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Creative Teams – VC’s Joe Caramagna(letterer). Greg Land, Frank D’Armata(cover artists). Declan Shalvey(variant cover artist).
“The City That Never Weeps” – Mark Russell(writer). Bob Quinn(artist). Matt Milla(color artist).
“Blood Relations” – Christos Gage(writer). Javier Garrón(artist). Morry Hollowell(color artist)
“Once More Into the Darkness Part I” – Erica Schultz(writer). Bernard Chang(artist). Marcelo Maiolo(color artist).
Published by Marvel Entertainment
Be sure to check out my other reviews here!
“The City That Never Weeps”
The first story of Blood Hunters #1 starts with Hawkeye, who’s on the run due to the events that took place in Black Widow and Hawkeye(you can read the review HERE!). Hawkeye, AKA Clint, is sitting in a diner, minding his own business, thinking no one will recognize him. Although he’s in disguise, the police aren’t tricked by his mustache. They attempt to arrest him, but aren’t able to call for backup since at that exact moment, the world went dark due to the sun being blotted out. The vampire attack has begun and Clint needs the help of the people of New York.
Something I really enjoyed about this story was how lighthearted and humorous Clint was written. While the world is going through such a dark time, he’s still cracking jokes while battling the blood sucking monsters.
“Blood Relations”
The second story of Blood Hunters #1 starts with J. Jonah Jameson about to head out to a dinner reservation with his son, John. They’re on their way when all of the chaos erupts. Citizens are screaming that it’s the end of the world, the vampire apocalypse has started! Fortunately for Jameson, he has a superhero right by his side, his son John. John turns into Man-Wolf to help get his father somewhere safe while fighting the vampires that have turned New York City upside down.
I didn’t know what to think about a J. Jonah Jameson story with him dealing with the vampire catastrophe, but I loved it. I loved how it turned out to be a beautiful father-son moment that brought them closer together. Also, I got a good laugh at J. Jonah Jameson calling Spider-Man on the phone throwing out insults left and right. Good ol’ JJJ.
“Once More Into the Darkness Part I”
The last story of Blood Hunters #1 follows Tandy Bowen, AKA Dagger, into the streets of New York when the vampires attack. Dagger has to fight off these monsters with her psionic light daggers she creates and it proves more than effective. But she realizes she knows these vampires. While some of them were problems before they changed into a blood sucking monster, she recognizes someone she really cared about, which adds complications.
I love seeing Dagger on her own, being the hero she is. She never hesitates to show what an incredible fighter she is and does what’s necessary for the greater good. Also, seeing a fan favorite character showing up in the end to help her was very exciting to see!
The Art
Every bit of this comic book was beautifully illustrated. Hawkeye’s story had a great contrast of the darker background with the brightly colored characters. I feel the bright colors worked really well with Clint’s humor through all of the dark attacks. J. Jonah Jameson’s story had such incredible detail throughout every panel, especially every scene with Man-Wolf. With Dagger’s story, I loved the golden light that peered through each scene. My favorite panel was a close up of Dagger’s eyes where you could see the reflection of the vampire attacking her.
The Writing
Something I love about each one of these stories is that it shows the beginning of the Blood Hunt event through their perspective. While they all are seeing it differently, it still does a great job showing they’re all apart of a bigger story. There’s so much action expertly written into each story, there’s also a lot of heart in each of the chapters of Blood Hunters #1, which I love. The writers have done such an incredible job on the varying tones of each story.
Final Thoughts
This was such a strong start to this run, and I truly can’t wait to see what’s next. Everything I’ve read from the Blood Hunt event has been fabulous and this is no different. Creating so much chaos but still having the emotional depth isn’t easy but the creative team pulls it off with flying colors.
I give this a 10 out of 10
This article was written by me, Megan! If you liked my review, be sure to check out my other reviews! Let me know what you think of Blood Hunters #1, or tell me what comics you’d recommend me trying out! Find me on my socials, and check out my Marvel podcast, Vigilante Vibes, by clicking here!
