Origin
Josephine seems to have been alive for much longer than her looks would indicate. We are not yet sure of the source of this “eternal youth”, but it does seem to be connected with the occult. Many details of her beginnings have not yet been revealed.
Creation
Josephine was created by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips for the series, Fatale, published by Image. Brubaker said in a recent interview that “the femme fatale is just used as a plot device — she’s never a fully-developed character. I really wanted to do something that sort of did that, where she was a fully-fleshed character who you actually root for. Normally you don’t root for the femme fatale — she’s the bad guy, I wanted to make her the sympathetic lead, to some degree.”
Character Evolution
We have seen Josephine act as both a villain and a hero in her story so far. Although it appears that she does care for those she loves, she has shown that she is willing to sacrifice a great deal in order to survive.
Major Story Arcs
Death Chases Me
Fatale starts off with a funeral. Josephine meets the heir to Dominic Hank Raines‘ estate, Nicolas Lash. Later she arrives at his mansion just in time to save him from a mysterious killer. During their escape Nicolas is injured and Josephine leaves in a hospital to recover. Then we are taken back to the 50s where we see Josephine’s first meeting with reporter Hank Raines. Together they plan to take down Josephine’s crooked cop boyfriend, Walter Booker. Meanwhile Walter makes a deal with Mr. Bishop for a cure for his cancer in exchange for Josephine. Mr. Bishop, as part of the deal, murder’s Hank’s wife and unborn child in order to take some heat off of Walter. When in comes time to turn Josephine over to Bishop, Walter ultimately cannot betray the woman he loves. Josephine escapes with Hank and Walter goes down fighting.
The Devil’s Business
In 1970s Los Angeles, Josephine can’t hide from the forces of Hollywood, Satanic Cults and creepy 8mm films collected by wealthy deviants. And when a struggling actor and his wounded friend cross her path, all hell will break loose, leaving ripples that echo all the way to modern time, where Nicolas Lash falls deeper into Josephine’s spell.