The long-running manga series From Eroica with Love by Yasuko Aoike first appeared in 1976 in the Japanese magazine Viva Princess. The series revolves around the adventures of Dorian Red, Earl of Gloria, an openly gay English lord who is an art thief known as "Eroica", and Major Klaus Heinz von dem Eberbach, an uptight West German NATO major.

The Eroica Gang In stealing things, Dorian Red Gloria, Earl of Gloria is aided by his gang of thieves, who also manage his household. These characters are also inspired by the band Led Zeppelin. For the heists the band often uses sleeping gas on the guards. Dorian sometimes lets his gang perform the heists themselves, but sometimes he participates. When told he needn't be there in person for a heist, he replies: "Occasionally, I like to feel the excitement". In Achilles' last stand they go by submarine, in A Thousand Kisses and Love In Greece by Zeppelin. The exact number of thieves is unknown, but in Hallelujah Express Dorian orders 20 tickets for the trip to Rome. They disguise themselves as nuns, from the covenant of Cecilia.

Dorian Red Gloria, Earl of Gloria Dorian Red Gloria, Earl of Gloria, is the protagonist of the series and leader of The Eroica Gang. His custom is to introduce himself using his full name and title: Dorian Red Gloria, the Earl of Gloria. His name is a play on the Oscar Wilde character Dorian Gray, whilst his pseudonym "Eroica" is Italian for "heroic" and the title of several pieces of art and music, among them Beethoven's Eroica Symphony.

Looks: He is blond, with long, curly hair and blue eyes. When Sugar Plum first meets him she compares him to "Apollo with his magnificent locks of gold". His forelock is shaped like a heart. He is tall and slender, but strong. On seeing parts of his body, Leopard Solid seems shocked and thinks "A body better than mine?" According to Bonham, he is the "very embodiment o' pomp". At least once Klaus calls him "Earl Goldilocks". Aoike physically modelled him after Robert Plant of the band Led Zeppelin,Gravett, Paul (2004) Manga: 60 Years of Japanese Comics Harper Design page 90 of which she is a fan.

Sexuality and love interests: A major aspect of Dorian's personality is his flamboyant homosexuality, which is viewed with various degrees of disgust (or admiration) by those around him. By his own statement: "I don't particularly fancy thin men", said to Major Klaus Heinz von dem Eberbach. However, Dorian's first love interest in A Thousand Kisses, Professor Caesar Gabriel, is no less thin than Klaus. Also Dorian surrounds himself with plenty of thin-looking men that he also appears to like. He does say that he and Klaus are "mortal enemies, so to speak", while discussing the major with Maya Bulgakova.

His attraction to Caesar seems instant, as he gives him admiring looks, comments on a shared taste in art and how Caesar is just his type. However, when Caesar and his friends stake out the Tate Gallery in hope of catching Eroica, Dorian's interest seems to peak. "You came here to catch me? What a splendid chap you are. I think I like you all the more". He considers Caesar "A beauty among beauties. No matter what delights I may find in the world, my collection would be incomplete without him". Towards the end of A Thousand Kisses Dorian uses blackmail to get Caesar to kiss him, while Catullus' poem of a thousand kisses is quoted. However, Caesar faints after only a few kisses and Dorian lets him go. In Achilles' Last Stand he even refers to him as a 'comely child' and remarks that he does not appear to have grown any more manly. The trio never appears again after Achilles' Last Stand. Dorian later, instead falls in love with his enemy, Iron Klaus. Unfortunately, when he tells Klaus, he gets punched for it, as Dorian's confession is public.

While often seen in women's clothing, he states that he is not personally inclined to cross-dressing.

Profession: Dorian is a successful art thief, a profession arising from his natural talent for stealing and his passion for beautiful objects. After performing a theft, Dorian leaves behind ransom cards signed with his catchphrase: "From Eroica with love. Good luck." When Klaus first investigates him, he concludes that "he's good – very good". When the Achilles Statue he hunted in Achilles' Last Stand is put in the Musée du Louvre, he's not overly concerned: "I can choose to steal it whenever I fancy". That he is one of the best thieves is further acknowledged in that he is asked to host the Rogues' Gallery, and he claims to be a capable fencer.

Likes and Dislikes: Dorian likes beautiful things. "I'm always searching all over the world for works of beauty to make them mine". The "worth" of something is of less importance to him than how beautiful it is: when a painting he likes is called a fraud he steals it anyway, simply because he still likes it, as he is a well-known art collector.

Personal policy: "Whatever I want, I get". He can break his word, depending on the circumstances, as proven when he promises Maya to help her in exchange for the Buddha, but has no intention of letting her hurt G.

Family: His father is dead. His mother, who abandoned him at the age of 13, is alive, and he has three sisters.

Age: unknown. In the very first scene with him, in London's National Gallery, Sugar Plum compares him to "Cupid in the form of a gorgeous 20-year-old". When Professor Caesar Gabriel profiles the leader of the Eroica gang, he theorizes: "They're led by an intelligent young man, perhaps 22 or 23 years old. Using the name 'Eroica' indicates narcissism, so he's probably very handsome".

Cars: In both A Thousand Kisses and Iron Klaus he is seen in a car identified as a Lamborghini. In Love In Greece he drives a red Maserati. While going to Palmyra he drives a jeep, saying that "Just once I wanted to roar through the desert in a jeep".

