Blade: Sins of the Father #1

Blade: One-Shots

by Marc Andreyko

A hit against a vampire mafia Don goes sideways when Blade accepts a contract from an untrustworthy source! Look out, Eric, you have THREE day walkers to slay!

Genres: Comics, Marvel, Graphic Novels

Paperback

First published August 1, 1998

About the author

Marc Andreyko is a comic book and screenplay writer, best known for writing the 2000s ongoing series Manhunter for DC Comics.

Reviews

[Ill D · Rating 1 out of 5]

I genuinely like to give known-unknowns a chance but, Blade is just one of those Z-Level listed comic characters that is truly deserving of his super-substandard reputation. To be fair, he’s not horrible intrinsically, he’s just woefully undeveloped in an age that could have allowed him to be so much more. I’m not sure if the author/illustrator/creative team are to blame (past or present) but ultimately the Blade here is lame. Lame, lame, lame.

This undeveloped quality well matches the thinness of this quasi-prequel set before the (now horribly dated) 1998 motion picture. Pursuant to his shallow character development, we get just another good-guy with a particularly dark veneer, only truly differentiated by his accessories: Katana, serrated boomerang, shades, and an dumb edgy trench coat. And of course, the bad guys are just as blandly unoriginal to match – just more vampires sartorially arrayed for a modern urban environment.

Of course, good guy and villains alike scuffle all across a muddled and uncreative backstory setting up another yawn inducing series of events that are predictable as they are boring. With every hackneyed comic trope utilized to banal effect, when our hero escapes from yet another predictably indistinguishable escape act (locked up by bad guys to only escape a few panels later) the tension level here is pathetically miserable.

However, most curiously or damnably is that the dots to connect it to the ensuing motion picture (it is a prequel remember?) are mostly non-existent. In fact, if not for the title itself which alludes to its preceding nature, I would’ve just wrote it off as another throw-away one-shot – which is effectively what it is.

[Ian · Rating 3 out of 5]

A prelude and tie-in to the 1998 Blade movie, starring Wesley Snipes.
Blade is put on the trail of a vampire mob boss by none other than the crime lord's vampire daughter, but no alliance with the undead goes entirely to plan.

It's strange to think that before Snipes brought the character to life on the big screen, Blade was a C-list Marvel character probably best known for his brief appearance on the Spider-Man cartoon series. What that means is this book is a strange balance of an unfamiliar version of Blade and the writer and artists not having seen to new movie for cues.
It's neither the comic book Blade nor the movie version, but somewhere in between.

The story itself isn't bad but doesn't have anything particularly innovative about it.
I guess I'd describe this book as a 'serviceable' story of the vampire hunter.

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[Volodymyr Petrenko · Rating 4 out of 5]

Чудовий стиль малювання персонажів! Не зазираючи нікуди та дивлячись на Блейда тут, згадую образи з анімацій про Ріддіка та Еон Флакс.

Історія проста, адже це лише анонс для фільму. Але тут, як то кажуть, «не баян, а класика». Особливо сподобалася лінія про антагоніста, з яким візуалізація його епохи (авто, костюми etc) продублювалася й часовий проміжок подій комікса.

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome book!!! I love Bart Sears! Good story....vampires in the mafia...good concept that has actually been done before but never been done well until now. And why don't they give Blade back his own comic book series!!! It's not just all superheroes you know.

[M.i. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fun, good action. Not much going plot wise. Enjoyable.

[Caleb Abel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfect comic for the Halloween season.

[Anga Kyla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great! This Blade is definitely very similar to the movie Blade.