Werewolf By Night: Red Band #1 - Marvel Comics

WEREWOLF BY NIGHT: RED BAND No. 1, October 2024

Billed by “Marvel Worldwide” as so intense that it requires both a Parental Advisory and polybag “to keep those weak of heart from experiencing it”, Jason Loo’s script for Issue One of “Werewolf By Night: Red Band” probably didn’t strike its audience as being anywhere near as vicious or gruesome as its New York City-based publisher had hoped. In fact, arguably this thirty-page periodical’s greatest horror is found in the comic’s pacing, as the author abruptly breaks up a somewhat charming insight into Jack Russel’s life as a low-key ferryman with what turns out to be an ill-fitting advertisement for the now finished “Blood Hunt” mini-series.

This clunky double-splash genuinely must have been overlooked by a many a reader as it literally leaps out of nowhere with a close-up of the Moon God Khonshu, before widening its scope to show Captain Marvel and some other human mutates, seriously cleaning the clocks of a horde of understandably disgruntled vampires. Resultantly some bibliophiles were probably wondering just why the titular character is one minute stoically trying to safely dock his boat due to day suddenly becoming night, and in the next lying semi-naked near to a hole in his castle’s wall which was previously seen when Mike Ploog’s co-creation encountered a trespassing ‘YouTuber’.

Of course, for those bibliophiles willing to persevere with the publication – either by repeated re-reads or luckily spying a few pieces of text which ineffectively point at the passage of time, the sequence of events does eventually become a little clearer. However, the damage has debatably already been done to the point where few will properly enjoy this comic’s highlight of Elsa Bloodstone paying her old friend a visit, only to find him unable to control his savage hunger; “You’ve been a busy wolf. And not in the nicest way. There’s a trail of maulings that led me right back here.”

This book’s sole success can surely therefore only be found in the lavish layouts of Sergio Davila, who appears to be at the very top of his game when pencilling the likes of Ghost Ryoshi foolishly disturbing Jack whilst he’s busy cleaning up his high-walled home in the Rockies, Colorado. Furthermore, even during this comic’s more sedentary scenes, such as Russell transporting his passengers up river, or The Hood acquiring Count Dracula's "old crib", there is always plenty of detail in every panel to momentarily hold the eye and add a little bit more interest to what is going on.

The regular cover art to "WEREWOLF BY NIGHT: RED BAND" #1 by E.M. Gist

Blood Hunt: Red Band #5 - Marvel Comics

BLOOD HUNT: RED BAND No. 5, September 2024

Despite comprising of more tie-in issues and spin-off limited series than your average Marvelite can shake a pointy stick at, this final instalment of “Blood Hunt” probably still felt somewhat rushed to many of its readers in July 2024. True, the super-sized thirty-three page periodical does manage to pull many of its numerous plot-threads together for a sort of satisfying resolution. But, having an infected Miles Morales prove to be the improbable hero of the day, when the likes of the mighty Thor, invincible Iron Man and Captain Marvel appear disconcertingly impotent, is arguably a bit of a head scratcher; “I had only one weakness, Avengers. The girl. The bloodline. And she’s not here.”

Furthermore, it’s not entirely clear whether Stephen Strange’s “dread bargain” with Doctor Doom actually has any impact upon the final result. Having successfully stabbed a possessed Blade through the chest with a sword, many a bibliophile probably felt the battle was already won, and that once the Daywalker was free of Varnae’s malign influence the Darkforce surrounding our planet would return to its own dimension. However, before such an event can occur Victor casts his pre-fall Atlantean spell, supposedly brings sunlight back to the half the world, and diabolically solidifies his stance as” Earth’s new, Superior Sorcerer Supreme” – which somewhat cynically leads into another “Marvel Worldwide” major event “coming in November…”

For those onlookers able to ignore these quibbles though, Jed MacKay’s penmanship certainly still delivers a pulse-pounding experience, with much of this comic focusing upon the Avengers' fisticuffs against the dread Bloodcoven. These toe-to-toe confrontations between some of the publisher’s most popular protagonists is genuinely enthralling, especially when the God of Thunder manages to finally summon Mjolnir whilst battling the first of all vampires.

Equally up to the task of pencilling all this adrenalin-charged action is Pepe Larraz, who should genuinely cause a few painful gasps from those witnessing poor Vision losing a limb in a truly horrific manner to Bloodstorm One. In addition, ably supported by color artists Marte Gracia and Fer Sifuentes-Sujo, the Spanish illustrator impressively manages to imbue the scenes featuring Doctor Strange with a noticeably different, though far from off-putting, ambience, which speaks of the ancient and powerful magic being depicted in the panels.

