Unforgiven – review

Writers: Mark Russell & Tim Seeley

Artists: Sid Kotian & Dave Wachter

Contains spoilers  

The blurb: Collects Spider-Man: Unforgiven (2022) #1, X-Men: Unforgiven (2022) #1, Captain America: Unforgiven (2022) #1, Blade: Vampire Nation (2022) #1.

Marvel's team of super-hero vampires emerges from the shadows! Raizo Kodo and the clanless vampires of the Forgiven scour the underworld for the most dangerous ghouls known to man! But when former Sorceress Supreme Salomé returns with a devastatingly devious plan, these moral monsters might run into more trouble than they bargained for - and mixed up in the middle of it all is the one and only Spider-Man! And when body parts mysteriously start washing up on the coast of Maine, the Forgiven must call in some help from the X-Men - including former vampire Jubilee! But as defeat follows defeat, they become bitter - and bloodthirsty! Can Captain America bring them back into the light? Plus: Blade is now the sheriff of Dracula's Vampire Nation! But an assassination threatens to unravel the fledgling country and spread chaos throughout the world!

The review: The forgiven are a group of hero (or perhaps anti-hero is closer) vampires, clanless and fighting for redemption. They did appear in the Jubilee Blood Hunt one-shot – collected in X-Men Blood Hunt - but I did find it surprising that they weren’t more involved in that event. Jubilee makes an appearance in this, within the X-Man and Captain America one-shots but the first in the book is a standalone with Spider-Man, the end of which opens the scenario for the next two one-shots. The X-Man and Captain America stories follow on from each other more closely and prove to be a very satisfying, short redemption arc that involves a plot by Geiomar, the anti-Cleric of the Elder God Cthon.

The final story is unconnected to the first three and is a Blade story, in which Blade has taken on the mantle of the sheriff of Dracula’s Vampire Nation – Vampyrsk, a UN recognised vampire safehold within Ukraine and, more specifically, Chernobyl. The idea of situating the vampire nation there was a clever one given the radiation makes it uninhabitable for humans. In this a human mercenary team attack and kill Corvis, a member of Dracula’s Vampire Council. However, Dracula was the actual target and he charges Blade with finding who it was that wanted his final death. This isn’t bad but as a one shot it is a little bit over too quickly.

All in all, however, this wasn’t a bad foray into the vampires of the Marvel Universe. 6.5 out of 10.

In Paperback @ Amazon US

In Paperback @ Amazon UK

The Night Boyz – review

Director: BonVida

Release date: 2023

Contains spoilers

It is not a rule, as such, but often the adding of a ‘z’ to a film title indicates not only that the film is going to be a modern urban (often gangland) setting, but also that the film is going to be of a lower quality. Look, I’m sorry, but that really does seem to be the case.

So I went into this with low expectations, however, as I started watching it my hopes raised, the actual photography seemed accomplished for a start. In truth the film does have issues, but it is a cut above where I thought it would be and has some interesting ideas within.

eyes light up

It starts in the past and Yashua (Leslie A. Jones) as voudon (style) drums are heard with women dancing. Yashua is eventually caught by slavers, a decision is made that he is native rather than African but they then lynch him anyway. Meanwhile a mob come to what looks like a church. The man who comes out is able to mesmerise the crowd (whilst inflicting them with very poor poetry) and cause them to drop their makeshift weapons. The significance of this was lost on me. A hooded woman comes to the hanging Yashua and bites him. She vanishes and his eyes light up.

Brian Fernandez as Joshua

We cut to present day. Joshua (Brian Fernandez) has moved to LA after his parents were killed. He is chilling when there is an insistent ringing of his doorbell. It is his cousin Mike (BonVida) who drags him out. They end up sat in the concrete canal of LA river, talking. Mike gives him a protective ankh pendant. They are going to smoke but Mike drops the spliff so they head to a store. In the store, Joshua is at the counter when he spots a girl, Lily (Brooke 'Little' Dugan), he steps back and bumps into T (Jorge Meneses) – evidentially there is existing beef. It is when T grabs the ankh and rips it off Josuah that the fight starts – next thing we see them all rounded up by sheriff Martin (Manny Casimir) who gives them all a talking to and sends them on their way, with the exception of Joshua who he keeps back for some extra disappointment talk.

Leslie A. Jones as Yashua

T later gets hold of Joshua and cuts his face with a box cutter... Joshua and Mike are with Red (Manner Washington III), who seems to run a crew. Joshua wants in, but he isn’t deemed ready – later we will discover that Red is a werewolf and I’ll get back to that – but they go out and T is shot. Dying on the street, he is approached by a snazzily dressed Yashua, who offers T eternal life and holds out a hand that T takes… Joshua then meets Lily on a beach, there is talking, an attempt to hold hands (and she has very cold hands) and make out – she bites him and then regrets it. In the morning Mike picks him up, but he is very ill. He awakens At Auntie’s house, his cheek cut has gone and Lily is there. He is told she is a half vampire (she hasn’t killed anyone) and so is he. They must get sacred wood from a tree older than Yashua to kill him and become human, and stop his plans to build an army and bring chaos to the city.

