Marvel Comics is doing something entirely different with its summer event this year with Blood Hunt #1. The event will feature a main book and a polybagged red band edition that contains extra explicit content. That’s right—the red band edition features additional art with more gore and blood!
“The Red Band pages are really interesting to me. They allow me to convey the dark, violent, bloody tone of this particular story, and flex new muscles that I don’t usually get to use in a super hero comic,” Larraz shared back in January. “And, I’m not going to lie, they’re so fun!”
From a sales standpoint, this idea is genius. It will add value for collectors, and folks will likely buy both to get both experiences. But the question is, is it worth it? Having read both editions, I can say your experience may vary.
From a story perspective, the Red Band edition definitely gives a gloomier and scarier vibe. I wouldn’t say you’re missing out per se, but the atmosphere feels scarier with the little touches. As a longtime comics fan it’s also interesting to see how much harder the violence goes, although I wouldn’t say the Red Band edition does anything far more adult that we haven’t seen before.
Thankfully, there are a decent number of changes and additions. This doesn’t feel like a cash grab, so to speak, as there’s enough difference to warrant a polybagged edition, even if it’s a bit of a sales tactic.
Cleverly, Marvel overlaid certain scenes with more blood and gore, so it has the same content but is just much more adult. On top of this, and by my count, there are three brand-new pages, with one of those three swapping out the cliffhanger final page. So, all told, there will be two additional pages, one new page swapping out the final page, and multiple panels with different art.
To give you a sense of what Marvel did with the overlaid pages, the three examples below from the regular edition are identical to the Red Band version save for “adult-only” changes.
In the page below, there’s a severed hand in the vampire’s mouth on the left, and the man on the bottom right has entrails spilling out of him instead of being intact.
Credit: Marvel
On the page below, there are two victims on the floor below the vampires.
Credit: Marvel
In the panel below, the Red Band version has vampires peeking out from the pond that is red with blood.
Credit: Marvel
I won’t spoil the three full-pages, two of which are additions, though they certainly add more of an ominous or hardcore vibe. The Avengers have failed, and it’s really bad out there for folks who aren’t vampires!
Will you be buying the Red Band edition or both? Let us know in the comments.
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