The regular cover art to "BLOOD HUNT" #5 by Pepe Larraz & Marte Gracia

Blood Hunt: Red Band #4 - Marvel Comics

BLOOD HUNT: RED BAND No. 4, August 2024

Arguably crammed full of more surprises than those found inside presents sat around a Christmas Tree, Jed MacKay’s narrative for Issue Four of “Blood Hunt” surely must have caused a few gasps of amazement in its audience – especially from those readers who had been struggling to keep up with the plethora of tie-in publications which separates this edition from its predecessor. Indeed, straight from the comic’s start events have clearly moved on somewhat since Blade miraculously slammed the Temple of the First Blasphemy smack into the middle of New York City, with both Stephen Strange and his wife Cleo shockingly appearing ‘cap-in-hand’ before Doctor Victor Von Doom in Doomstadt, Latveria.

To further confound and befuddle the readers’ senses though, within a handful of panels it is revealed that Eric Brooks is not in fact the traitor this unwholesome event has portrayed the Avenger to be. But has disconcertingly been possessed by Varnae, the first vampire ever to walk the planet. Such an admission is probably not too great a surprise to those bibliophiles more familiar with the Dhampir’s usual preference to stake any blood-drinker in sight. But the notion that “one who has survived the death of continents” intends to use the Daywalker as a vessel so he can merge with “an entire dimension of darkness” is impressively grandiose in design if nothing else.

Likewise the sub-plot of Hunter’s Moon teaming up with Tigra and the super-villainous Wrecker so as to free Khonshu from his prison on Asgard proves to be a real eye-opener. The resultant hordes of mummified “dead fists” pitching themselves headlong against every vampire across the globe is pulse-poundingly penned, and probably the stuff fans of the old Hammer House of Horror movies would die for; especially when the Moon God decides to seemingly also resurrect Marc Spector’s crime-fighting alter-ego simultaneously.

More than helping to sell all these story threads are Pepe Larraz and colour artist Marte Gracia, who together manage to imbue all the lead characters with the solemness or sparks of indignation an onlooker would expect from those living through such cataclysmic times. In fact, one of this comic’s best moments comes when Doctor Doom makes it clear to a truly startled Master Of The Mystic Arts that he had already foreseen the vampire’s planetwide upheaval, and taken plenty of steps to ensure his dictatorship was not affected by it; “Ah, the Darkforce. I have precautions for that as well, of course. It was only a matter of time, after all.”

The regular cover art to "BLOOD HUNT" #4 by Pepe Larraz & Marte Gracia

Blood Hunt: Red Band #3 - Marvel Comics

BLOOD HUNT: RED BAND No. 3, August 2024

Disconcertingly containing barely a punch in anger, Jed MacKay’s dialogue-driven and somewhat sedentary storyline for Issue Three of “Blood Hunt” probably didn’t live up to the expectations of an audience whose desire to read more about Blade’s vampire uprising made the title the “top advance-reordered comic book” in early May 2024 (at least according to “Diamond Comic Distributors”). True, the twenty-one page periodical does contain a savage attack upon the Avengers by a brainwashed Miles Morales inside the supposedly safe Sanctum Sanctorum. But this ferocious ambush is quickly quelled once Clea Strange traps the fanged fiend within the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak, and her deceased husband rids Spider-man of his devilish influence via the Eye of Agamotto.

Instead, the reader is subjected to several grand speeches throughout the Canadian writer’s script, with Sam Wilson’s twelve-panel tour-de-force as Captain America being the longest and most memorable of them. This repetitious rhetoric certainly has its place within the narrative, most notably poor Brielle Brooks’ reaction to discovering that her own father is at the heart of the planetary problem and discovering that Count Dracula plans for the young girl to assassinate her parent. However, to simply plonk one word-heavy discussion after another into a single edition completely saps any pace out of this publication’s plot, and quite literally leaves any bibliophile desperately wanting events to considerably move on just so both opposing forces can once again battle one another; “Do not presume to lecture me, Spider-Man, I will not let my one hope of victory just run away --”

Desperately trying to inject some energy into this lack-lustre lethargy is Pepe Larraz, who pencils some excellent shots of the chaos being caused by Blade's minions whilst Wilson waxes lyrical about the Avengers saying “No” to the vampires' demands. These pulse-pounding pictures cover a variety of locations, from Halifax and Manhattan through to the Sahara Desert and Mexico City, so resultantly do a good job of depicting the violence stretching right across the world. Yet, any momentum which they generate is then swiftly scotched by Carol Danvers spending what seems like an eternity singing Sam’s praises, and Eric Brooks unconvincingly having a major hissy fit because he feels the super-group should “lie down and die.”

