| Katie Carva | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Katie Carva | |
| Aliases: | Vampblade |
| Notability: | Main character |
| Gender: | Female |
| Location: | Detroit, Michigan |
| Known relatives: | Katie Carva's mother Katie Carva's brother |
| Status: | Alive |
| Introduction: | Zombie Tramp, Vol. 3 #8 |
Katie Carva is a fictional comic book store employee-turned-vigilante space vampire killer, as well as the main character featured in the Vampblade line of comic titles published by Action Lab Comics under their Danger Zone imprint. She first appeared in a cameo panel in her civilian identity in Zombie Tramp, Volume 3 #8 in February, 2015. She made her first full appearance in Vampblade attire in a cliffhanger panel at the end of Zombie Tramp, Volume 3 #9 in March, 2015.
Biography[]
Origin[]
Katie Carva was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan. Even as a young girl, she was a total comic geek. In the 1990s, her favorite indie-era "bad girl" comic was a title called Vampblade. As a young woman, she still maintained her childhood passions, which now included cosplay. She got a job working at the Comic Planet comic book store working for a man named George "Moustache" Michael.
On day, while putting some new issues up on the shelf, she turned to find five mobsters had entered the place demanding to see George Michael. As one man locked the front door, another spotted the comic shop manager and shot him multiple times. Katie and two other customers ducked for cover and she overheard the head of the gangsters saying that the comic store was a front for the mob and that Michael had apparently stashed away some money that he owed them.
Desperate to find anything to defend herself, Katie grabbed a pair of replica Vampblades off the wall, which were based on weapons featured in the old comic. Upon picking them up however, she discovered that they were in fact mystical, causing her to vomit up black goo, which then stretched across her body, transforming her into the image of her hero from the comics - Vampblade.
Katie becomes Vampblade for the first time.
In addition to the black leather, as well as nipple chains attached to her costume, Katie now heard a voice inside of her head demanding to "Feed". Using both the three-foot blades and the chain, she cut off the gun-hand of one of the goons, then impaled the head mobster. She was surprised to see how skilled at fighting she had become. She then used her sharpened heel to slice open the throat of another criminal.
She finished off the rest of the goons, but now faced another problem. The remaining customers in the store appeared to be possessed by disembodied alien parasites that emerged as spectral forms from their mouths. Katie recognized these creatures as the space vampires from the old comics.
One of the alien entities emerged from the mouth of a possessed customer and tried to enter her mouth in order to take control of her. She sliced it in two with a vampblade. Another entity tried to possess her and enterde her mouth. She fought back, kicking the possessed customer in the crotch with her pointed boot.
Some of the alien goo got inside of her however, so Katie made a desperate gamble. She impaled herself with the Vampblade hoping that it would exorcise the entity from her system in much the same way it did to the others. Fortunately for her, the plan worked.
Moments later, members of the Detroit Police Department stormed the comic book store. Vampblade's costume receded into her, leaving her naked. After giving a hurried description of what happened to the police, she then passed out. [1]
Detroit Medical Center[]
She woke up at the Detroit Medical Center. She suffered no injuries, but the hospital staff wanted to keep her for observation. Katie's mother and brother came to visit her.
After they left, Katie got up and began exploring the hospital grounds. A security guard outside her room was infected with a Glarkian, so Katie summoned the vampblades and slew the entity. She then heard the telepathic commands of other Glarkians, indicating their hunger and their need to feed. Katie made her way down to the basement level where she found a nesting den of Glarkian parasites. [2]
Katie fled from the hospital and wound up naked outside. She was picked up by the Detroit Police Department and interviewed by police detective Toombs. Carva could not explain how she ended up naked and outside a second time.
Katie's mother picked her up from the hospital and brought her back to the family mansion so Katie could pick up a few things. She went through some of her old Vampblade comics to see if one of them could yield a clue as to why she was now the embodiment of her favorite 1990s superhero.
She learned that the "space vampires" were called Glarkians and they hailed from a planet called Zar. They journeyed from world to world as a conquering race, possessing fresh host bodies until it was time to infect the next planet.
Unsatisfied with the nonsensical concepts provided by the comics, Katie decided to go out and get drunk. She meets up with some friends at the Tempius Bar. It wassn't long though before she began feeling the presence of Glarkians within the bar. She downe three shots and approaches one patron, who was clearly possessed by such a creature.
She attacked the Glarkian and slashed at it, exorcising it from its host, then took the unconscious patron out out of the bar. She brought him back with the intent of questioning him later. [3]
He awakened in the morning feeling severely disoriented. She tried to keep him calm and asked him how much he remembered from the previous night. The man had no knowledge of being possessed by a Glarkian.
Katie returned to the Detroit Medical Center, determined to extinguish the hive nest that she found in the basement of the building. She put in a call to Detective Toombs and told him to meet her at the hospital.
Toombs arrived, and Katie revealed the full truth about what she was, and what she could do. Toombs did not appear to be completely unfamiliar with her predicament, and confessed to having experienced a similar set of circumstances some twenty years ago.
Katie transforme into Vampblade and awakened all of the Glarkian entities in the room. Embracing her new persona, she hacked and slashed her way through Glarkian space vampires with extreme glee and relish.
