Blade #7 - Marvel Comics

BLADE No. 7, March 2024

On paper Blade teaming “up with the Hulk to tame the anger within” probably seemed like a good idea to Bryan Hill, especially as the American author sets the intriguing pair up against a town filled full of horned demons. But once it becomes clear that neither super-hero actually has the ability to successfully batter or slash their numerous opponents into defeat, the twenty-page plot arguably takes an unconvincing turn with Eric Brooks willingly allowing himself to be possessed by the central satanic antagonist; “Don’t look at me like that, Banner.”

Up until this point though, Issue Seven of “Blade” appears to contain everything a fright-fest fan would need to enjoy so cataclysmic a confrontation between the forces of good and evil, including it being set in a deserted backwater town in the Pacific Northwest. Indeed, at the book’s start, it genuinely appears that the Daywalker will spend a good portion of his time gallantly helping the settlement’s cursed population stay safe from the horde of fanged Hellish horrors roaming just outside the boundary of its municipal church.

This premise though disappointingly soon shifts once Brooks confesses to a desperate Bruce Banner that the emaciated scientist needs the help of Doctor Strange to deal with young Ronny’s bedevilment by a foul fiend from the woodlands, not his. This admission results in a new change of plan which sees an entirely unmolested Eric somehow just walk up to where the boy’s haunted form is being held and convince the foul entity to enter his undead body instead. So sedentary a resolution debatably comes as a major anti-climax considering this publication’s previous build-up, especially when the half-human vampire hunter simply coughs the demon out later on so it can be pulverised by the Hulk.

Sadly, Valentina Pinti’s pencilling becomes similarly dissatisfying once the comic gets going, despite a strong start which sees the Italian illustrator sensationally sketch Banner’s monstrous alter-ego getting outnumbered by a forest full of horned nightmares. However, once Blade enters the fray the artist appears to disconcertingly struggle to stop making his head appear oddly angular, as if it isn’t quite connected to his neck and shoulders as it should be.

The regular cover art to "BLADE" #7 by Elena Casagrande & Romulo Fajardo Junior