Source: Marvel Comics
Anita is very picky when it comes to friends and even pickier when it comes to lovers. If you make it past her defenses and become a friend or lover count yourself lucky. Anita makes a fierce and loyal friend and God help anyone who hurts you. She’ll run them down with a smile. Spoiler alert- I talk about story lines I have not yet covered in my book reviews.
Larry (Lawrence) Kirkland- He is a five foot four in ginger (which makes him taller than Anita) and Anita think of him as Howdy Doody. He joined Animators Inc. at 20 wanting Anita to show him how to hunt vampires. This idea was extremely distasteful to her but she went ahead anyway. Larry is a powerful animator in his own right and may possibly be a necromancer. He is also the first person who is FBI as well as a federal marshal. Larry is married to Tammy Reynolds of the RPIT aka: the spook squad. (For those of you who don’t know it is the branch of cops that deals with the supernatural.) She is a Christian witch (please excuse me while I die of laughter) and she and Anita don’t always see eye to eye but she knows spells very well.
Manny (Manuel) Rodriguez- He is Anita’s mentor, trainer and friend. He looks at her almost as his own daughter. He is an older Mexican man who is now retired from vampire hunting. Not only did Manny teach Anita how to raise the dead on purpose, he also taught her to hunt vampires. The reason Manny is retired from vampire hunting is because his last hunt nearly killed. His wife begged Anita to longer take Manny hunting as he has a wife and kids to provide for.
Sgt. Dolph Storr- At six foot eight inches and built like a brick shithouse, Dolph is the imposing head of the RPIT team. He is extremely by the book down to his look. He wears a high and tight and is always impeccably dressed, even when it’s the crack of dawn at a crime scene. Early in the series Dolph is a mentor and friend to Anita. Unfortunately through the series, as Anita becomes closer to the “monsters”, she and Dolph drift apart and he becomes very angry with her. The anger comes to a head when Dolph’s son is dating a girl from the Church of Eternal Life. Dolph manhandles Anita and tries to have Jason thrown in a lockdown facility for the newly infected because he is a werewolf. He is put on leave and must attend anger management classes. When Dolph comes back Anita and Dolph are unsure where their friendship is.
Sgt. Zerbrowski is a messy lewd, rumpled, smart-assed sweetheart. He is always giving Anita a hard time. Still he always has her back. Behind his comments and wisecracks is a shrewd investigator with a razor sharp mind that doesn’t miss a thing. Anita is still baffled how he got his wife Katie to marry him as is everyone else.
Jason Schuyler- I mentioned in my article “Anita’s Men”. I reiterate Jason here because he is more of a friend than a lover. He has stood up for her within the pack even as far as his Ulfric is concerned and has been punished heavily for it. He has been a willing Pomme de sang (apple of blood) for Jean-Claude for years. He has on occasion, sometimes regularly and sometimes only in emergencies, been food for Anita’s Arduer. He is not a constant on Anita’s menu mainly because he is a friend, one of Anita’s very best friends. He can tell her truths and not get his head bit off for it.
Ronnie Sims- This article would not be complete without mentioning Ronnie (Veronica) Sims. Anita and Ronnie were best friends and Ronnie being a P.I. was great because they could both talk about their work and share the gory details but also could hold back and the other would understand. Ronnie started dating Louis and things were going great until marriage was brought up. Then Nathanial stepped into Anita’s life and jealousy became a monster in Ronnie causing the friendship to collapse.
Sylvie Barker- She is Richard’s Geri or second in command. She and Anita are friends. She is a lesbian but not interested in Anita in that way. Sylvie is a very powerful alpha and is one of the few in Richard’s pack that can partially shape shift. She has a collection of bones that are from her enemies that she takes out for comfort every now and then.
Claudia- She is a wererat and Anita’s bodyguard but I think of Anita and Claudia as friends though. They always have each other’s back and share knowing looks that only female friends can share. Claudia is around six foot six inches and is very muscular. She is super intimidating. She is beautiful even without makeup. Beautiful or not, she can make grown men back down quickly.
Rafael- He is the Rat King of the Dark Crown Clan and Anita’s friend. They met when Anita was being held underground before meeting Nikolaos. Anita ultimately killed Nikolaos freeing the wererats from her call. He is the classic tall, dark and handsome man with bonus sensual lips. Rafael’s rats make up the bodyguard force that Jean-Claude and Anita have. More recently Rafael has offered himself up as Anita’s Pomme de sang in an effort to gain the protection that comes from that alliance.
Last but certainly not least, Edward- Edward’s true name and origins are largely a mystery. His alter ego is Theodore “Ted” Forrester. He is a legally registered bounty-hunter, U.S. Marshall and vampire hunter. He kills supernatural creatures as opposed to humans because humans are in his words “too easy”. He is blonde with icy blue eyes that lose color when he goes into “killer” mode. He is known as Death in the preternatural community. He is currently engaged to a woman named Donna Parnell who has two children from her late husband, Peter (who Edward has taken under his wing and considers his son) and Becca. Anita and Edward have never been attracted to each other and Anita was probably Edward’s first friend. Though I must say their friendship began very, very carefully. For a long time, Edward wondered who would win if he and Anita ever had to fight each other for survival. Ultimately he has her back and she has his. They have gone through Hell and back together and come broken and scarred but their bond has become stronger for it. They even managed to kill Marmee Noir together, the Mother of All Darkness who is darkness itself and the beginning of the vampire and lycanthrope lines, who was after Anita. Anita disapproves of Donna and the kids but stays out of it as much as possible. Anita mainly disapproves because of the possible danger to Donna and the kids. Peter has already survived the world Anita and Edward live in but she would prefer see Peter try to live a normal life rather than the life they live but understands both Peter’s and Edward’s view and need to train the young man.
Did I miss any of Anita’s friends? Do you have a favorite friend? Let me know in the comments below.
