Blood Journal Week #1: Amazing Spider-Man #49, Blood Hunters #1, Dracula: Blood Hunt #1, Strange Academy: Blood Hunt #1

The skies have gone dark, the sun hiding its face from the carnage to come. The children of the night, the vampires, have risen from the dark and hidden places of the world as one to drown the Marvel Universe in blood.

After months of building the Blood Hunt begins as the Marvel Universe runs red and things will never be the same in the first in a new anthology series that explores how the shattering events of BLOOD HUNT cover the breadth of the Marvel Universe!

Comic Watch Blood Hunt Reviews:

Main Series:

• Blood Hunt #1: Pleased To Meet You, Hope You Guess My Name…

Blood Journal:

• Week 1: 

Tie-ins:

• Vengeance of the Moon Knight #5: Asking 8-Ball

The Amazing Spider-Man #49: Legendary Bloody Beast of Arrrghhh

Spider-Man leaps into the fray of Blood Hunt with a story of bites and bunnies, as Peter is forced to help handle a vampire-turned-White Rabbit. The issue, written by Zeb Wells with pencils by John Romita Jr., inks from Scott Hanna, colors by Marcio Menyz, and lettering by VC’s Joe Caramagna, offers a surprisingly poignant, human story about the emotional and moral fallout of being turned into a vampire. Peter Parker tries to comfort a simple shop owner spiraling over his recent vampire affliction during his mission to rescue the wannabe villain. The premise feels more in line with the expectations of a Wells Spider-Man script, taking a mix of humor and heartstring-pulling to its natural conclusion in a darker, more real-twinged world. 

Romita’s art is an excellent choice for the story, depicting both action and emotion with a deft hand that sells the intimate moment between hero and civilian. There’s a simplicity of the artwork that elevates the work, reminding readers about the edge that made Romita such a relevant name in street-level comics. Hanna’s inks and Menyz’s coloring underline that plainly stated art direction, living in muted palettes and restrained lines. Working in perfect alchemy, the artwork matches grounded character work with the more horror-twinged fantastical elements. It’s a great installment that proves there is something interesting lurking in between the pages of the larger Amazing Spider-Man story. 

7.5/10

Blood Hunters #1: Where the Blood Splatters

Blood Hunters, the first full original tie-in title of Blood Hunt offers three standalone stories of heroes reacting to the invading vampires. In the first section, Hawkeye finds himself leading a team of normal people like a priest and puppet therapist, all while rocking a (good) bad pornstache. The second story offers a Jameson father/son bonding day as Jonah and his son, aka Man-Wolf, try to fight their way through the city while vampires rain down hell. Finally, Dagger starts her search for Cloak after he is detonated along with the other Darkforce users in Blood Hunt #1. All three stories feature lettering from VC’s Joe Caramagna, uniting them beyond just their vampire/hero showdowns. 

Hawkeye’s tale, written by Mark Russell with art by Bob Quinn, and colors by Matt Milla, is a fun, humor-bent tale of the community taking care of one another, as Hawkeye finds himself in a typical everyman role. The artwork offers a snappy, springy quality that allows the pace to move while playing up the comedic facial expressions and bad facial hair. That comedic quality offers a bridge into the next story starring the Jamesons, which is written by Christos Gage with art by Javier Garrón, and coloring from Morrey Hallowell. The bickering dynamic between the two Jameson men is an excellent diversion from the festering conflict, rendered with deft, exaggerated detail in Garrón’s linework. The action is stiff in places, constrained by the lack of page real estate, but not to the point that it distracts. 

Finally, Dagger’s story, which will run through the miniseries, features scripting by Erica Schultz with art by Bernard Chang, and coloring by Marcelo Maiolo, is a more seriously focused tale of searching and guilt. The script mines drama from Dagger’s natural opposition to the vampires, as a member of her local community is turned and attacks her. Chang depicts that tension with a focus on facial expressions and tortured glances, selling the emotional core. The last page reveal is enough to bump the issue’s grade a point up, promising a spectacular addition to the event. 

8/10

Dracula: Blood Hunt #1: Hate is Thicker than Blood

After the shocking cliffhanger of the first Blood Hunt issue, a focus is placed on Dracula, who recently spent his time training Blade and Brielle Brooks aka Bloodline, the daughter of Blade. The three-part miniseries, written by Danny Lore with art from Vincenzo Carratù, coloring by David Curiel, and lettering from VC’s Joe Sabino, focuses on the unlikely partnership between the teen and the immortal foe. Dracula continues to be on the hunt for threats to his empire while Bloodline gets a massive power upgrade due to the blocked-out sun. 

Lore’s script is tight and economical, building on the previous continuity of the last few vampire/Blade adjacent series and one-shots. It’s easy to situate into the story as the dual protagonists offer the perfect blend of rich history and new potential. Carratù’s artwork is a great fit for that development, syncing the human elements with the kinetic action centered around armored Dracula battling bland vampires. The issue’s splash pages are engrossing bits of bombastic action that propel the book forward. Curiel’s coloring explores interesting palettes as darkness overtakes everything, offering plenty of enthralling colors even as the primary world’s light source is extinguished. Dracula: Blood Hunt #1 is the perfect type of tie-in into the fun, pulpy summer fun promised by the premise of Blood Hunt. 

8/10

Strange Academy: Blood Hunt #1: Bleeding Continuity Dry

The Strange Academy, Marvel’s premiere magical school gets drawn into the ongoing vampire conflict thanks to a three-section story. Centered on a new student to the academy, the three stories all feature scripting by Daniel José Older with art from Luigi Zagaria, Eric Gapstur & Scott Hanna, coloring by Edgar Delgado and Erick Arciniega, and lettering by VC’s Clayton Cowles. The first story of the issue features the students taking a vampire tour in New Orleans that leads to a battle with the nightstalkers. The second offers an origin story for a new antagonist, a sentient embodiment of the Darkhold that views young Agatha Harkness as a mother. The final story hints at the backstory of Pia and her vampiric connections. 

Jumping into Strange Academy is a tricky experiment, as the book relies on a series of shorter runs and various tie-in minis for its ongoing story. Little is done to make the story accessible, leaning further on the side of existing readers versus welcoming new readers joining thanks to the tie-in bump. While it’s a representation of the larger issues in comic book publishing, it does result in a fractured, skipping pace that ensures full immersion in the story is impossible. The flow between artwork is fine but blends in a way that feels evident. Either bringing a more stylized shift between stories or unifying under a singular artist would have made for a more cohesive reading experience. 

5/10\

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Stay tuned as Comic Watch documents the event that is causing the Marvel Universe to run red…