Marvel’s Blood Hunt crossover is more than halfway over now and heading toward its final issue. Once again, the Smash Pages team — myself, Shane Bailey and Tom Bondurant — has come together to talk about the event, with our third “Bloodhunting” roundtable. You can read our thoughts on the first issue here and the second one here.
In this edition, we talk about Blood Hunt #3 and #4, as well as crossover issues featuring Doctor Strange, Doctor Doom, Moon Knight and more. Please note there are un-polybagged SPOILERS in this discussion related to the story, so only enter if you dare — or if you’ve just been freed from an Asgardian prison, and need to catch up on things quickly.
JK: We are now halfway through Blood Hunt — well, more than halfway through, to get technical, but let’s start with the midpoint of the main miniseries, Blood Hunt #3. After two issues of action and chaos and big reveals and big cliffhangers, we get an issue with a slower pace. First, last issue’s big reveal — watch out, Miles is a vampire! — is easily dealt with by the resident magic users. Then everyone divides up into teams, forms a semblance of a plan (without a lot of detail, really) and we hear an inspirational speech by Captain America. Then BAM! Another big ending where Blade drops a building into NYC. What did you all think?
Tom: It feels like it’s getting a little shaggy. Vampires are one of those bad-guy categories that are scary enough, but not too much of a challenge. Blood Hunt raises the sta– uh, ups the ante by blotting out the Sun and turning some heroes bad. That’s fine; vampires in bulk is an appropriate escalation. But again, I feel like vampires are enough of a known quantity in the Marvel U that you practically have to run through the anti-vamp checklist before you can tell your story. I think we’re at that point in the story, so what’s left? How about a literal blunt instrument?
Blood Hunt and its tie-ins are done well, but I feel like the subplots (Morbius, Vampire Strange, the general vampire carnage) are starting to obscure the main plot.
Shane: From those I’ve read I would agree with that. I feel like a lot of the tie-ins feel like stories that just take part in the premise but aren’t that important to the characters being covered. Like you said, they are good stories and done well, but they don’t feel important to either the characters, the Marvel universe, or the main story. It’s just an aside. I feel the X-Men tie-ins were especially unnecessary and just a reason to have some X-Men books between the fall and the rise of the next x-thing.
I’m enjoying the main series, but I feel like we’re going to have to have some big developments soon to keep my interest.
Out of the tie-ins, I think I’ve enjoyed Blood Hunters the most, with the Hawkeye story being the most interesting to me, actually introducing some new vampire characters. I don’t think I could name more than three or four named vampires in the marvel universe so that is nice.
JK: Issue #3 was a weird one for me. First, you have Miles Morales, now a vampire, appearing on the cover no less, but that whole plotline was easily dispatched and didn’t really amount to much here. I’m also not sure what the point of Sam Wilson’s big speech was … I guess it’s a nice speech, but did it impact the story in one way or another? Did humans suddenly find the will to rise up and fight, a la Bill Pullman in Independence Day? If so, I don’t feel like we saw that follow-up, and they spent a whole lot of pages on it for it to just kind of … be there.
Combined with that, you have our heroes going off to do something, but what? What’s the big plan here? And why did we all come together only to split off again? A problem a lot of crossover events run into is that the main book can feel more like an outline and try to tie in everything going on in other books, at the expense of its own coherent (and interesting) story. Issue #3 felt to me like that’s what was happening, but then we didn’t really get much follow-up in any of the crossover books, with the exception of the Miles/Bloodline story. Even the latest issue of Doctor Strange was about Wong and Victor Strange, rather than Stephen and Clea. That should be a strength — I’m fine with Union Jack and Steve Rogers’ Avengers team and everyone else out there doing their thing in the dark, vampire-infested world and staying out of the main characters’ business; y’know, let the main story breath a little on its own — but issue #3 just fell flat for me.
Shane: Yeah and Miles’ book was more of a flashback, too, if I remember right. The main book felt like padded story for sure, which is funny considering I said I wished they would have taken MORE time to show things in the first issue.
JK: But that’s issue #3, and I felt the issues I had with #3 weren’t issues with #4. So let’s jump to it now, where things take a turn, both in terms of plot and also with pacing. What did you think?
Shane: Like you said I thought it really picked up this issue which is good since it’s the penultimate issue, right? Lots of reveals that go all the way back to some deep deep Marvel history.
We learn that we were right, obviously, and that is not Blade that put all this in motion, but the first vampire, which it just so happens, I saw a mention of in X-Men: Curse of the Mutants, during my X-Men Utopia reread!
