John Carik

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John Carik

Cover to Blade: The Vampire Hunter #4
"Bible John" Carik pictured in the middle
Art by Douglas H. Wheatley
Publication information
Publisher Marvel Comics
First appearance Blade: The Vampire Hunter #1 (July 1994)
Created by Ian Edginton
Douglas H. Wheatley
In-story information
Species Human Mutate (Magic-based mutate)
Team affiliations Cathari, occasional partner of Blade
Notable aliases Bible John
Abilities Precognition, holy symbols in his flesh provide limited protection against the supernatural

John Carik is a fictional character who was featured as the main supporting character in the mid-1990s American comic book series Blade: The Vampire Hunter, published by Marvel Comics. He was created by Ian Edginton and Douglas H. Wheatley.

He was exclusively referred to in the solicitations for Blade the Vampire Hunter as Bible John and the use of that nickname was established in the first issue. However, the name Bible John was rarely used in other issues.

He is the one of last of an order of warrior/scholars named the Cathari, who all take vows to combat the evil forces of the supernatural.

Publication history

John Carik appeared in almost all of the ten issues of Blade: The Vampire Hunter (July 1994 to April 1995). Issue #6 was the only issue in which he failed to appear.

Blade: The Vampire Hunter was cancelled after ten issues leaving John Carik's story unfinished. This remained the case until June, 2007 when he was given an entry in the Mystic Arcana: The Book of Marvel Magic edition of the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe. This entry gave details regarding story events taking place after the cancellation of Blade: The Vampire Hunter'.

Fictional character biography

Origin

As a professor of antiquities for the Kronenberg Institute in London, John Carik lead an expedition to east Africa. The goal of his group was find the tomb of a Knight Templar with a notorious reputation for being evil in life.

Once there Carik and his team were attacked by a supernatural being of an undisclosed nature, Carik was the only member of his team to escape alive. Afterwards, he would discover the encounter had given him precognition.

He was shortly thereafter contacted by and joined the Cathari.

Blade: The Vampire Hunter

Blade: the Vampire Hunter begins with "Bible John" Carik having a vision of the return of Dracula and the resulting destruction of New York City. His vision gives him the knowledge that Blade is the only one who can prevent the events from coming true. In order to warn Blade, Carik escapes from the Nyman Psychiatric Clinic and seeks him out. Once he finds Blade, Carik gives him a witch compass, a device for seeking out the supernatural.

Using the compass, Carik and Blade go to Body Hammer, a nightclub for vampires. Inside they find and fight Dracula with no final result coming from the confrontation.

A few days after the fight at Body Hammer, Carik invites Blade into the Chiaroscurio (known as the Cathari Academy of Light and Shade) for the first time. There he reveals that he has uncovered evidence of dark happenings in Los Angeles, California. Once there he and Blade find themselves in the middle of a plot by voodoo priestess Marie LaVeau and vampire Steppin' Razor to bring the vampire lord Varnae back to the land of the living.

After returning from Los Angeles, the Chiaroscurio is invaded by Deacon Frost, Carik is severely beaten in the fight and is taken to the hospital, where he has a vision. In this vision he once again sees New York destroyed and ruled by Dracula. Added to this second vision are Blade's former comrades in the Nightstalkers, Hannibal King and Frank Drake impaled on stakes. They tell him, "For Pity's sake, help us! Please don't desert us! We're in Limbo, exiled between life and death! You are our only salvation! Our souls are in torment. Give us release, before this nightmare you see becomes reality -- before our horror devours the world!"

Carik's entry in Mystic Arcana: The Book of Marvel Magic finally revealed what this vision meant:

“ While hospitalized, John had a vision Blade's fellow Nightstalkers lived, but were trapped as components of the revived Dracula ”

Blade sneaks into the hospital in order to take Carik back to the Chiaroscurio for safety. Once back the Chiaroscurio is attacked once again, this time by a pair of vampires calling themselves the Vampz.

When last seen, "Bible John" Carik was still recovering from his wounds inside the Chiaroscurio. Events surrounding his vision were left unrevealed until his entry in Mystic Arcana: The Book of Marvel Magic was released.

The entry states:

“ John's condition worsened until Crossbow, a cyborg Blade who had traveled back in time from an alternate future where John's injuries had proven fatal, secretly provided medical attention. After this John recovered, and in undisclosed circumstances later helped Blade free Drake and King from their captivity, presumably preventing the vision which had drawn him to Blade from coming to pass. ”

Powers and abilities

Apart from the power of precognition, "Bible John" Carik is covered from head to toe in wards and sigils that he has carved into his own flesh which give him protection from supernatural beings. In Blade: The Vampire Hunter #3 (September 1994) Dracula grabbed Carik by the wrist, the wards burned Dracula's hand and he was forced to release Carik.

In other media

Although he never made an appearance in the Blade films or in Blade: The Series, many of John Carik's character traits are visible in the character Abraham Whistler. He was originally intended to appear in Blade: The Series, portrayed by Marc Singer, but this plan was eventually scratched.

References

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