After the events of Blood Hunt, Blade has a lot of baggage to work through. Possessed by Varnae, he led an army of vampires that he barely survived. Attempting to recover his own soul, Blade: Red Band #1 tries to give Blade peace, or at least as much as he can get, before trouble rears its head.
Writer Bryan Hill has a good sense of pace and attitude when writing Blade, which is evident from the first few pages. The story isn’t moving quickly, but to the beat of its own drum. That helps set the identity of the book and keep you invested.
At the start, Blade tries to reset himself while punishing himself for what he has done. His penance is to avoid monster killing and shove his hand into a burning fire. Enough time is spent to show he truly feels strong guilt and anger over what happened, but before long, a monster comes calling.
This monster details a threat involving magic-using vampires. Uninterested in taking up any kind of job, he’s curious and sets out to learn more. Whisked to another nation, Blade is more curious than actively trying to help anyone or solve any problem. That is until his own life is in danger. Hill and artist C.F. Villa remind us how badass Blade is when he responds to a threat in kind.
Blade is going through some stuff.
Credit: Marvel
Hill hasn’t skipped a beat on Blade, written well via captions and dialogue. This is a character who lives with his darkness and does the right thing but isn’t afraid to lop off a few heads if need be.
As a Red Band issue, I was left wanting – the gore really isn’t that heavy. There’s a gruesome-looking dude who has been tortured that’s pushing it, but a few lopped-off heads aren’t necessarily adult-worthy.
That isn’t to say the art is bad — far from it. Villa brings kinetic energy to the fight scenes. Blade moves like a samurai efficiently and quickly, and Villa captures that speed well. Paired with color artist Java Tartaglia, there’s a roughness to the book that suits Blade’s mindset right now.
A little on the slower side, Blade: Red Band is a great start to an adventure in which Blade finds himself after the harrowing Blood Hunt event and takes out some unique vampires. This book recenters Blade, delivering a new adventure longtime fans will feel right at home with.
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