a zombie

So vampires, werewolves and half vampires… actually, Lily is a dhampir though she doesn’t know it and the daughter of Yashua. In flashback we have seen that he was a slave and lynched, we also see him losing his mortal wife (and daughter he assumes) following a police raid and being taken for experimentation and torture to release the secrets of eternal life to an old, white man. For some reason everyone refers to him as Head Vampire. We also get bums that he has turned into ghouls or zombies (the credit calls them both). I could have lived without the werewolf, aspect, it was minor and the sfx comparatively rubbish – I will say I loved the fang set they did for Yashua. Half-vampires are irritated by sunlight where full vampires burn, ordinary stakes are fine for killing most vampires, beheading kills and vampires fear symbols such as the ankh and police badges (tied to Yashua’s lynching as the slavers wore deputy stars). In a strange piece of lore, certain music (I think EBM) will cause vampires to be mesmerised, swaying on the spot.

werewolf

Beyond the poor werewolf, it felt like the film could have lost half an hour of its running time. There were moments that had no build before we get there. Whilst not a poor performance, Brian Fernandez was missing a certain something and struggled to carry the film – whereas BonVida had that something in spades but was sidelined, killed and brought back as a supernatural assassin with no scope to flex the presence he showed earlier in the film. There are some moments that, given the running time, could have been pre-established (such as turncoat cops). Yet, overall the film was well shot and had plenty of potential. 5 out of 10.

The imdb page is here.

Blade Vol. 2: Evil Against Evil – review

Author: Bryan Edward Hill

Artists: Elena Casagrande & Valentina Pinti

First published: 2024 (TPB)

Contains spoilers

The Blurb: Blade learns lessons from the Incredible Hulk…and the infernal Dracula! Until the day-walking vampire hunter called Blade became sheriff of Vampire Nation, Dracula was his sworn enemy. Now Dracula is the only one who can teach Blade what he still needs to know about himself - and how to unlock new powers of vampirism Blade didn't even know he possessed! But in preparation to face the deadly Adana once more, Blade must confront the monster he fears he is - and who knows better what it's like to live with a dark side than Bruce Banner? Mustering all the power gained with Dracula's and Hulk's aid, Blade must gather knowledge about the Adana by going deep into the heart of enemy territory! A bloody rematch is coming. At stake? The fate of every soul on Earth!

The review: Part two of the limited story and it starts with Blade and the “unlikely ally” I mentioned in the previous review, revealed in the blurb above as Dracula. The fact that he would turn to Dracula for help didn’t phase me – though I will say I never felt the apocalyptic urgency coming through the narrative, generally, that would lead to such an alliance – but what did phase me was Blade’s apparent naivety. In volume 1 he blithely allows himself to make mistake after mistake. Here, Dracula says Blade has to drink his blood and we get a brief “no way”, and a too easily offered acceptance thereafter. This, I suspect, is down to the limited length but Blade was just not cynical enough generally.

The story came to a conclusion – with an aftermath that I am unsure as to if it was reflected across the Marvel universe thereafter. That said, it is a Blade adventure, which is always welcome, 6 out of 10.

In Paperback @ Amazon US

In Paperback @ Amazon UK

Blade Vol. 1: Mother Of Evil – review

Author: Bryan Edward Hill

Artists: Elena Casagrande & Valentina Pinti

First published: 2024 (TPB)

Contains spoilers

The Blurb: The Daywalker returns for a new era of vampire hunting! True evil is patient. A dark, ancient power has been simmering quietly for centuries. And when Blade himself is the one to unknowingly unleash it, Marvel's entire supernatural underworld comes out of hiding to demand that he handle it - or pay a pound of flesh for his mistakes! But Blade's greatest hope of success rests with the last person he wants to ask: a hostile ex! Blade must travel to Japan to meet a high-end arms dealer who may be the key to defeating the Adana, the deadly threat Blade has inadvertently released! And as the pulse of its power ripples across the Marvel Universe, a familiar friend is drawn into the fray. Bloodbaths, blackmail and Blade - you won't want to miss this one!

The review: A limited length Blade adventure, it runs for the length of two volumes and this one sets the story up and the limited run is probably its weakness as it feels rushed. It starts with Blade tricked into killing a warrior who, though fearsomely dressed, is the key to stopping the resurgence of an evil entity named Adana. By killing the warrior, and then losing the weapon he wielded, which is the only thing that can kill Adana, Blade opens the way for her to emerge, possessing the girl he thought he was protecting. Adana’s goal is the end of the world.

Blade spends the rest of the story trying to find a new method of killing the entity. This includes getting help from Tulip, the ex and arms dealer mentioned in the blurb, trying to steal Lucifer’s sword from a vampire who lives on an ever-moving armoured train and begging guidance from an unlikely ally…

The artwork is strong, and portrays what it needs to, but was shy of being breathtaking, to me, but the issue lay in the rushed feeling of the comic book. Because this is a very limited run it really crammed the narrative in but, especially as this is global and apocalyptic, it felt rushed and in feeling so it lost impact. Not that this is poor by any stretch, but it could have stood for room to breathe. 6 out of 10.

In Paperback @ Amazon US

In Paperback @ Amazon UK

Empire of the Dawn – review

Author: Jay Kristoff

First published: 2025

Contains spoilers

The Blurb: From holy cup comes holy light;
The faithful hands sets world aright.
And in the Seven Martyrs’ sight,
Mere man shall end this endless night.

Gabriel de León has lost his family, his faith, and his last hope of ending the endless night – the Holy Grail, Dior. With no desire left but vengeance, he and a band of loyal brothers journey into the war-torn heart of the Augustin Empire to claim the life of the Forever King.