Tom: I thought the issue was effective at reintroducing Varnae, the ur-vampire who is basically a big bat-monster. (Funny that DC’s Metal events used Barbatos as an avatar of evil, but also the subtle inspiration for its most popular character….) That said, I first learned about “Varney the Vampire” from a kids’ guide to classic monsters. He was maybe the first pop-culture vampire, appearing in a penny-dreadful series in 1847. Dracula came along 50 years later, in 1897. [Fun fact: the Wikipedia article on Varney cites a HuffPo explainer by our friend Brian Cronin!] So for me, when I see Varnae, I hear Roy Thomas, telling us through old issues of Doctor Strange, that he read some vampire history books. Blunts the fear factor a little, but not too much.
(checks Marvel wiki) I’ll get back to the issue in a second, but I need to correct myself in real time: Varnae first appeared in a Marvel comic in December 1982’s Bizarre Adventures #33, in a story written by Stephen Perry and drawn by Steve Bissette and John Totleben (!!). Thus, while my first brush with Earth-616 Varnae was in Doctor Strange, he wasn’t brought into the Marvel U by Roy Thomas after all.
JK: Roy Thomas might prefer you credit him with Varnae’s creation, Tom. (laughs)
Tom: Ha! I didn’t realize I had waded into the whole Roy Thomas credits controversy, but hey — I go where the research leads.
Anyway! The Moon Knight reveals seemed like rah-rah moments, but because I don’t read Moon Knight (and am not really clear on a lot of MK details), they landed kind of softly for me. I did appreciate the return of the sun (or a reasonable facsimile) and the Avengers’ last-page arrival, of course.
I did like the Moon Knight/Tigra banter, and Doctor Doom’s interaction with Doctor Strange and Clea rung very true as well. Overall, a satisfying issue that should set up a big finale.
Shane: Tigra has been great in Moon Knight. I’m behind a bit, but that book is really worth reading. I’m currently catching up on Marvel Unlimited. Doctor Strange and Clea have been great in Doctor Strange, too. Overall Jed McKay is killing it in most of his books, I would say, despite the little slump last issue, this series too.
I find myself really liking the personal moments in between the big action moments more as I get older and there’s a lot of nice character interactions in those books.
JK: I remember Varnae from those Doctor Strange issues as well, Tom — a few years before, Doctor Strange had managed to use to Montesi Formula to kill all the vampires in the Marvel universe, only to have Marie Laveau bring Varnae back and he eventually reversed the spell. Laveau’s granddaughter is now a student at the Strange Academy, who we saw in Latveria this issue, ready to help out Doctor Doom with whatever he has planned (which I’m looking forward to seeing next issue).
That sequence with Doom, Clea and Strange in issue #4 was probably my favorite, and there’s a also a good Doom story in Blood Hunters #3 that I wanted to call out. It’s by Sean McKeever and Lan Medina, and it’s about the lengths Doom will go to to protect his citizens. (That issue also has a Hellcow story in it that’s a lot of fun, so there’s two reasons to check it out).
But yes, I agree that Blood Hunt #4 issue was a nice shift from the third issue, and any worries I had that it might be getting off track were subsided. I’ve been a big fan of Mackay’s work on Moon Knight and I’m not sure why I didn’t have “Moon Knight will be resurrected” on my Blood Hunt Bingo card, but in retrospect maybe it should have been the free space? And if “Doctor Doom becomes sorcerer supreme” fills a spot, I’m all for it.
A few things I wanted to get your take on:
- I think Pepe Larraz’s artwork has been amazing in this. He’s kept it extra-creepy with the darkness engulfing everything, and I particularly enjoyed two pages in this issue: the reveal of the Wrecker, who just looked so smug in that shot of him, like “Hey, I’ve been waiting my whole career to screw with Asgard, so here we go” and then the page where we see Moon Knight for the first time.
- Moon Knight, Fist of Khonshu #0 … which I thought would have a deeper tie to Blood Hunt, but really, it’s not much of a tie-in. Did anyone else pick it up?
- Finally, I don’t think we’ve talked about the whole “Red Band Edition” thing. I haven’t gotten the exra-bloody polybagged issues, and I actually went looking for the first issue but couldn’t find it at any local stores. Has anyone else had the opportunity to read one? With both Blade and Werewolf by Night set to appear in “Red Band” titles this fall, this seems to be Marvel’s new approach to adult material, and I wondered what you thought about that.