Present in titles: A Thousand Kisses Iron Klaus Achilles' Last Stand Love in Greece Dramatic Spring In'shallah Hallelujah Express Alaskan Front

James Member of The Eroica Gang. Miserly and jealous accountant. In the early work, he has a slightly neater, longer appearance than in later work. His greed and strangeness also progress as the series develops. He appears highly jealous of Dorian's love interests, trying to keep them apart.

Towards the end of "A Thousand Kisses", Dorian Red Gloria, Earl of Gloria orders him to shoot Leopard Solid and Sugar Plum. Dorian intends to blackmail Professor Caesar Gabriel with this and Caesar folds - but James goes ahead anyway, trying to kill them, because Caesar cried and "The Earl always ignores me when I cry", and he wants to prove to Dorian that he can do more than "push buttons on a calculator". Nothing similar ever happens again.

Apart from his obsession with Dorian (he buys him new underwear, so he can have his old ones, to wear), James is preoccupied with profit and money. He says about a heist with no monetary compensation that he'd be better off dead and he is always devoted to the god of money. Dorian often exploits James’ weakness for Dorian himself, most often to use his accounting skills. In contrast, he is not always good at judging worth, as he sells one of Klaus's guns for a fifth of its real worth.

Characteristics: He has black hair (in some images leaning more towards dark brown) and his forelock almost always covers one of his eyes.

He disguises himself as Dorian's bedouin wife in Inshallah. An Iranian border guard comments that "she" isn't attractive and that he understands why Dorian would prefer a man (having seen him embrace and kiss Klaus).

Present in titles: A Thousand Kisses Iron Klaus Achilles' Last Stand Love in Greece Dramatic Spring In'shallah Hallelujah Express Alaskan Front Veni, Vidi, Vici

Bonham Member of The Eroica Gang. He gives the impression of the reliable, solid member of the gang, also slightly older than most of them, approaching middle-age.

Hair: Blond with mustache.

Present in titles: Achilles' Last Stand Love in Greece

Beck Member of The Eroica Gang.

Present in titles: A Thousand Kisses

Jonesy Member of The Eroica Gang.

Present in titles: Alaskan Front

NATO

Major Klaus Heinz von dem Eberbach's crew of 26 subordinates are each named after a letter of the alphabet: Agent A, Agent B, Agent G, and Agent Z appear in the series most frequently. Collectively they are known as "The Alphabet". In the very beginning, some Alphabets change appearance, possibly also changing identities. A is in second command, B is generally portrayed as a bumbling clown, G enjoys cross-dressing, and Z, the youngest, is Klaus's favorite. All of Klaus's subordinates live in fear of his ire and his constant threats to reassign them to Alaska: "Anyone who disagrees will find himself posted in Alaska". They work for NATO's intelligence division and are stationed in Bonn.

Major Klaus Heinz von dem Eberbach Major Klaus Heinz von dem Eberbach, a.k.a. "Iron Klaus", is a protagonist who acts as a foil to Dorian Red, Earl of Gloria, and, later, as his love interest. He is a West German intelligence agent serving in NATO. He is nicknamed "Iron Klaus" by enemy characters for his notoriously high number of successful missions and is apparently feared as one of the best intelligence agents NATO has, as confirmed by his boss. In Dramatic Spring he is also referred to as a Neo-Nazi specialist (he considers them an embarrassment to Germany and the free world).

Klaus's missions involve averting international incidents and collecting intelligence and are frequently disrupted by Dorian. Klaus reacts to Dorian's flirting and confessions of love with violence and pronounced homophobia. In the beginning, he even refers to Dorian as his sworn enemy and he threatens Dorian's men when trying to get Dorian to hand him the Achilles statue. Despite this, he is occasionally cordial with Dorian when they have worked together on a mission successfully and he gets him iodine when he is hurt.

Klaus has not been sent to capture Dorian, stating that "Art theft lies outside my jurisdiction – No wonder I didn't really know about him" (though later on he teases Giuliani for not knowing Eroica). He also encourages him to hurry up and steal what he is after, so he can get out of Klaus's life. However, he has no problems using the troops to protect the Eberbach collection when Dorian threatens to steal it, to protect a national treasure.

Name: The "von dem" is part of the last name and should not be omitted, according to German naming rules. Despite this, he is often called just "Major Eberbach" or "Major" in the manga. He is also called "Iron Klaus" - according to his boss this name came from "the other side" (unspecified) and was given to him "out of respect and fear". The Chief on occasion calls him Major "Ramrod". In Inshallah he uses the name Jhabil Rhasa'ail, son of Muhammed. His Agents sometimes calls him "Major It's-A-Mission". He is also sometimes called "The Eternal Major", referring to his not having risen in rank for so long.

Family: His father is alive and his mother is dead. He is of noble family – his Chief mentions "blueblood". Klaus is head of the family, which is related to the German branch of the House of Habsburg.

The Eberbach Collection: The family has a collection of art masterpieces, referred to as "The Eberbach Collection". Dorian thinks that the collection must be among the best in Germany, and Klaus confirms its importance, saying that the Eberbach collection is considered a part of the cultural heritage of Germany and that each and every item is a priceless cultural treasure. One piece is work by "Jakob Zaizeneggar" (Jakob Seisenegger).

Personal policy: "I always accomplish my mission". Dorian also characterizes him as a man who "does what needs to be done".