Unbeknownst to the Last Silversaint, the Grail still lives – speeding towards Augustin’s besieged capital in the frail hope of ending Daysdeath forever. But deadly treachery awaits within the halls of power, and the Forever King’s legions march ever closer. Gabriel and Dior will be drawn into a final battle that will shape the very fate of the Empire, but as the sun sets for what may be the last time, there will be no-one left for them to trust.

Not even each other.

The review: It’s strange, when I came to pull up the reviews of the first two books of this trilogy (this being the third book), I realised that although I reviewed book 1, for some reason the review for book 2 (Empire of the Damned) never happened. Well it is too late now and let it suffice to say that I really enjoyed it and so really anticipated this volume. Firstly, let me cover off that the actual physical hardback is as gorgeous as the others in the series. Illustrated through – with pictures that are meant to have been drawn by vampire historian/inquisitor Jean-Francois Chastain as he draws out the story of how Gabriel de León fought against the Forever King (leader of one of the vampire bloodlines and, we come to discover in this volume, author of Daysdeath – the catastrophe that has almost totally blocked out the sun). We know, from the previous volumes, that Gabe killed the Forever King and that the Holy Grail – actually a living decedent of the Redeemer named Dior Lanchance. Chastain goes between Gabe and his sister Celene, the Last Liathe – a mysterious vampire sect who cannibalise their own kind to save their souls – and there is no love lost between the pair. However between the two the historian hopes to pin down the truth for his Highborn vampire mistress.

Going too deep into the story will be pointless for those who have not read the first two books (like those, this is a mammoth volume) but the world the story is set in is a fantasy one that has a religion similar to, but not actually, Christianity. The characters are drawn in an adult way but beautifully written. One of the concepts I really liked in this was the idea that the capital of the human Empress had furnaces that burned so hot (for smelting and smithing) that they were used to keep the waterways unfrozen and, to attack the invading vampire army they turned up the heat, producing rolling banks of steam that the priests bless – so holy steam rather than water. The story spins from twisted betrayal to twisted betrayal as it speeds towards the end, though the final twist, the final set of falsehoods both work but also feel a tad glib in the execution leading me a little torn over the ending – but that is likely me. A great ending to the series. 9 out of 10.

In Hardback @ Amazon US

In Hardback @ Amazon UK

Marvel Zombies – review

Director: Bryan Andrews

First aired: 2025

Contains spoilers

Marvel Zombies was a limited (4 episode) animated series released in time for the Halloween season. It follows the Zombies episode of What If…? As such it is in an alternate timeline to the primary MCU. When we hit the first episode it is five years after the outbreak, the Earth has more or less fallen and is isolated from the universe by atmospheric energy interference generated by the Wakanda Event (the destruction of the infinity stones when Zombie Thanos threatened to use the infinity gauntlet).

young heroes

It starts with three young heroes; Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani) aka Ms Marvel, Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne) aka Ironheart and Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld, Sinners) aka Hawkeye, who have the repurposed AI driven ironman armour named F.R.I.D.A.Y. (Kerry Condon) with them. Every time they leave their base to enter the city for supply runs they encounter and are hunted by the zombie Hawkeye, AKA Clint Barton. This time they see a Quinjet go down and find a miniaturised transmitter swallowed by the zombified pilot. They ascertain that it is a transmitter to help save the planet and need to get it to a S.H.I.E.L.D. base.

Khonsu

It is during that journey that all three look about to lose their lives, however Hawkeye and Ironheart sacrifice themselves to save Ms Marvel (with F.R.I.D.A.Y. flying her out of the immediate area before returning to Ironheart) but she looks likely to die too until she is rescued by Blade Knight (Todd Williams, the Vampire Diaries). So, this is Blade but, after the previous avatar became zombified, he has become the avatar of Khonsu (Piotr Michael), God of the Moon, with the Knight in his name coming from the fact that the avatar is normally Moon Knight. 

Todd Williams voices Blade

He has fangs and was clearly the daywalker before this happened, but comments later call him a vampire (rather than dhampir, but we have no reason to believe he is a full vampire), with another suggesting he no longer drinks blood. This is unlikely down to his serum and more likely him being sustained by Khonsu. The other thing to note is the voicing by Todd Williams. The MCU Blade movie has been stuck in development Hell, though Mahershala Ali was cast as Blade and voiced him for a line in the Eternals. Whether this casting means Ali is no longer connected and Williams is, Ali was unavailable for this, or that the project has been finally abandoned, is unknown as I write this.

the Queen of the Dead

Another thing to note is Blade Knight is in all four episodes and represents a major Deus Ex Machina – due to Khonsu – so not the cameo of the character we saw in Deadpool & Wolverine. The series sees Ms Marvel, Blade Knight and those they gather round them being chased across the globe by the Queen of the Dead, Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) – the zombified version of the Scarlet Witch, who was a central aspect of the What If…? Episode and who has gained the ability to connect to zombies psychically and is building a horde.

the Blade Knight

This was fun. Blade Knight gets to have plenty of sword play, and there are loads of Marvel heroes (either in flashback or present day) both zombified and still living. If I had a complaint, it was that it felt like lurching from one crisis to another. In a longer built series they would perhaps have had moments of calm to balance it out. That said, the scenario meant that perhaps it would have been relentless. There are moral ambiguities drawn in at times but perhaps not too much of that and the heroes tend just to be heroic. 7 out of 10.

