Blade, Vol. 2: Evil Against Evil

Blade (2023)

by Bryan Edward Hill, Elena Casagrande (cover_art), Valentina Pinti (artist)

The vampire-hunting vampire called Blade continues his hit solo series, learning lessons from the incredible Hulk... and the infernal Dracula! Until Blade became Sheriff of Vampire Nation, Dracula was his sworn enemy. Now Dracula is the only who can teach Blade what he still needs to know about himself - and how to unlock new powers of vampirism Blade didn't even know he possessed! But, in preparation to face the deadly Adana once more, Blade must confront the monster that he fears he is... and who knows better what it's like to live with a dark side than Bruce Banner? Now, mustering all the power gained with Dracula and Hulk's aid, Blade must gather knowledge about the Adana by going deep into the heart of enemy territory! Collecting: Blade (2023) 6-10

Genres: Comics, Marvel, Graphic Novels, Superheroes, Fiction, Ebooks, Fantasy

115 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 28, 2024

About the author

Bryan Hill is a screenwriter, photographer, tv writer, and director. He is known for his work on the DC show TITANS and for his work in comics, most notably his outings on DETECTIVE COMICS, POSTAL, AMERICAN CARNAGE, KILLMONGER and ANGEL.
His writing is infused with esoteric principles, which can also be found in his photography and music.
He lives and works in Los Angeles.

Reviews

[Anna Quilter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very fast and to the point read.

Interesting and a little unrecognizable portrayals of Dracula, Hulk and Satana.

[Adam Fisher · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW! That was a great read! Almost like a Blade movie...
We left off with Blade needing to face down the Adana, and having just lost Lucifer's Blade, attempts to make the only ally he thinks will work: Dracula. Drac teaches Blade (after drinking some of Dracula's blood) to unleash his inner vampire. He also:
- helps Hulk exorcise a villager to release a demon
- uses Satana's abilities to go to Hell to recruit an army
- comes back from Hell with Draven
- uses the help of Rotha and Tulip

All this combined obviously wins the day... but the pacing and and flow of this story makes it all worth while. Can't wait to see what happens in Blood Hunt!
Strong recommend.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a pretty good Blade run. A little far-out and fantastical in its sorcerous elements for my tastes, sure, but Our Hero doggedly seeks out the evil he unwittingly unleashed in the first volume and provokes a memorably bloody final showdown. Recommended.

[Khurram · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good but very quick read of a book. Lots of panels of Blade looking cool and slicing and dicing bad guys and monsters. In fairness, that is Blade"s fighting style, and it is a formula that works for Blade.

Blade goes to train with Dracula. What will or can Dracula unleash from within Blade? A few more guest stars and a lot of dead monsters in the way for Blade vs. Adana.

A very quick and bloody (mainly monster blood) to the main event. The book works for Blade though. The book finishes with a very a varient covers gallery.

[Tyler Jenkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

The closing issue was honestly a bit of a let down but I for the most part really liked this story. The action was good and the art better than most right now. I thought maybe since this ended and Blood Hunt started right after that it would set up the event but I would be very wrong. Hoping when Blade returns later this year it’ll be with the characters we met here and with his daughter we met last year.

[Dakota Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as satisfying as the first volume, which set the stakes really high. Here, they're immediately lowered as Blade wanders the world for a few issues, talking to Dracula, Hulk, and others about how to defeat Adana while (offscreen apparently?) the world is being overrun with demons.

Also dissatisfying: Elena Casagrande is on art duties for only two issues. Those two issues are immediately better than the others, which really says a lot about her artwork.

Ultimately, Blade obtains enough allies (and accesses his dark side) to defeat Adana. End of story. It's fine, but the first volume suggested there would be more meat on these bones.

[Roman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Blade #6-10

Перша арка Блейда від Гілла мені дуже сподобалася, я від неї нічого не очікував і був приємно здивований коли прочитав її. Тож давайте дізнаємося чи вдасться Блейду зупинити лиходійку, а самій арці втримати планку яку задала перша.

Після програшу Адані у фіналі минулого сюжету, наш герой змушений звернутися до Дракули аби він натренував його і весь шостий номер присвячений цьому. Протягом цього номеру нам також закидують ідею з тим, що для того, щоб зупинити зло потрібно самому бути злим, та також те, що Дракула так-то був не таким вже й поганим. Взагалі досить слабенький номер вийшов, як на мене, не додає йому балів й малюнок Лі Ферґюсона який мені не дуже сподобався.

7 номер це у нас тім-ап з Галком в якому вони рятують містечко від навали монстрів. Загалом вийшов досить непоганий філерний номер. З основного до чого хочеться причепитися це до невеликої невідповідності між 6 номером, у фіналі якого Банер дзвонить до Блейда, й все виглядає так ніби знає про Адану, та 7 в якому Блейд переповідає Брюсу хто вона така та минулі події в серії. Ну і відсутність Чарлі ще.

