By Eric Drumm
Marvel's resident death dealing dhampir has seen new life in the pages of BLADE. The Daywalker has had a wild first eight issues and shows now signs of slowing down.
In just a handful of stories, Blade has managed to dust countless vamps, time travel with Dr. Doom, kill Santa Claus, fight Wolverine to a draw, bite off his own hand and die. That may seem like a lot, but that's because writer Marc Guggenheim is having such a bloody good time writing him. "Blade is an enormous hoot to write because he enjoys what he does just so darn much," says the jovial writer whose non-comics work includes CSI: Miami, Law & Order and the games Call of Duty 3 and Perfect Dark: Zero. "There's no angst in this guy. He loves what he does and is very, very, very good at it. From a writer's perspective, that's a fun character because you don't have to spend time navel-gazing, you can get straight to the action."
In the current series, we are treated to glimpses of Blade's long but previously unrevealed past. Through flashback we have seen just how far back Blade's thrill killing goes, and how it relates to his present day mission. Guggenheim assures us that we can see more of this as the series progresses. "The plan is to continue flashing back to his past so we get the first clear and consistent 'history' of Blade that's ever been published."
So what's coming up? One-handed, a little ticked off but still loveably dangerous, Blade is back on the bloodsucker beat. However, the mysterious Tyrana Prophecy is still unfolding, with Blade's "father" pulling the strings. With bits of new back-story peppered in alongside the non-stop action, Guggenheim's hyped for what's in store. "There's a lot of fun stuff coming," he says. "The return of Dracula. An explanation for how and where Blade got the funky raincoat and sunglasses that were his trademark when he first appeared back in the '70s. We'll also be bringing the whole Tyrana Prophecy subplot to a crescendo as we learn what the prophecy is all about and what Blade's role in it is going to be. Both answers should be very surprising."
At this pace, it seems like BLADE is going to be one seriously wild ride. Sink your teeth into BLADE #9 by Marc Guggenheim and Howard Chaykin, on sale May 9.
BLADE #9
Written by MARC GUGGENHEIM
Penciled by HOWARD CHAYKIN
Cover by MARKO DJURDJEVIC
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$2.99
FOC- 4/19/07, On Sale- 5/09/07
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
