Fr. Nard was a completely new character for me to come up with, while Abendroth has been a villain in my brain from quite a while. There was a previous incarnation of Abendroth that looked a bit younger and less “Goldfinger”, but I like this render a bit more. 

Fr. Nard is an amalgamation of several good professors and monks I have known through the decades. So, I sort of mashed up the characterization visually. Originally, another professor was Joe’s mentor, but I thought it might be neat to tie in Fr. Nard and his religious order, the Thomassans (or the Fraternity of St. Thomas).

His order’s habit is a kind of twist on the Redemptorist habit. The collar is a full white clerical collar, without the signature “notch” that Roman collars have today in the Latin Church (especially among diocesan priests). There is a red line underneath the white “split” suggesting a red tunic underneath the black habit. The habit itself sports a red Greek/Bolnisi style cross. It is symbolic of Thomas’ being able to place his hands in the side and hands of Christ; a mark of the glorified wounds of The Lord. The red at the neck is symbolic of Thomas’ martyrdom (being speared, according to legend). Altogether, it is a completely fabricated religious order and habit design, but it was fun to design! It may have a larger focus in future issues.