Writer: Justina Ireland
Artists: Marcelo Ferreira, Roberto Poggi, Chris Compana & Craig Yeung; Josemaria Casanovas
Colorist: Rachelle Rosenberg
Letterer: Cory Petit
Cover Artists: Marcelo Ferreira, Roberto Poggi & Rachelle Rosenberg
Publisher: Marvel
Price: $4.99
Release Date: May 15, 2024
Peter Parker has seen the reluctant Human soul beneath the rabid Vampire mask. He wants to prevent the Vampires from converting more Humans to their toothy throng. But the Lizard has other ideas, and they start with body-slamming Spider-Man. Can Peter Parker get through to the Lizard? Can he enlist the Lizard’s aid to close the Darkforce portals or help save the newly fanged? Let’s grab some garlic, thwip into Amazing Spider-Man: Blood Hunt #1, and find out!
Main Story
Lizard scores a few points. But then he steps aside to let Misty Knight enter the ring. Misty wants Spider-Man’s help in fighting the incisor invasion. Spidey’s not interested. But then she mentions a cure. What? A cure for vampirism? Tell me more.
In Justina Ireland’s story, Spidey thwips across New York City with Lizard and Misty to find Dr Morbius. An undead assault team kidnapped the vampire researcher and Misty's partner, Colleen. Thankfully, Misty slipped a tracker on The Living Doctor. But then the Lizard gets an idea into his scaly Isotope Genome Accelerator Duplicate head and leads the terrific trio in a different direction.
Justina Ireland’s first story in Amazing Spider-Man: Blood Hunt #1 tosses a lot of fun and intriguing ideas into the mix. Two churches feature prominently, along with an underground lair, and the Lizard finds a way to talk without a spell from Hermoine. Readers will meet a priest who blesses Spider-Man’s web fluid, see parishioners armed with holy water guns, and discover a clue to those behind the Darkforce Invasion. Yet, as Spider-Man says in the beginning, “Something about this feels off.” These incongruities irk Spider-Man, so he takes five to do a little solo investigating. While Spider-Man waits for Misty to show her hand, I look forward to Ireland revealing how the pieces of her puzzle fit together in future issues.
Art
Tombstone may want Spider-Man dead, but the crimelord can’t match Lizard’s glare. Misty poises like a model clutching a semiautomatic with her bionic hand. She coolly dispatches vampires while the Lizard slams or chomps down on the living dead. Then Lizard charges down an alley, and the wind of his passage lifts his white lab coat into the air. Spidey thwips along, hoping Misty can keep up. But she follows on a motorcycle, pulling an Evel Knight wheelie while smashing a bloodsucker’s noggin. Spider-Man may have had a revelation, but Misty and Lizard display more exuberance than remorse in dispatching the newly undead. Without a cure, it's us against them!
Rachelle Rosenberg fills Amazing Spider-Man: Blood Hunt #1 with bright and attractive colors. Lizard’s green skin and purple slacks contrast with Spider-Man’s red and blue suit. Bricks that appeared black in ASM #49 are now an appealing turquoise. Rosenberg fills alley backgrounds with green and portrays the throbbing vitality of the city that never sleeps with yellow and orange illuminated buildings under a red sky.
Backup Story
In Justina Ireland’s second installment in Amazing Spider-Man: Blood Hunt #1, Colleen Wing and Dr Morbius travel in the back of a delivery truck. Dr Mike suggests she give it up, and Colleen demonstrates the benefits of binge-watching Elementary. When the delivery truck arrives, Colleen and Dr Mike haven't computed their location based on sounds and sensations, but they surprise their kidnappers in high-stepping style. As Colleen tells Dr Mike, "Why kick a guy in the face if you're not having fun?
As they investigate the premises of a corporation run by vampires, Dr Mike makes a tantalizing comment that puts a new spin on Ireland's Main Story. We also meet the undead CEO who tears out employees who displease him. Like Spider-Man, Dr Morbius and Colleen Wing discover a potential instigator behind the Darkforce Invasion. But will they Unlive to tell about it?
Art
Chris Campana and Craig Yeung’s All Ages art shows Colleen keeping her cool while Dr Morbius is grumpy. The vampire employees’ hairless white heads, pointy ears, and red eyes suggest they’d find sanctuary in Limbo should their corporate venture fail. Compana and Yeung enliven this shorter story with action and fighting, and much blood sprays as Colleen trades her gun for Bartitsu stick-fighting.
Rachelle Rosenberg contrasts Colleen's red hair with a white jumpsuit, while Dr Morbius' green skin pairs well with his blue and red outfit. While Rosenberg employs a smaller range of colors, Colleen and Dr. Morbius move from the cool blue truck interior to a green and brown parking garage before heading up to the yellow interiors of the bloodsuckers' corporate headquarters.
Cory Petit thwips large black uppercase lettering into white dialogue balloons and white narrative boxes with red borders. Petit demonstrates restraint in emphasizing the carnage in this second story in Amazing Spider-Man: Blood Hunt #1. Yet he helps us hear creaking doors, scraping sarcophagi, and a mob of undead pounding down church doors. Still, nothing tops the Lizard's roar on the first page. It doesn't faze Spider-Man. But then, he's Amazing.
Thanks to Marvel for providing a copy for review.
Final Thoughts
Spider-Man teams up with the Lizard and Miles Morales’ mentor, while Colleen Wing and Dr Morbius discover exciting business opportunities among the undead. Both groups uncover clues to the source of the Darkforce Invasion in Amazing Spider-Man: Blood Hunt #1.
Rating 9.5/10
To preview interior art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.
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