The imdb page is here.

Miles Morales: Spider-Man By Cody Ziglar Vol. 5: Blood Hunt – review

Writer: Cody Ziglar and Danny Lore (Night Shift section)

Artist: Various

First published: 2025 (tpb)

Contains spoilers

The Blurb: Collects Miles Morales: Spider-Man (2022) #21-24 and #26 and material from #25 and Annual (2024) #1.

BLOOD HUNT transforms Miles Morales' world! Endless hordes of bloodsucking vampires ravage Earth beneath the pitch-black skies of the planet's last night! Vampire-slayer Blade has a plan, and his only hope for victory rests with Miles Morales! But Blade's mission comes with a cost - one Spider-Man may be unwilling to pay. And Miles' biggest ally is about to become his worst nightmare! With uncanny new abilities, Miles faces a desperate battle to find an answer to his latest problem - with his family at greater risk than ever before! But when the Vulture swoops in just as Miles is at his most desperate, the one to suffer may just be the person they both love! Plus: A family vacation to Puerto Rico introduces Miles to relatives with huge secrets!

The review: A graphic from the Blood Hunt event this was a strange one, in that the opening story – with the team up against energy vampire R'ym'r and flashbacks to Spider-Man being turned by Blade have already been added into the Amazing Spider-Man graphic novel and therefore are superfluous and a double up. Then there is a short from the Annual (2024), Night Shift, that adds very little. The final line of the blurb about a family vacation is not accurate to this graphic either and seems to have been accidentally tagged onto the blurb.

All that is disappointing, however the lion share of this is following vampire Spider-Man trying to come to terms with the vampirism, being held in check (sort of) by Morales’ venom power, and despite himself becoming more violent. He visits girlfriend Tiana Toomes, aka Sparrow, at exactly the wrong time as she is visited by her estranged Grandfather, Vulture, who blames Spider-Man for their rift. This leads to a battle, with Spider-Man barely able to maintain control, and then a visit from T'Challa (Black Panther) – who managed to purge himself of vampirism – and a whole new suit (with vibranium weave and vibranium laced webbing). Of course Vulture was down but not out.

This second part was cracking, exploring power and responsibility in a different way but, of course, that is a main plank of the Spider-Man premise. It was also great as it is firmly post-event but showing an ongoing impact (on Morales). The story doesn’t end here as Morales and T’Challa must travel to Wakanda to try and cure the vampirism. However, as much as I enjoyed the latter part of the graphic, and it buoys the score, the lazy repeat at the beginning doesn’t go unnoticed. 6 out of 10.

In Paperback @ Amazon US

In Paperback @ Amazon UK

Blood Hunt: Marvel Universe: 1 – review

Writer: Various

Artist: Various

First published: 2024 (tpb)

Contains spoilers

The blurb: As the massive event BLOOD HUNT kicks into high gear, this collection of miniseries takes a deep dive into how its repercussions affect every corner of the Marvel Universe! The vampire onslaught of BLOOD HUNT reaches across the Marvel Universe - from Wakanda to New Orleans and beyond! Spinning directly out of events in the main series, the Black Panther finds himself transformed into a bloodsucker - and tasked with carrying out a key mission for the vampire overlord! But even a dark transformation won't keep T'Challa from his duties to Wakanda - for better or worse. At the school of magic known as Strange Academy, Doyle Dormammu, Shaylee, Toth, Zoe and German get embroiled in an adventure that will take them around the world - and right into the center of the BLOOD HUNT action! Plus: What happens when vampires face an enemy with gamma-irradiated blood? Find out, together with the Incredible Hulk! Collecting: Black Panther: Blood Hunt (2024) 1-3, Strange Academy: Blood Hunt (2024) 1-3, Hulk: Blood Hunt (2024) 1

The review: This is one of the primary Blood Hunt volumes. From the first Blood Hunt we knew that Blade had turned Black Panther. This contains the details of that story as Black Panther looks to protect Wakanda, whilst forced to do Blade’s bidding. The volume also includes how Varnae, the vampiric spirit possessing Blade, fell in the first place and how the actions of the Gods influenced that. It was interesting that Black Panther meets Adzi, the mother of pestilence as the adzi is an African vampire type.

The Blood Hunt also impacts the Strange Academy – especially Pia, whose own secret (she is a vampire with a mystically bestowed ability to withstand sunlight) becomes an issue when the kids from the Academy go off in search of the Darkhold.

The final story is a Hulk one, with Bruce Banner and the tale of a group of vampires (who have been feeding on immigrants for years) set free by sundeath and attacking Banner in a derelict movie set after he is distracted by their reluctant Renfield.

A solid volume – all vampire facing. 8 out of 10.

In Paperback @ Amazon US

In Paperback @ Amazon UK

Midnight Sons: Blood Hunt – review

Authors: Bryan Hill & Jason Loo

Artists: Germán Peralta & Adam Gorham

Release date: 2024

Contains spoilers

The Blurb: Collects Midnight Sons: Blood Hunt #1-3 and Werewolf By Night: Blood Hunt #1.