У 8 і 9 номерах Блейд продовжує готуватися до сутички з Аданою, у 8 він вирушає в пекло, а в 9 змушує Адану прийти за ним. І у 10 відбувається фінальна конфронтація з лиходійкою. Чесно, я б хотів сказати, що Гіллу вдалося вдало підвести до цього й завершити серію, однак це було б брехнею. Читалося все досить ніяк і я просто чекав коли вже все дійде до завершення, плюс сама фінальна сутичка вийшла скоріше ніякою. Ситуацію рятує малюнок, 7 і 9 номери малює Валентина Пінті, а 8 та 10 Єлена Касаґрандре й от вони загалом постаралися.

В результаті друга половина серії вийшла не те щоб жахливою, а просто ніякою. Тут є декілька цікавих моментів типу павер-апів Блейда та тім-апу з Галком, а також досить непоганий малюнок починаючи з 7 номеру, але це крок назад в порівнянні з першою аркою.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

While several issues of this feel like marvel team up padding, the issues drawn by Casagrande really soar action wise.

This vol and run as a whole really do read quick, seeing as it's light on dialogue and constant on the vampire killing, it's lacking anything tangible to make it memorable. Hill doesn't have enough juice there. The main antagonist has the Castlevania Nocturne issue of "gassing up the big bad evil bitch, only for her to have no depth". I just wanted more to chew on besides Blade and his unmemorable supporting cast killing monsters.

[Subham · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an okayish volume and a good follow up as you see Blade training with Dracula and now he can shapeshift and all and has got powers and I would be interested to see what others feel about it, the story with Banner felt like it could have been longer and maybe better that way, a story with Satanna and him going to hell and rescuing "Draven" the person who he killed in the beginning and who will help him stop ADANA and the last battle which should have been longer, and it feels like it was cancelled and maybe thats why it ended that way but still fun to see the character evolution of Blade and how far he has come, it will be interesting to see his role in "Blood hunt" and the next Blade series they tease in the end! So yeah, this volume overall is a decent follow up with some good team ups and action and teases whats next for Blade!

[Ross · Rating 3 out of 5]

Would you sell your soul to keep evil at bay?
Give up on your humanity to wield powers of Evil that could win the fight?

Blade is making those choices in these issues. He's gone to Dracula in an effort to unlock vampiric secrets that Blade has never used and Dracula never shared. Every choice he makes could be another black mark on his soul. Evil winning over evil doesn't leave much room for the good in anything.

...and Blood Hunt is coming. With Blade more vampire than ever before, what does that mean for his teammates and friends?
-----
Bonus: This should have been stated as a miniseries. Let them all know the end is coming.
Bonus Bonus: Blade is one mouth full of blood away from a Dracula-like frenzy. Those eyes!

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Most of this volume is a holding pattern/preparation for Blade's second face-off with the Adana, and then the final fight itself is...a little disappointing.

The Dracula issue's great. The hell issue with Satana is also pretty good. Each issue has something interesting to contribute, it's just that the overall package doesn't feel as cohesive as it should. I wonder if this is because Blade was needed for Blood Hunt, so Hill couldn't do as much as he wanted with the character.

Also a drawback - Elena Casagrande was a big draw for the first volume, but she doesn't draw most of this second volume, which is a shame. There's nothing wrong with the fill-ins, but when you've had Casagrande, you want more. It was the same problem over in Black Widow when she was drawing that.

[Joey Nardinelli · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly fine. Didn’t realize there was a volume one but I feel like I got 95% of what was going on based on context which is a bummer for how uncompelling the whole narrative seems and yet nice for someone who, foolishly, jumps on without prior reading in the series. I think I came here from the Hulk line expecting some clearer crossover and at the end of this, I feel like that not only didn’t matter much but also arrived at this shoulder shrug of an ending. I love seeing Blade with Dracula powers, but isn’t that also…pretty antithetical to the character? Similarly, some of the art is really sharp and sporadically the faces look kinda just plain weird.

[Matt Sautman · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I liked this book, I do think skipping out on the first volume left me without important context between where Blade is at following his departure from the Avengers to become the warden of Dracula’s vampire nation and Dracula becoming a mentor to him. The art is why I ended up marking this 4 instead of 3 stars.

[Anga Kyla · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5
Boring.
'Satana. Go Off' 🤢 just stop
The art could be good at times and below average most of the time. Especially when there were multiple subjects in a frame.

I dont regret reading it but I was disappointed.

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

Like volume 1; serviceable story, lazy art

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's fine, but I feel like all of the characters are emotionally distant and sort of going through the motions of fighting evil because Reasons. Still, entertaining if nothing else

[Paxton Holley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Blade and his crew fight to unring the bell that is the demon Adana.

Really enjoying this title.

[M.i. · Rating 3 out of 5]

It gets points for raising the ante on Blade’s problems.

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was...okay.

[Ziyad Baksh · Rating 3 out of 5]

fun buildup to the end

the buildup to the fight with Adana was more fun than the actual fight but it was a good read.

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

[Rickey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was WAY better than vol 1. No random jumping around mid-fight and a solid story and buildup to the final battle.

[Daniel Butcher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stabby and what you expect!

[B · Rating 3 out of 5]

seems like this got cancelled suddenly as everything just wraps up

[Jack Morelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Second half of this series was much stronger than the first, and the art is beautiful

[Raffaele · Rating 4 out of 5]

Conclusione degna della maxi serie del nostro diurno.

[Drew · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's fine, but nothing special.