Ishmael

Ishmael, better known as Ish, is a main character in Black Blood. He is the former leader and founder of a thriving community in the Pittsburgh sewers. After the Infected invaded the community, Ish led what few survivors remained out into the wild and began searching for a safe-zone.

Pre-Black Blood
It is unknown what Ish did for a living before the outbreak. It is most likely that he was a commercial fisherman, as evidenced by his ownership of a good-sized trawler.

Ish was initially out to sea for several months after the initial outbreak before being forced to go ashore near a Pittsburgh sewer entrance. He took up residence inside, eventually constructing his own safehouse. In need of supplies, he searched the nearby suburbs, where he encountered a family: Susan, Kyle and their children, who - much to his surprise - did not shoot him on sight. They traded supplies with each other before Ish returned to his hideout. Ish, lonely and realizing that there was no point in surviving alone, then went back to the family to offer them refuge in the sewers. The group obliged, and the safehouse eventually became a thriving community. They had a school, makeshift beds, shower stalls, and even rain catchers. Ish met a man called Danny, decided the two should become the protectors of the community, salvaging armor, assault rifles and sawed off shotguns from dead soldiers. A child within the settlement later depicted the pair together in their gear in a drawing.

2031
Three years later, Ish is still leader of the group and is leading them north.