The return of the original Midnight Sons! The uneasy alliance of supernatural adventurers once known as the Midnight Sons must band together once again to deal with the vampire threat unleashed in BLOOD HUNT! They have two Ghost Riders among their ranks, but even so they'll have a hard time trying to defeat one of their own! Plus: As BLOOD HUNT shatters lives and wreaks untold havoc across the Marvel Universe, one of those affected in a most unexpected way will be Jake Gomez, the Werewolf by Night! Imbued with new abilities, a new look and a dangerous new direction, this Werewolf by Night is unlike any you've seen or known before!

The review: Another collection from the Blood Hunt crossover this has a three-issue story of the Midnight Sons, in this incarnation made up of two Ghost Riders, Tulip Hamato and Victoria Montesi – who we see summon Lilith as part of this. Of course, Blade is meant to be in the Midnight Sons, but they end up hunting him as he is the event’s big bad. At the head of the story we see, before sundeath, Blade take out his squad of vampire hunters through duplicity but we also see him shed a tear as the possessed dhampir fights against the control of Varnae. The Midnight Sons detour from their hunting of Blade to follow a vision that comes to each of them, depicting a hospital where they must defeat a demon that has taken hold.

The fourth issue is a Werewolf by Night one-shot that sees Jake Gomez tackling a would-be-demon who has possessed a young man, with vampires being thrown in the mix and some trouble transforming when sundeath also darkens the moon.

The Midnight Sons story is tight and works really well within the margins of Blood Hunt and the Werewolf by Night is even more self-contained and is also very neat. I particularly liked the coda to Midnight Sons, which jumped forward, past the event. 7 out of 10.

In Paperback @ Amazon US

In Paperback @ Amazon UK

Dracula: Blood Hunt: 1 – review

Writers: Danny Lore & Cavan Scott

Artists Vincenzo Carratu & Kev Walker

Contains spoilers

The Blurb: An icon of horror rises again as the blockbuster event BLOOD HUNT rages on! When day is night, and all is not as it appears, bitter enemies may find their interests - however briefly - aligned. And that will be true of Dracula, lord of the vampires, and Brielle Brooks, daughter of Blade! Faced with a devil's bargain of the soul, Bloodline needs a priest and a lawyer - and Daredevil has a little experience as both! But will even he know fear in a city full of bloodthirsty vampires?!

Plus: One man has made it his mission to protect his nation from the bloodsucker invasion. But what does the one-man-army Joey Chapman, who now bears the mantle of Union Jack, have up his sleeves? Who will Union Jack have to face to keep London from falling? And as he paints the town blood red, what will he be willing to sacrifice to save his country?

Collecting: Dracula: Blood Hunt #1-3 and Union Jack The Ripper: Blood Hunt #1-3

The review: Bloodline, also known as Brielle Brooks, is front and centre in the first three comics worth of this volume. This adds flesh to the bone of how she and Dracula team up (plus a brief appearance by, and some guidance from, Daredevil). This is one where you have to be grounded in the overarching story as moments that have appeared in other volumes are jumped and it can feel a tad jarring.

The story sees Dracula preparing to hit the streets (via occult teleportation) and search out Brielle – his ruthlessness is displayed early on as he tidies up a loose end and thereafter his business with Brielle is not altruistic – she is the key to stopping Blade, and therefore the vampiric entity Varnae but his reason for trying to prevent the end of the world is not heroic and he only offers her one pathway. We do get to see Brielle mystically tempted by Blade/Varnae and a manifestation of the latter.

The volume then moves to Manchester, England where we join Union Jack (through the eyes of a policewoman), I’m not familiar with these Marvel characters but we see a Manchester as devastated as the US cities previously seen, Union Jack protective of the turned Bulldog and the machinations of the Master vampire involved – a vampire named Hunger. Hunger is a character associated with Morbius, Blade and Spider-Man and, like Morbius, is normally portrayed as a living vampire. In this he seems to be creating a collective with him at the centre of the hive and we see a weakness in that any pain delivered to one of his minions also impacts him. This tale is a standalone three episodes and worked very well. 7 out of 10.

In Paperback @ Amazon US

In Paperback @ Amazon UK

Amazing Spider-Man: Blood Hunt – review

Authors: Various

Artists: Various

Release date: 2024 (tpb)

The Blurb: Collects Amazing Spider-Man: Blood Hunt #1-3, Amazing Spider-Man (2022) #49 And Miles Morales: Spider-Man (2023) #21-22.

Marvel's Spider-Men swing into the BLOOD HUNT! Vampires are running rampant through New York City - and while the Avengers are caught in the middle, someone has to take care of the citizens of the Big Apple. That person? Peter Parker, the spectacular Spider-Man! But if only things were that simple. They never are, and that means Spidey has a massive role to play in the nightmarish saga - one that involves Morbius, the Living Vampire! But will Morbius be fanged foe or friend this time? And will Peter need to take him out or save him?! Meanwhile, the world's greatest vampire slayer, Blade, has a plan - and his only hope for victory rests with the young Spider-Man, Miles Morales! But Blade's mission comes with a massive cost Miles may be unwilling to pay!

