Blade was (and to some extent still is) an underused character. During the first 20 years of his existence, he made only 30-odd appearances. At the time of the 1998 film, he had yet to score over 100 points. For most of those appearances, the character was hardly recognizable as the cool, tough character he is today (and not just because of the orange-and-green visual motif) – its interpretation was largely based on Wesley’s This was due to Snipes’ casting, and he was probably contractually obligated to be cool.
The comics in Blade Epic Collection: Nightstalkers collect issues from around that 20-year period, marking the transition from 1970s Blade to 90s Blade. One of the most notable differences between Blade, who played a key role in The Avengers and Blood Hunt, is that he is completely insane.
Driven to extreme insanity, Blade’s career path as a “vampire hunter” limited the character. For decades, vampires haven’t necessarily been the biggest villains outside of various Dracula titles (they were the villain of the entire Comics Code to begin with). There wasn’t much for the characters to do until they expanded their horizons. Like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Blade will have to devote his time to defeating other monsters. This was doubly true. Because shortly before Blade became a modern hit, Stephen Strange wiped out all vampires.
The highlight of this book is Ghost Rider.
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During the “Rise of the Midnight Sons” event, Marvel set out to establish a world of horror that existed just below the four-color world of superheroes. They accomplished this by revisiting several older characters and concepts, from the Darkhold to Morbius the Living Vampire.
Fortunately, Dracula had acquired its entire cast during its heyday in the 1970s. Night Stalkers featured a trio of vampire hunters expanding their resumes. Similar to Buffy’s first season, once the villain who caused the incident (Midnight Sons villain Lilith) is put aside, Blade and his friends jump into a monster week marathon of sorts, and Blade’s madness Open wide to contain a burning hatred for everything. And everyone is supernatural (including, disgustingly, his teammate Hannibal King, who in a world without the undead is kind of a vampire).
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In its first six issues (summarized here), Nightstalkers marks the low point of the Midnight Sons series of books. Just a year after his most infamous Daredevil novel (Fall from Grace), author DG Chichester has set a pace and tone that can best be described as “ambivalent.” Penciller Ron Garney provides some standard ’90s artwork. The Punisher shows up because of course he did. That was in 1992.
Blade, as he appears in this series, can be considered the prototype for Snipes’ version of the character in one major respect. He ditches his green hue, wears a leather jacket, and carries several swords on his back.
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What makes Blade Epic Collection: Nightstalkers worth the price of admission is its opening story, in which the pre-Midnight Sons return to Dracula’s tomb. Four issues from the original series’ most famous collaborators, Marv Wolfman and Gene Colan, pick up 12 years after the end of the first volume.
Although the book features Blade, the focus is more firmly on his Night Stalker pal (and eventual frilly blouse fanatic) Frank Drake, a distant descendant of the Dracula family. . Dracula himself was “killed” in those earlier stories. Here he briefly returns, being raised by Frank’s wife’s therapist, a Satanist professor.
His comeback doesn’t last long.
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The mini feels a little watery in its plot and features Coran at his most free and abstract. These aspects combine to make the book feel like a horrifying fever dream, as haunted by unreality as The Vampire King.
Blade’s role in the story is short and tragic, leaving him abandoned in the mental institution where we find him at the beginning of Night Stalkers. This is a stronger story, but it does little for the characters this volume is named after. This epic collection is a chronology, not highlights. At no point in these issues do I rejoice in the time I spend with the characters. This is no Snipe or Blood Hunt. This character remains amorphous and malleable, even 20 years after its creation.
“Blade Epic Collection: Nightstalkers” features unrealized characters
Blade Epic Collection: Nightstalkers
Blade didn’t find its true definition until the 1998 Wesley Snipes film. This means that these comics from 1991 and 1992 feature characters who are still malleable in their depiction and loose in their purpose.
Contains a great collaboration between Wolfman and Coran.
It depicts the rediscovery of characters that were forgotten at the time.
It ties in with the much better crossover “Rise of the Midnight Sons.”
Night Stalkers ranks at the bottom of Midnight Sons.
The title character of this book has very little to do with it.
