The Marvel Universe woke up this morning, and the sun was gone. And rather than Maryanne walking away, all they see is an army of vampires. Your Major Spoilers review of Blood Hunt #1 from Marvel Comics awaits!

BLOOD HUNT #1

Writer: Jed McKay
Artist: Pepe Larraz
Colorist: Marte Gracia
Letterer: VC’s Cory Petit
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $5.99
Release Date: May 1, 2024

Previously in Blood Hunt: 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. Earth’s final night has fallen…

Can even the heroes of this doomed world stem the tide of blood that is to come?

SUNDEATH – 00:00:00

All around the globe, at exactly the same moment, every Darkforce user in the Marvel Universe became an open window to the world of darkness. Darkforce energies quickly enshroud the globe in perpetual darkness while also taking out a number of heroes, leaving The Avengers on the back foot as they try to figure it all out. Before they can, though, armies of the undead begin rampaging across the Marvel Universe, overrunning city after city, while Dracula himself is nowhere to be found. Neither the skills of Black Panther, the technology of Iron Man, nor the chaos magics of the Scarlet Witch can discern who’s behind it all, but a sudden emergency transmission heralds what may be the world’s last hope, “This is Blade. I’m on the run and have information.” The team teleports the Vampire Hunter to their headquarters, while Doctor Strange tries to reconstruct The Montesi Formula that he once used to destroy all vampires on Earth, but when the vampires’ leader reveals themself, the heroes begin to die.

BUT WHO WILL LEAD THEM?

The seeming murders of Black Panther, Doctor Strange, and Thor make it clear that we’re not dealing with your run-of-the-mill crossover, but it also brings up the obvious fact that their resurrections are a matter of course, with the only questions being how and when they happen. There is a lot of blood and a lot of gore in these pages, befitting the book’s title, and Larraz does a good show showing the horrors. Some, thankfully, are hidden in shadow, but dismemberments and flaming bodies are the rule, not the exception here, so caveat emptor for those who don’t like graphic violence. The script is well-crafted, but the reveal of the leader of the vampire legions suffers a bit, in that it feels unmotivated and arbitrary. It’s shocking, to be sure, and the final page gives us a memorable visual, but my first thought wasn’t “OH MY GAWD!”, it was “Waaaitaminnit.”

BOTTOM LINE: SHOCKING, BUT UNEVEN

All in all, the effectiveness of Blood Hunt #1 comes in the methodical plotting, both by the villain and the creators, and that, in concert with Larraz’s art, helps to push it into big-swing-by-number-one territory, earning 3 out of 5 stars overall. If you’re (you should excuse the expression) sanguine with another giant crossover event, this one has started off in an intriguing way, and I’ll be interested to see where McKay takes things from here.

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BLOOD HUNT #1

60%

60%

The Villain Is *WHO?*

Unexpected turns, a heaping helping of blood and gore, and a final page cliffhanger that runs headlong into the question of what Death In Comics actually means, but mostly pulls off the win.

• Writing

  5
• Art

  7
• Coloring

  6
• User Ratings (0 Votes)
  0