The review: The second tpb to be released in the Blood Hunt event – this one concentrates on spider-men, with a Peter Parker story and a Miles Morales story. It starts with Parker, fighting vampires and rather enjoying himself fighting monsters, when he gets a text from a criminal, Kareem, asking Parker to get Spider-Man to help him. When he gets to him he discovers that Kareem's partner in crime, Rabbit, has been turned and he needs the hero's help. They find the vampire who bit Rabbit – he has chained himself, ashamed of what he has become and begs Spider-Man to kill him. Suddenly he realises that the vampires are not just monsters, but Kareem stakes the vampire anyway and Rabbit (and Kareem who was turning, having been bitten by Rabbit) are cured. With the shine taken off vampire hunting, Spider-Man is suddenly confronted by Lizard (who is somewhat rough about getting his attention). Lizard and Misty Knight are trying to track down Michael Morbius who has been kidnapped and this leads to a vampire corporation. The Morales story stands aside from the Amazing Spider-Man story, shows us Blade turning him and then a team up with Hightail, and later Blade’s daughter Brielle Brooks, to defeat energy vampire R'ym'r.

Tonally lighter, for the Amazing Spider-Man part of the TPB at least, this was still a welcome foray into the Blood Hunt event – with a much more street level focus. Whilst both stories featured vampires (the Morales one, being energy ones of course) the action occurred with the main Blood Hunt as a wider event and these stories occurring separately – albeit sundeath offering a starting point. 7 out of 10.

In Paperback @ Amazon US

In Paperback @ Amazon UK

Blood Hunt – review

Author: Jed MacKay

Artists: Pepe Larraz & Sara Pichelli

Release date: 2024 (tpb)

Contains spoilers  

The Blurb: Collects Blood Hunt #1-5 And Material From Free Comic Book Day 2024: Blood Hunt/X-Men.

Superheroes vs. vampires in the bloodiest Marvel event ever! 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 its greatest heroes stem the tide of blood? The broken Avengers join the fighters of the Midnight Mission and unlikely allies Bloodline and Dracula in seeking out the one man who can do something about this: Doctor Strange. But in the wake of these apocalyptic events, what is left of Earth's Sorcerer Supreme? And even if the world can be saved, how will it be changed?

The review: Sort of coming on the heels of DC Vs Vampires this is a marvel crossover event and, unlike the DC event, where the comic crossovers were collated in logical volumes, I was kind of confused as to where they fell in the Marvel releases. Eventually I decided to read them in release order and this was the first collected volume. This tracks the course of sun-death as darkforce users start exploding and becoming portals to allow the darkforce dimension into Earth’s dimension, turning the skies black in an event called sundeath.

This is deliberate and vampires attack across the globe. An elite superpowered vampire task force manage to outmatch the Avengers, causing Thor and Scarlet Witch to be captured and Black Panther to be turned. Miles Morales is, we eventually discover, turned and Dr Strange is attacked and his body turned as his spirit roams free. All of this happens because they trust Blade and Blade is behind the event. The revealing that the head vampire is a beloved superhero is somewhat like DC Vs Vampires but where DC held the identity to the climax of the first volume, this reveal comes in pretty darn quick in this volume. It turns out that Blade is possessed by the spirit of the First Vampire, Varnae (a recurring Marvel character over the years).

What is interesting is the primary crisis is averted by the end of the volume (sun returns, not a major spoiler as the real spoiler would be to tell you how and by whom) unlike the DC volume, which has more volumes to come but was pretty downbeat in its story, but there are many more crossover volumes in this series too (ten more at current count) and currently sight unseen I assume they tell stories within the event (and perhaps beyond the event too). I will start bringing those to TMtV as I read them. As for this, perhaps the vast array of characters might prove confusing (and my background is far more DC than Marvel) but it held together well as a story and if parts felt rushed or glossed over I suspect it is because I’ll find those stories in more detail in the further volumes. Nevertheless, superheroes and vampires (and yes Dracula makes an appearance) have to be good. 7.5 out of 10.

In Paperback @ Amazon US

In Paperback @ Amazon UK

How to Make a Werewolf – review

Directors: Omar Reid & Steph Henderson

Release date: 2024

Contains spoilers

I won’t lie, after picking up on the title and checking IMDb to see if there were vampire characters in (there were, credited as such), I settled down to watch this and, in the first few minutes, my heart sank. A low budget, urban fantasy I have seen too many of these. Inexperienced filmmakers, without budget, trying to crowbar a supernatural world in (often with very confused narratives that leave the viewer bewildered). But…

Jace A. Edwards as Xen

The but is that this is actually well done. The running length is perhaps a tad long – though it gave the filmmakers space to build their world and lay out their narrative – and the acting quality varies considerably through the running length. But, despite some pacing issues, I found myself rather invested into both the world and the primary characters.

waking up to a head

It starts with a head, and blood and then Xen (Jace A. Edwards) waking by the head, covered in blood. His exclamation of shock and horror perhaps an understatement. We are in Atlanta and the film jumps back a little while. Xen is a volunteer at, what appears to be, a church foodbank (actually it is run by a coven of witches). He asks to speak to Aana (Melahnie Bagley), a volunteer with a clear chip on her shoulder. They meet outside and he wants to see Xia (Deshawna Boswell) again – his sister who was killed. Aana had previously made him a potion to achieve that. It isn’t what he wants, she says, rather he wants revenge and should come to her when vengeance is settled in his heart.

