Amazing Spider-Man: Blood Hunt #3 - Marvel Comics

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN: BLOOD HUNT No. 3, September 2024

Entirely focused upon the titular character’s exploits inside Hemoglobin Incorporated’s Headquarters, many a bibliophile will probably feel a considerable amount of time has passed between Issue Three of “Amazing Spider-Man: Blood Hunt” and its previous edition. In fact, the entire twenty-page periodical arguably reads like a couple of insubstantial instalments involving Justina Ireland’s overall narrative simply being smashed together so as to bring the storyline to something akin to a satisfactory conclusion in short order; “Another chance.? That’s closer to happily ever after than most of us get.”

Foremost of these complaints can seemingly be found straight from the comic’s opening, as Peter Parker’s alter-ego and Misty Knight brazenly break straight into the supposed vampire stronghold, and quickly reach both the scientific facility’s security computer room, as well as Doctor Michael Morbius’ laboratory, with barely a hair out of place. This breathtakingly fast momentum then continues with the revelation that Colleen Wing has been completely transformed into a deadly blood-drinking monster (and completely embraced this change), whilst “Morb” has somehow already discovered a cure for Theocritus’ undead vision – presumably due to him having access to “real equipment… for the first time in months.”  

To make matters worse though, the Living Vampire’s moral dilemma to remain working with the villainous corporation for the betterment of all fanged fiends is almost instantly resolved with an unconvincingly sudden change of heart following Spider-man giving him a brief flea in his ear. Such a surprising U-turn really does smack of the American author being desperate to get events in place for this comic’s climatic final confrontation, and subsequently leads directly into Web-head easily covering the coils of the building’s cooling system with an antidote as the so-called central antagonist absent-mindedly waxes lyrical about his grand scheme for citywide conquest.

Also distinctly adding to this publication’s feeling of two incomplete books being compressed into one are Marcelo Ferreira and Chris Campana sharing pencilling duties. This decision is incredibly jarring for the audience as the artists’ illustration styles are rather different to one another, and resultantly makes the publication’s already hasty ending feel even more rushed as the Wall-crawler easily outwits his beefed-up undead foes, Maxine Danger (once again) turns up out of nowhere to ‘save the day’, and despite being a feral force of nature for much of this tale, the Lizard dons a long white coat to become Morbius’ unlikely new lab partner.

The regular cover art to "AMAZING SPIDER-MAN: BLOOD HUNT" #3 by Marcelo Ferreira