Marvel’s monstrous Blood Hunt event was one of the most anticipated crossovers of 2024, and the violent, vicious, Varnae-filled comic did not disappoint, delivering absolutely gorgeous artwork from Pepe Larraz and a compelling tale of terror and control by Jed MacKay. The Blood Hunt trade paperback neatly collects all five of the main issues of the event, plus some select pages from Free Comic Book Day: Blood Hunt/X-Men, giving new and returning readers a short comic that packs a major punch.
The Blood Hunt trade is not the Red Band edition, meaning it does not include the extra gory, body horror illustrations the talented Pepe Larraz created for the series, but don’t worry, the standard comic is plenty bloody in its own right. The actual entire Blood Hunt even comprised over 50 different issues, ranging from incredible one-shots like Psylocke’s to limited series like Union Jack the Ripper – Blood Hunt. These various tie-in comics give a detailed view of how the Blood Hunt is impacting a variety of Marvel heroes and villains, and while the Blood Hunt trade will give the reader the main hits of the event, it certainly does not paint the full picture of how horrifying Varnae’s assault on Earth really was.
Marvel Comics
Blood Hunt follows the Avengers, the Midnight Mission, Doctor Strange, Bloodline and more as the heroes fight against a possessed Blade and his crew of superpowered vampires. Casting the Earth in complete darkness by manipulating Darkforce users, the world is now overrun by vampires, with more and more innocents dying every second. It is a truly brutal story that shows several key Avengers defeated, Doctor Strange turned into a vampire, and the heroic Blade acting as a violent supervillain.
The plot to Blood Hunt definitely got a bit convoluted as time went on, becoming especially confusing if you weren’t reading tie-in comics like Black Panther or Moon Knight, but MacKay’s writing is always on point, and Larraz’s art is incomparable. I… I just feel like I should talk more about Larraz’s illustrations for the series, starting with his designs for the Blood Coven vampires, whose design pages can be seen at the back of the trade and are so creative, bold, and downright fun. Moving on to the story itself, Larraz’s ability to communicate emotion on faces, movement in fight scenes, and vampiric violence pairs perfectly with Marte Garcia’s vibrant and expressive coloring, making every issue a true joy to read again and again.
Marvel Comics
Not all Marvel trade paperbacks are created equally, and I happen to think Blood Hunt is one of their better trades. The comic keeps the unique design of the Blood Hunt event, and I really love the first image on the first page, of “Blade” and his coven preparing for war. The back of the trade includes both full page and quarter page variant covers – including a full page Peach Momoko variant and her other gorgeous covers, as well as Gabrielle Dell’Otto’s epic wraparound cover – which always is a nice addition so readers can appreciate the different artists interpretations of the event.
The entire Blood Hunt event, as I mentioned above, is massive, and a major undertaking for new fans who want to get updated on the current status quo of the Marvel Universe. In this way, the Blood Hunt trade paperback is the perfect collection, because it hits all the major beats of the event and delivers the lasting consequences to fans, namely Miles Morales being stuck as a vampire, Doctor Doom becoming the new Sorcerer Supreme, and vampires becoming immune to the sun. The most important, Doom’s new status as Sorcerer Supreme, directly sets up Marvel’s biggest event of 2025, “One World Under Doom,” which will see Victor von Doom finally achieving his goal of controlling all of Earth.
Blood Hunt is a triumph for Pepe Larraz, whose art alone is good enough reason to pick up this trade. MacKay’s story, while confusing at times, is an incredibly fun read for those who like a touch of horror, devastation, and high stakes in their comics.
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