Blood Hunters #1 Review: B-Listers Rise From Their Graves

Marvel’s latest crossover has unleashed undead hordes upon the world, with a frighteningly familiar face seemingly responsible for the vampires’ latest push at turning day permanently into night. While several big comics in the Marvel Comics universe are tied into the story, Blood Hunters lets characters who don’t have their own ongoing series get in on the fun. While Blood Hunt might be a deathly serious story, Blood Hunters takes the opportunity to inject humor and fun into the proceedings to good effect.

So which heroes does this anthology-style series follow? The first story sees Clint Barton hiding out from recent events in his life with Natasha Romanov in New York City but must now contend with a pandemic of blood suckers. The second tale sees an unorthodox father and son trying to survive the endless night as J. Jonah Jameson teams up with his son John as his hairy alter-ego, Man-Wolf. Finally, Tandy Brown, a.k.a. Dagger (usually paired with heroic partner Cloak), finds her powers quite beneficial in fighting against opponents that aren’t thrilled to see the sunlight, or the light that emanates from her projectiles.

As a fan of some lesser-seen heroes and villains in any comic book universe, Blood Hunters scratches one of my itches in devoting time to characters that would otherwise lack the chance to shine. Hawkeye is clearly the most popular of the trio, though this fact doesn’t take away from Tandy or John. As mentioned previously, Blood Hunt is a deadly serious crossover that doesn’t have much room for humor, which is why Blood Hunters is so effective here, showing fans the “lighter” side of a vampire invasion.

Reviewing anthology stories is always tricky, but as I become more familiar with the formats challenges and opportunities, it’s about finding your favorites, reviewing each story individually, and then combining the scores into an overall rating. Blood Hunters‘ best showing is “Blood Relations,” not just in its fast-paced action and spot-on humor, but in delivering something readers definitely haven’t seen before. J. Jonah Jameson would routinely talk trash about Spider-Man from the comfort of his offices at the Daily Bugle but not leap into the action, minus the occasional Spider Slayer tour. This time around, Jonah is able to team up with his son in Man-Wolf form as they try their best at both slaying the undead and staying alive. 

The art for each of the stories is rock solid as the likes of Bob Quinn, Javier Garron, and Bernard Chang capture the horror of vampires tormenting Marvel heroes and the energy of battles that compose this first anthology issue. Of the three, perhaps Garron shines brightest here as he is able to deliver some inventive sequences with the direction and panels for a story that features a wild team-up across the Jameson clan. 

This isn’t to say that Clint and Tandy’s stories were sub-par, though the latter felt like it missed the mark a bit more than Blood Hunters‘ other two entries. Hawkeye’s story is the most humorous of the bunch, playing up Clint Barton’s status as an urban hero that was well established in the now-legendary Matt Fraction and David Aja run. Dagger’s story has some stellar artwork and some interesting character work but it doesn’t read as fun as Clint and John’s stories, throwing a dagger in the heart of the comic holding a consistent overall tone. What Dagger’s story does is set the stage for the next issue as another Marvel hero is set to take Tandy on a vampire-killing tour.

Blood Hunters #1 works to further examine the ramifications of a vampire outbreak in Marvel Comics, giving readers the chance to catch up on the lives of heroes they otherwise might not have seen in this event. While not every story is a home run, there’s enough here to give Marvel fans something to sink their teeth into whether they’re fans of the undead, Wolf Gods, light-baring superheroines, or moustache-sporting marksmen. 

Published by Marvel Comics

On May 8, 2024

Written by Mark Russell, Christos Gage, and Erica Schultz

Art by Bob Quinn, Javier Garron, and Bernard Chang

Colors by Matt Milla, Morry Hollowell, and Marcelo Maiolo

Letters by Joe Caramagna

Cover by Greg Land