The regular cover art to "BLOOD HUNT" #3 by Pepe Larraz & Marte Gracia

Blood Hunt: Red Band #2 - Marvel Comics

BLOOD HUNT: RED BAND No. 2, July 2024

Pitching the surviving Avengers alongside Count Dracula himself in a highly unlikely team-up against a planetwide invasion of vampires, Jed MacKay’s script for Issue Two of “Blood Hunt” certainly seems to strike a much brighter note as to the Earth’s future fate than this summer event’s deeply dark preceding instalment. In fact, the absolute beating the likes of Bloodstorm One and Megrim take at the hands of Captain Marvel, the Vision and Captain America probably caused the odd reader to leap to their feet in order to cheer the protagonists on; “Here’s our philosophy: We have a lot to avenge.”

Enjoyably however, this twenty-one page periodical’s plot doesn’t simply rely upon an insane action sequence packed full of face-pummelling fisticuffs to entertain either, as the Canadian author also pens some intriguing plot progressions into the comic too – most notably the fact that Doctor Strange is still alive as a wandering spirit despite being disembowelled by Blade. These ‘quieter’ moments are especially impressive as they both provide the writer with an opportunity to bring any bibliophiles unwilling or unable to peruse the almost overwhelming number of tie-in titles bang up to speed with the overarching narrative, as well as provide a modicum of spotlight upon some of the Marvel Universe’s lesser known characters, such as Hunter’s Moon and the Daywalker’s daughter, Brielle Brooks.

Of course, it’s the aforementioned rematch between the “broken” Earth’s mightiest heroes and the Bloodcoven which most Marvelites will probably enjoy though. Having previously defeated the “all-star” supergroup, the vampiric villains are quick to forget that they had a distinct advantage over their opponents in their first fight, courtesy of a thorough briefing and the element of surprise. This time round the creatures of the night have no such benefits, and resultantly their arrogance is quickly silenced by the Vision’s ability to harness the power of solar energy.

Equally as intrinsic to this mini-series’ storytelling as MacKay’s contribution are the lavish layouts provided throughout by Spanish illustrator Pepe Larraz and Mexican colorist Marte Gracia. Together, the two artists genuinely depict a visual feast for the eyes, with perhaps Carol Danver’s socking Vlad Dracula’s gigantic clone squarely on the jaw being this apocalyptic publication’s most noteworthy smackdown.

The regular cover art to "BLOOD HUNT" #2 by Pepe Larraz & Marte Gracia

Blood Hunt: Red Band #1 - Marvel Comics

BLOOD HUNT: RED BAND No. 1, July 2024

Touted by its New York City-based publisher as “the bloodiest Marvel event ever”, Jed MacKay’s storyline for Issue One of “Blood Hunt” definitely lives up to its promise of vampires slaughtering nearly everyone that they can get their sinisterly sharp claws on. Indeed, whilst many a bibliophile might feel the comic’s ‘explicit content’ sealed polythene bag and repeated ‘mature reader only’ warnings are rather gimmicky, this thirty-two page extravaganza soon causes its audience to be up to their necks in severed limbs, torn-off heads, spilling intestines and literal rivers of icky human ichor.

Furthermore, for those onlookers able to withstand such a stomach-churning assault upon their senses, the Canadian author arguably leaves the best until almost last, by pitching the Earth’s Mightiest Heroes against the “mysterious and deadly vampire faction” known as the Bloodcoven. This battle is as brutal as it is (perhaps somewhat) disappointingly one-sided, with the likes of Iron Man, Vision, Black Panther, Captain Marvel, Scarlet Witch, Thor and Captain America all getting their proverbial clocks cleaned by a strike force specifically designed to exploit each hero’s unique set of vulnerabilities; “Or was a match, I guess. This isn’t conjecture. The Avengers are down.”

However, it isn’t arguably the notion that Stan Lee’s co-creations are soundly defeated which comes as such a surprise. But rather the truly gruesome manner in which it all occurs. Whether it be as a result of a thousand cuts, a crystalline shaft straight through the brain, or a hand tunnelling its way through the stomach, these close combat conclusions are shockingly savage, and jam-packed full of gore-drenched innards. In fact, it’s probably difficult for long-term Marvelites to recall so much physical mutilation being on show this side of a “MAX Comics” imprint – at least until the attention shifts to Doctor Stephen Strange’s horrific evisceration at the publication’s conclusion.

Also presumably being constantly peppered by MacKay to add extra buckets of blood into his prodigious pencilling is Pepe Larraz, who does a stellar job of depicting the sheer scale of the voracious blood-drinkers’ assault across the world. Of particular note is the Spanish artist’s design work on the super-vampires, with Jed himself going on record to state it was the illustrator “who really brought these characters to (un)life, creating an extremely gnarly set of predators!”

The regular cover art to "BLOOD HUNT" #1 by Pepe Larraz & Marte Gracia