Olga Petrovic as Jessica

So we start meeting many of the main movers and shakers. Xen works at a publisher and his tardiness has put him on boss Jessica’s (Olga Petrovic) radar. Unbeknown to him, as we don’t get the impression that he was particularly steeped in the supernatural world behind the scenes bar knowing Aana, she is a vampire. We meet Sandeep (Cofo Ofotokun), daughter of the coven leader and Aana’s sister. We discover that Aana is both barren and without magic and also banned from the coven due to her experimentation on children – hence her previously mentioned shoulder chip.

Miles Nelson as Rainn

There has been warfare in the past between the vampires, the witches and the humans’ Midnight Society (a quasi-religious hunting order). Currently there is a truce between the three. To protect themselves the witches have bred daywalking dhampirs, such as Sandeep’s son Rainn Water (Miles Nelson). The dhampirs are created by injecting the placenta with vampire blood. Rainn is dating a mortal girl called Ashanti (Yve) and has told her about his nature. She hasn’t told him that she is a lieutenant in the Midnight Society.

the werewolf (lycan)

Aana has a plan to unleash a Lycan, a wolf demon, and needs a vessel to possess – she has chosen Xen. These demons are uncontrollable and will wreak her vengeance against all those she thinks have wronged her and cause a war between the three factions. As for the demon itself, whilst it is suggested it burns out its host, we see it transform and take over Xen at the full moon, but as the moon wanes Xen gets some control back. The vampires, when we meet them, have a club where they are openly themselves, feeding on humans supplied by the witches (four a month), who have drugged the victims with a potion. This is a condition of the peace treaty.

blood on tap at the vampire bar

There is a lot of story going on and, in honesty, the filmmakers were able to build a narrative where the viewer could take in both the story and background details. This makes this a cut above many other low budget urban fantasy films. I mentioned hit and miss acting and some of the actors did not seem comfortable or confident. However others worked well – the scenes between Yve and Miles Nelson felt particularly natural. Beyond some tatty looking faction badges, you could honestly tell what faction a particular character came from, which was excellent. The werewolf transformation scenes were, rightly, fudged but the finished werewolf/demon looked pretty good. There was some fat that could have been trimmed away, helping the pacing and cutting down the running time. That said, all in all, I rather enjoyed this outing and whilst it was obviously the first part of a larger saga, the personal journey that sits at the centre came to a conclusion. 5.5 out of 10.

The imdb page is here.

On Demand @ Amazon US

On Demand @ Amazon UK

Honourable Mention: Acid Babylon

I previously looked at Cosmotropia de Xam’s earlier film Phantasmagoria 2: Labyrinths of blood, yet despite that being earlier than this 2020 release, that film is shown as a ‘coming soon’ at the beginning of this. The trailer to P2 actually worked better for me than the actual film did, being genuinely off kilter without highlighting the performances that would kill that vehicle.

This film is even more arthouse than the previous, with less of a narrative (a degree of narrative is offered in some scant, French language narration). Early euro-horror has again inspired the filmmaking but, rather than the very Franco-centric inspiration of P2, this has a range of inspiration (and used a range of their filming locations). These are listed as Rollin, Argento, Anger, Kumel and Herzog. The lack of narrative and, though the central character is described as half vampire and half human, the lack of vampire imagery/activity, has led me to give this an honourable mention.

the woman

The film consists of images, actors in movement, psychedelic overlays, filters and negatives with a soundtrack that had elements of drone and almost an ambient industrial quality. Together with the visual effects this makes for a darkly meditative piece that is arthouse with no discernible mainstream hook. This means, of course, that you will likely find yourself liking or disliking it.

another dimension

As I mentioned, there is no real narrative thread. The narration tells us that when the rivers ran red the vampires left Babylon, leaving one woman who was immortal – being half vampire (the daughter of Nosferatu, it is suggested). The second half of the film sees the world filtered heavily with negative photography and I got a feel of passing into the other dimension that occasionally is referenced in Rollin’s films.

blood on fingers

We get quotes from the book of Revelations on screen – specifically from Chapter 17 pursuant to Babylon. But, at this point there is little else to say – from a filmic sense there is little to put into synopsis, from a vampire sense there is little lore communicated and no vampiric activity/tropes to relay (bar some blood on fingers dripped into a mouth). As mentioned, you will either like or dislike this.

The imdb page is here.

Short Film: Vampire Siblings

At just over an hour this is close to being a feature, but the Kinigra Deon created vehicle is a web serial with the first season cut into a movie (there are three more movies of seasons 2 to 4 currently available). They seem to be part of an incredibly prolific output by Kinigra Deon but do not have, at time of writing, an IMDb page that I could locate.

vegan blood

The film follows Seraph who is just getting home as things begin. Mom has left a note about vegan blood being left in the fridge (by vegan, non-human, veg supplement and not the blood of a vegan). It isn’t appetising by all account. We soon learn that Seraph is a hybrid, mom is a vampire and dad is a human, though her two older sisters are both vampires. They are less than impressed with the vegan option.

the sisters

A knock on the door and the appearance of Seraph’s boyfriend Roman throws her a loop – he has flowers but she wasn’t expecting a visit (or had ever had one, one guesses). The sisters smell his warm blood and are downstairs and inviting him in, with him ignoring Seraph’s desire for him to leave. They try and feed him an elixir (to make feeding from him easier) and he eventually is about to be food when mom gets home and rescues him, wiping his memory.

wolf out

The sisters are grounded (behind a mystical barrier) and get their cousin to release them when mom goes back out (calling to the cousin by telepathy). Unfortunately Roman has turned up at the door again, wanting to celebrate his 16th birthday with Seraph, and is in danger, again, when the moon comes out and he turns into a werewolf and escapes. The film, to this point, seemed quite Young Adult sitcom but takes a turn here.

