Are you a fan of the “Blade” movie that was released in 1998? I remember going to see that movie and having my mind blown from the opening fight scene alone (you know the one where Blade rescues a young clueless guy who has stumbled into a rave, filled with bloodsucking vampires) and I haven’t really felt that way sin–until I read “Blade” #1 written by Bryan Hill, art by Elena Casagrande, and colors by Jordie Bellarie.
This issue is the first part of a new story titled, “Mother of Evil”. As I read it, my first thought was “this isn’t just a comic book…this is a movie!” Heck, this first issue started off so well, I would love to see Bryan Hill take a stab at writing the upcoming “Blade” movie starring Oscar winner, Mahershala Ali given their reported script problems.
In what is basically an homage to the 1998 film, Blade has to rescue a young woman who is being held captive by a group of vampires. But there is a twist this time around because Blade has actually been sent on this mission by a Werewolf named Tanaka. The only thing Tanaka can tell Blade is that the girl is not a Werewolf, she’s being hunted, and she’s important.
Of course, Blade takes the case and rescues the girl (whose name is Dana), but by the end of the issue, readers aren’t sure if that was necessarily a good thing. The issue ends with a cliffhanger where Blade finds himself in need of his own rescuing.
As good as the script from Bryan Hill is for this issue (I have been a fan on his work on other titles like Killmonger, Black Panther Unconquered#1 and Batman and the Outsiders), I would be remiss if I didn’t praise the gorgeous artwork by Elena Casagrande. I’m not familiar with her work in other titles but pairing her pencils/ink with the lush colors of Jordie Bellaire (whose work I am familiar with on titles like The Manhattan Projects, Moon Knight, and Legion of Superheroes) was a stroke of artistic genius that makes the art look like it is coming off the page!
I will definitely add this title to my pull list moving forward and I highly recommend that you give this comic a read.