In 2010, Seth Grahame-Smith published his novel Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. The subsequent movie in 2012 adequately filled a need for the role of vampire hunters, after the popularity of vampires spiked due to the Twilight series. But it’s important to note that Abraham Lincoln—the fictional, vampire-hunting character, not the real American President —was certainly not the first cinematic hero fighting to protect the human race against villainous blood-suckers.
There were several before him that have been overshadowed in recent years; think the seminal Abraham Van Helsing from Dracula, or Peter Vincent of the satirical Fright Night. Amid ongoing speculation about a long awaited 4th installment to the film series, it only seems right to give a nod to the iconic – and comparatively contemporary, wrapped in Gothic sci-fi tropes not far removed from Dredd 3D – vampire hunting hero, Eric Brooks, a.k.a. Blade.
Blade hit the comic book scene in 1973 as a supporting character in the #10 issue of Marvel’s The Tomb of Dracula. After his debut, he was featured in Quincy Harker’s Vampire-Hunters, Nightstalkers, Daywalker, and issues of Spider-Man among others. This was all before he starred in his own successful series, Blade: The Vampire Hunter, in 1994. From there, his reputation and fanbase continued to grow, not least owing to the arrival of the cult film Blade in 1998, starring the iconic Wesley Snipes, followed by Blade II in 2002 and Blade: Trinity in 2004.
The original film is still widely considered the best, with a 7.1 rating on IMDb, but if you’re a real fan, they’re really all worth indulging. You could also check out the live-action series that was created in 2006, starring Kirk “Sticky Fingaz” Jones. But unfortunately it was short-lived with only one season and 13 episodes, so don’t get too invested.
With dozens of Marvel projects hitting the shelves in recent years, Blade’s efforts as a superhero have been overshadowed. However, even though the market isn’t flooded with his merchandise these days, there are products made in the vampire hunter’s image that deserve a look. If you’re interested in games, the slots on Betfair are one way to go. Among the other nods to superhero projects, the collection features Blade as portrayed by Snipes. Here you can fight vampires by matching symbols and obtaining winning combinations. Just don’t play with the volume too loud. It’s deceptively quiet until you win, at which point you get an earful of hardcore rock n’ roll — of which Blade would surely approve.
After you spend your next free afternoon binge-watching various movies and episodes, you may feel inspired to pick up an old comic or two. If so, you can find several different issues of the newer series available from Marvel’s store. Most available online are digital copies, so if you need the feel of the comic paper between your fingers, use their print issue finding feature to locate copies in your surrounding area. Characters like Blade paved the way for the vampire hunters of today, and will no doubt continue to influence the darker avenues of the superhero genre into the future.
