Blade is awesome. It doesn’t matter whether you’ve been reading the character since his first appearance in Tomb of Dracula #10 or are only familiar with him through Wesley Snipes’ movies – the idea of a guy in a black trench coat and shades wielding a sword and fighting vampires just screams “awesome”. Yet despite this, the vampire hunter hasn’t really been able to hold down a series. Yes, he’s had stints with the Midnight Suns and Avengers, and shown up in other supernatural stories, but no one has cracked the code on how to do a Blade series. Enter the creative team of Bryan Hill, Elena Casagrande, Jordie Bellaire, and VC’s Joe Sabino. With Blade #1, they intend to take Blade in a whole new direction.
The issue starts like you’d expect a Blade comic would start, as the title character swoops in and lays waste to an entire herd of vampires. He’s been contracted to find Dana Smith, a girl who’s found herself in supernatural trouble. It turns out that Dana may be the key to a supernatural apocalypse…and very soon, Blade finds himself in way over his head. It was about halfway through the issue that I realized, “This is unlike any other Blade story I’ve ever read.” Which is great.
Hill’s strength as a writer lies in taking characters you’ve never known and turning them in new directions. Batman and the Outsiders had the Dark Knight forming his own team, but in a first he took a hands-off direction and let them become their own unit. In the same vein, this book doesn’t have Blade just fighting vampires. There’s the introduction of a “Werewolf Nation” (which I desperately need to know more about), a mysterious man in red with a flaming sword (yes, really), and a creature called the “Mother of Evil” who more than lives up to their name. Hill is looking to dive into the deeper, darker corners of the Marvel Universe, which has worked wonders for books like Jed MacKay’s run on Moon Knight and Philip Kennedy Johnson’s Incredible Hulk.
It helps that Hill is joined by Casagrande, who delivers a bloody yet beautiful book. I’m not kidding about the “bloody” part – swords are jammed into heads, limbs are separated from bodies, and there is a singularly disturbing panel that will haunt your nightmares. This book more than earns its “Parental Advisory” – but it’s definitely not all mindless violence. Casagrande choreographs the violence with an almost balletic ease, showing grace to Blade’s movements as he wields his swords with deadly force. She even updates his outfit, giving him a sleeker black coat and twin katanas that feel stylish as well as practical.
Finally, Bellaire drenches the book in dark, alluring hues that highlight the dangers of the world Blade walks in. Take the opening sequence, for example: it’s all vibrant purples and oranges that hide the nature of the vampires that are hunting Dana. When Blade bursts onto the scene, it immediately changes into a cold blue – the only thing that stands out is the Daywalker himself, who turns into a blur of black and silver as he dispatches his fanged prey. It even seeps into Sabino’s lettering, with the sound effects taking on a life of their own. A monster roaring comes out jagged and blood red; a car crashing through a window sends out a jolt of bluish-white impact.
Blade #1 is the jolt of life the Daywalker needed. It firmly breaks him out of the “vampire hunting” box and sets him on a bloody new mission. With this title as well as Bloodline: Daughter of Blade, it’s looking like Eric Brooks may finally get the same recognition in comics that he has in other media. To which I say: it’s about damn time.
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