Shane: Pepe Larraz can do no wrong in my eyes so I’m always impressed with his work. This book is no exception. I’ve really enjoyed his designs and I did want to point out, his architecture especially. The temple looks amazing.
I’m a lowly digital boy so I didn’t pick up the Moon Knight Zero issue or the Extra Gore Editions. [laughs]
JK: Good callout on the architecture … I was just looking at the Asgardian vault where Khonshu was imprisoned, and was thinking the same thing.
Shane: Pepe is wonderful. He designed a lot of Krakoa and the Treehouse as well.
I’ve been reading Moon Knight on Marvel Unlimited so I’m a bit behind there.
JK: The zero issue is now available digitally.
Shane: Oh nice! I’ll have to pick it up.
JK: It reads like an intro/overview to Mackay’s run on Moon Knight, more than anything, so I’m not sure if it’s essential reading. It does look really nice, though, as it’s all full-page artwork by Alessandro Cappuccio.
Shane: I’ve really enjoyed what I’ve read of Moon Knight and all of McKay’s books. He’s teamed with some amazing artists. All in all, I’ve been impressed with this whole “line” involved in the vampire story. As long as it wraps up well next issue I’m pretty confident everyone should take a bow.
I like the length of Blood Hunt too and hope Marvel continues to create events like this one that doesn’t feel so sprawling, but with actual consequences in the main books.
Tom: Agreed on all counts about Pepe Larraz. I think it helps if an event book hews close to “house style,” because (at least subconsciously) you’ve got to convince the reader that all these folks share a world. Larraz’s work checks that box, but it’s also nice and creepy.
If by “had an opportunity” to pick up a Red Band book you mean “saw it on the shelf,” then yes, I have seen Red Band issues. Haven’t gotten one, though. Like Shane [or whomever mentioned it earlier], I remember the Team Titans “alternate content” gimmick, and I don’t need more gore in my cape comics. This has been plenty scary already.
Speaking of Doctor Strange, issue #17 of his book wrapped up the subplot about his vampified body. I didn’t hate that subplot, but it didn’t really make much of a difference. Oh no, Doctor Strange has been bitten! Oh well, his astral form is fine and can take fun trips to Latveria. It was like when the Vision’s body got destroyed back in the Busiek/Perez days, and he just spent a few issues wandering around Avengers Mansion as a hologram. I guess this sidelined Strange and Clea for a while, and they were the ones who could probably have helped the most, so whatever.
Anyway, the issue itself was pretty good, involving Bats the dog, Baron Mordo, and the god of all dogs (nobody tell Neil Gaiman). It was an entertaining combination, between Bats’ loyalty and Mordo’s grumpy motivation that only he gets to kill Stephen Strange. The cliffhanger happens in Blood Hunt #4, of course, because it involves whether Doom is going to be Sorcerer Supreme. And again, this may be a distinction that doesn’t make much of a difference. Loki’s been Sorcerer Supreme, Clea’s been Sorcerer Supreme, Brother Voodoo has been Sorcerer Supreme. Assuming that Doom doesn’t just go for the obvious and try to destroy Reed Richards, it’ll be fun to see what he does with it.
Shane: I’m always happy to see Bats the dog.
JK: I enjoyed that issue as well — Bats the dog getting to step up and defend his master made for a nice resolution, even if his “final boss” form looked kind of freaky. And I’m hoping that we get to see Doom level up himself in Blood Hunt #5; I could see him taking the Sorcerer Supreme job as seriously as he takes protecting Latveria. With all that being said, any final thoughts on what you’re hoping or expecting to see in issue #5?
Shane: What am I expecting in #5? An ending but more of a status quo change that elevates the vampires to a continuing threat hopefully. I would like to see some of the characters stick around and be used elsewhere. We also know that some aspects of the changes made in this book will stick around, at least for a while, in Miles’ case especially. Most of all I expect to see a huge fight and a redeeming of Blade that sets him up for more and gives his character a bigger purpose. I’ve really enjoyed his solo series and I’d like him to take on a more important role in that corner of the universe. Maybe a Midnight Suns(Sons) line of books again?
Oh yeah, and more Jed McKay and Pepe Larraz projects after #5.
Tom: Maybe it’s a low bar, but I am always happy just to have some catharsis and closure at the end of a big event. This turned out to be a good heroes vs. vampires story that held my interest for a month and got me to buy the Spider-Man tie-in miniseries, so that sounds like a success.
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