7 Real-Life New Orleans Landmarks That Make Cameos in the “Bloodthirsty” Graphic Novel

Art Imitates Life...

1. The Crescent City Connection Bridge

Made famous in real life by a standoff with police on the Gretna side – who wouldn’t allow starving New Orleans evacuees to cross in the aftermath of Katrina – the bridge makes not one but two appearances in the comic.

2. Louis Armstrong Airport

Having served as an official evacuee drop-off site during the Task Force Katrina rescue effort, the airport serves the same function in the Katrina-based prologue of the comic.

3. St. Joseph’s Catholic Church

While it’s unclear whether the comic’s creators used St. Joseph’s as a direct model for the church-turned-nightclub/brothel in the comic, one has to admit the Rising Sun Cabaret does bear a striking resemblance to the real-life Catholic church on Tulane Street.

4. “Old” Charity Hospital

Chris Granger

The gorgeous Art Deco hospital suffered significant-enough damage during Hurricane Katrina to close its doors temporarily. But while experts have deemed the building structurally sound, it has never re-opened as a hospital – except in fictional stories like the “Bloodthirsty.”

5. The Greyhound Bus Station

OK, so this one is a cheat. The photo on the left is actually a bus station in Jackson, Mississippi. But it does bear a striking resemblance to the fictitious New Orleans “Gazelle” bus station in the comic.

6. The Superdome

Who could depict a New Orleans story in pictures without the iconic Superdome? While the comic’s creators chose to re-name the structure the “Wolfinger Dome” for obvious narrative and thematic reasons, it is clearly meant to evoke the same arena… although the word “Superdome” never actually appears in any of the comic’s five issues.

7. St. Louis Cathedral

Although the church’s website claims it is the oldest cathedral in North America, having opened its doors in 1720, there have actually been three different buildings on the site since the construction of the original church in 1718. The comic’s hero, Virgil LaFleur, is depicted standing watch over his city with the cathedral in the background by artist Georges Jeanty on the comic’s final page. Spoiler alert?