Seraph vamps

A world is drawn around the film of vampires and werewolves and a thinly held treaty between the races. Roman is condemned at the next full moon to become a wolf permanently, as the only way to prevent this is killing a vampire. That Roman seemed to know nothing of his nature, despite a werewolf society in the area and his mom being one was a plot point that might have been answered within the narrative. Seraph is also told, just as she starts to turn, that hybrid vampires become full vampire around 16.

mom and Seraph

This was really ambitious and whilst there were some strange choices (an old person, as a throwaway character, in an obvious mask rather than just getting an older actor, for instance) the less successful choices were still down to a commendable ambition and there was plenty that did work. The undertones of dealing with puberty and bullying were interesting and the full movie is available for free at YouTube.

Dampyr – review

Director: Riccardo Chemello

Release date: 2022

Contains spoilers  

A comic book film, this is based on the long running Italian Dampyr series and, for the most part, it looks pretty darn slick (there is an exception to this, which I’ll come to). However, for those not immersed in the comics already, I suspect the story will feel just a tad underplayed.

It starts in an undefined point of time in the past and three crone like midwives attend a woman (Madalina Bellariu Ion) in labour. One looks through the window (for a second a flash reveals her as younger) and says *he* is coming. The *he* is a rider coming through the forest, Draka (Luke Roberts, Dracula: The Dark Prince & Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities – the Autopsy). The crone casts a spell of protection in blue, the vampire lord (for that is what he is) sends power outwards in red. The mother is bleeding heavily and dies in childbirth and the vampire wants his son. The witches (for that is what they are) weather his mystic storm and tell him they will raise the baby until he is old enough to choose.

Kurjak arrives

Of course, he is a dampyr, the son of a vampire father and human mother but before we meet his adult self, we are in the Balkans in the 1990s, as war tears the region apart. We meet a Commander, Kurjak (Stuart Martin) as Walk on the Wild Side plays. He leads an advance vehicle into a town but the town is deserted except for bodies. As they examine them, they seem odd, bereft of blood. One of my issues was here. The faces of the dead seem to have been post-production touched up, perhaps to give them an uncanny feel, but it doesn’t look great to me. Similarly with the vampires when they get ‘vamp face’ – that looks a bit rubbish too. These visual effects are the exception to the general slickness, that I mentioned.

victim

The church seems to have a pile of bodies within and Kurjak orders them buried. Before that a surviving old man appears and raves about getting the dampyr but a soldier shoots him. That night a couple of guards hear a woman, Tesla (Frida Gustavsson), asking for help as she comes down the street. As one approaches her, her claws come out and she attacks him. Gun fire brings the other soldiers out (a full convoy met the advance vehicle) and several die at the hands of a group of vampires. In the morning Lazar (Radu Andrei Micu, Bloodrayne) tells Kurjak he knows who the dampyr is and gets sent to get him.

Lazar and Harlan

In the meantime, we have already met Harlan Draka (Wade Briggs) and his manager Yuri (Sebastian Croft, Penny Dreadful) who drive from village to village "saving" them from vampires. Sometimes it is clinging to a graveyard gate and reciting nonsense that they sell as words of power and others he actually has to stake a corpse. Harlan does not believe in vampires and the inference is he was called a dampyr by the kids in his village (where Lazla grew up also). As he was meant to have been raised by the witches this seems slightly off.

Tesla biting

Anyway, he is found and taken at gunpoint to the town where he is left outside at night and approached by Tesla but she smells something wrong with his blood. Another vampire slashes his chest and the vampire's hand starts to melt (Harlan’s blood is like acid to vampires). Killing a vampire causes the master vampire, Gorka (David Morrissey), to telepathically recall the vampires – except for Tesla who he orders to stay and watch the dampyr. The soldiers, in the morning, desert and subsequently are captured by Gorka, along with Yuri. Harlan, Kurjak and Tesla go after Gorka (though Tesla is the master vampire’s creature).

sunlight exposure

So the master vampires are called Lords of the Night – they can walk in sunlight, procreate (and create dampyrs), create other vampires and have loads of groovy magical powers. The ordinary vampires are slaves to them, and subject to being possessed by their Master’s will, and burn in sunlight. The dampyr’s blood is like acid (as mentioned) and bleeding on bullets make them vampire killing implements (don’t over think how that works when using a fully automatic rifle spitting out bullets and he’s only bled on a handful). The dampyr has the ability to fast heal, they age slowly and he seems to have an untapped reserve of powers that will emerge in the future.

Gorka

The background around Harlan feels empty as there seems to be more set up for a series than answered in this (especially around Draka). I was disappointed with David Morrissey’s Gorka – normally a fine actor the evil vampire didn’t project much in the way of menace. Most of the characters were woefully 2-dimensional. However, I did like the film as a comic book action film. The larger, more mystic effects worked well, it was just that post-production touching up – especially of faces – that let that side of the house down. All in all, this was not too bad as a take your brain out comic book film and the setting worked in its favour – though it probably works better if you know the original comics. 6 out of 10.

The imdb page is here.

On Demand @ Amazon US

On Demand @ Amazon UK