As Vampblade finished up the last of the monsters, Detective Toombs plantde a Semtex bomb on a beam. He made sure that Katie got out of the building, then sets off the bomb. She was outside, naked and in her human form again when the bomb exploded. She thought Toombs had been killed in the explosion. She then learned that he had already made arrangements to clear her name of any involvement in the hospital incident as well as the debacle at Comic Planet.
A few days later, Katie Carva learned that her former boss from the comic book store, George Michael, left ownership of the property to her in the event of his death. She moved into one of the back office rooms and hired Henry Buscema and a man named Jeremiah to work for her. [4]
Katie went to Penny's Diner to grab some dinner, when she took note of the fact that the entire restaurant was infested with Glarkians. Having fully embraced her dual identity as the Vampblade, she tore her clothes off, transformed into her costume, and launched into the infecting entities with great relish. She exorcised several patrons of the Glarkian influence, but in one case, the possessing entity seemed to transform one host into a giant, hulking monster. Fortunately, Katie's vampblades were still able to purge the invading spirit from the body.
When she returned to her office at Comic Planet, she saw that reports of her exploits had already hit the local news channels. [5]
Mom the Spaceknight[]
Katie then found herself tangled up in the machinations of a middle-class suburban housewife dubbed Mom the Spaceknight. She was married and had a young daughter named Emma. In order to protect Emma from being killed, Mom had to agree to become the armored avenger of the Glarkians. Outfitted with twin swords and a complete suit of highly durable armor, she set out to vanquish the greatest menace to the Glarkians - Katie Carva. [6] She kidnapped Katie and held her captive in her home. Katie managed to escape however, despite being tied to a kitchen chair. [7]
After chair-hopping down the street, Katie fell through a manhole and ultimately freed herself. Mom the Spaceknight sent possessed members of the Detroit Water and Sewer Department after her, and Katie had to fight them off until she could reach a drainage pipe that dumped her outside the city. When she emerged however, she found that she had now become possessed by the Glarkians. [8]
Adventures with Zombie Tramp[]
Vampblade meets Zombie Tramp.
Katie saw a news reporter about a zombie named Dizz Johnson who had murdered a truck driver on the Tamahawk Bridge. She went there to investigate and found members of the Detroit PD engaged with another, more menacing zombie named Walt. Vampblade found that Walt had wanted revenge against Janey Belle - the zombie who was responsible for his condition. She intercepted Walt from attacking Janey in her truck, and cut off his right arm, but the monster super-leaped away from the scene. [9]
A short while later, Vampblade was a on rooftop scouting for Glarkians. She spooted several Glarkian-possessed humanoids converging on a frightened girl in an alley. Vampblade leaped down and sliced her blade through them, exorcising the alien entities from the human hosts.
Surprisingly, the meek and timid girl was not so meek and timid after all. It was actually Zombie Tramp. Janey manifested into her true undead form and yelled at Vampblade for spoiling her intended meals.
The two began fighting and Zombie Tramp mocked Vampblade for her comic book inspired persona. She began shouting out her attacks like a Japanese anime, and physically overpowered Vampblade.
Zombie Tramp then used her sorcery to switch bodies with Vampblade. Unfortunately for her, she could not convert Vampblade's body into a new zombie host form, and Katie Carva's mind was now trapped inside of Janey Belle's body. As Vampblade, Janey could not access her sorcery. However, while inhabiting the zombie body, Katie Carva now had the ability to harness Janey's powers. [10]
Versus Lord Suck[]
Katie Carva was still eyeing her objective towards finding another costume, but more important things were at foot - such as sneaking past the Glarkian guards at the Drumpf Tower before daybreak. She got into a ninja style costume, but was frustrated when her costume forms a "booty window" for her. She then switched clothes at a high end ladies wear department. This at least allowed her to slip past any vamp security towards the day. She took the elevator to the penthouse, which was on the 69th floor.
When she got there, she was surprised to find that it opened into a massive empty office space that was completely bare. She decided to stealthily hide herself on a ledge above the elevators in case any vampire security guards came in. One guard did arrive, but he didn't notice Katie because he was too preoccupied with masturbating to images on his cell phone. She debated as to whether she should kill him, but decided to wait until he left.
Before long, she heard a hollow voice resounding through her head. Lord Suck entered the room and the two began fighting. He grabs her wrists, but Katie kneed him in the crotch. He pushed her away and then showed her how he had upgraded himself by shifting into a larger, more monstrous form.
Lord Suck's space knight tech allowed Katie to transform as well and she summoned her own anime-style costume and buster sword. She leaped into the air and brought the massive blade down upon her adversary. [11]
Notes & Trivia[]
- The character of Katie Carva was created by writer Jason Martin.
Appearances[]
- Super Real vs. The Comic Book Industry 1
- Vampblade '98 1
- Vampblade Special 1
- Vampblade 1
- Vampblade 2
- Vampblade 3
- Vampblade 4
- Vampblade 5
- Vampblade 6
- Vampblade 7
- Vampblade 11
- Vampblade Vol 3 1
- Zombie Tramp Vol 3 8 (1st appearance. As Katie Carva only)
- Zombie Tramp Vol 3 9 (1st appearance as Vampblade)
- Zombie Tramp Vol 3 10
- Zombie Tramp Vol 3 11
- Zombie Tramp vs. Vampblade 1