Andy grew up in Hell’s Kitchen without the privileges that his cousin Archie Buchanan enjoyed. Despite a family row that made their fathers bitter enemies, Andy and Archie were good pals, having reconnected when Archie moved to New Haven during his college years and began visiting New York City.

While Archie liked slumming it with his wild, somewhat criminal cousin, Andy enjoyed visiting museums and seeing how the other half lived. Archie would bring his used textbooks to Andy who would study them on his own, becoming especially learned in art history. As he grew out of the small-time gangs that he ran in his youth, Andy found a way to combine this self-education in the fine arts with skills he learned on the street to make a more than modest income. He had recently grown a little too overconfident and had attempted a “venture” that went very badly, drawing the attention of law enforcement.

When the Buchanan family was contacted about Archie’s death, Andy was sent to claim the body. While he’s never heard of the Wardens before he seems to realize that Archie’s dead was at the hands of something abnormal and has vowed to avenge his favorite cousin.