out his anger and resentment on humans. His main goal is to “shut humans up” so he does not have to listen and respond to prayers, and he no longer wants to help humans.

Gabriel is resentful of humans because, as a young boy, he was sent to his death during the crusades. When he called out to his Guardian Angel to save him from an approaching medieval army, he was not saved. So he feels that is he was not helped, why should he help humans?

He has the power to control weak human minds. At first, he is not able to touch humans or kill them with his hands, because he is still a Guardian Angel and is forbidden to physically harm people.  So, he finds a "loophole": he targets the suicidal, the depressed, and hypnotizes them, making them kill themselves. His murders are not suspected because they are ruled out as suicides.

Gabriel later becomes a Vampire when he is killed by Joseph and as he ascends to Heaven, a vampire hitches a ride and bites him, and Gabriel in turn bites all the angels in Heaven. Gabriel actually relishes this new role, because now he can kill with his own hands and not rely on mind control. He feels like a God, but is more of a criminally insane monster. His rage fuels his serial killing.

Gabriel is a sociopath, with a single goal: to get rid of humans who caused him so much pain and anger and who he hates because he thinks he was forced to cater to them and become their therapists. He feels superior to humans and finds it demeaning to have to help them. He lacks complete empathy, and has a cold, calculating, homicidal nature. He is delusional in that he thinks that he will only be free if he destroys all humans and that this is the only way he can be free of the torment of their prayers. He is manipulative and uses his charms to “comfort” humans and take them trust him before he kills them (and, as a vampire, feeds on them). He is one of the most dangerous of the Vampire Guardian Angels, and also the most impulsive, vindictive, and unstable. He mindlessly destroys anything in his path. His personality is more like that of a ten-year-old throwing an endless tantrums. Deep inside, he is insecure, in emotional pain, and suffering from severe trauma.

The only time he has ever shown regret was when he met Joseph, the stepson of his rival Cameron. Joseph was able to make Gabriel see what he did was wrong and convinced him to go back to Heaven, and killed him in the process. However, after Gabriel resurrects in Heaven and after being bitten by the Vampire,  Gabriel becomes even more angry and more vindictive, seeking vengeance against Joseph and Cameron. Although still retaining his charm and manipulative personality, he becomes more of a mindless killing machine in later issues.

Unlike the other Vampire Guardian Angels in the series, Gabriel does not want to be a leader or rule over Vampires and humans. He prefers to just get rid of the whole humankind and anyone who gets in his way.

Comic Book 5 Final Pages Text and Color to be added

Here are some sneak peeks of the final pages of Comic Book Issue 5, with cleanup of pencil marks still to be done, and text/dialogue and color (blood) to be added.