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Avengers (2018) (Collected Editions)
Avengers, Vol. 3: War of the Vampires
Collects Avengers (2018) #13-17.
Kingdom of vampires! Transylvania burns as a battle of the bloodsuckers throws the world into chaos! But the mysterious Shadow Colonel and his new Legion of the Unliving have one question on their murderous minds: Where is Dracula? And if the Avengers find him first, will he be friend or foe? Earth's Mightiest Heroes will have to call in an expert — welcome to the Avengers, Blade! But is Ghost Rider about to become a deadly enemy? When the dust settles and a new vampire order is established, who will be the Lord of the Damned? Plus: The Iron Fist of 1,000,000 BC stars in another journey into prehistory! Get to know the primordial woman who was the first to harness the power of the heart of the dragon Shou-Lao!
Kingdom of vampires! Transylvania burns as a battle of the bloodsuckers throws the world into chaos! But the mysterious Shadow Colonel and his new Legion of the Unliving have one question on their murderous minds: Where is Dracula? And if the Avengers find him first, will he be friend or foe? Earth's Mightiest Heroes will have to call in an expert — welcome to the Avengers, Blade! But is Ghost Rider about to become a deadly enemy? When the dust settles and a new vampire order is established, who will be the Lord of the Damned? Plus: The Iron Fist of 1,000,000 BC stars in another journey into prehistory! Get to know the primordial woman who was the first to harness the power of the heart of the dragon Shou-Lao!
111 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 5, 2019
101 people are currently reading
227 people want to read
About the author
Jason Aaron
2,359 books1,677 followersJason Aaron grew up in a small town in Alabama. His cousin, Gustav Hasford, who wrote the semi-autobiographical novel The Short-Timers, on which the feature film Full Metal Jacket was based, was a large influence on Aaron. Aaron decided he wanted to write comics as a child, and though his father was skeptical when Aaron informed him of this aspiration, his mother took Aaron to drug stores, where he would purchase books from spinner racks, some of which he still owns today.
Aaron's career in comics began in 2001 when he won a Marvel Comics talent search contest with an eight-page Wolverine back-up story script. The story, which was published in Wolverine #175 (June 2002), gave him the opportunity to pitch subsequent ideas to editors.
In 2006, Aaron made a blind submission to DC/Vertigo, who published his first major work, the Vietnam War story The Other Side which was nominated for an Eisner Award for Best Miniseries, and which Aaron regards as the "second time" he broke into the industry.
Following this, Vertigo asked him to pitch other ideas, which led to the series Scalped, a creator-owned series set on the fictional Prairie Rose Indian Reservation and published by DC/Vertigo.
In 2007, Aaron wrote Ripclaw: Pilot Season for Top Cow Productions. Later that year, Marvel editor Axel Alonso, who was impressed by The Other Side and Scalped, hired Aaron to write issues of Wolverine, Black Panther and eventually, an extended run on Ghost Rider that began in April 2008. His continued work on Black Panther also included a tie-in to the company-wide crossover storyline along with a "Secret Invasion" with David Lapham in 2009.
In January 2008, he signed an exclusive contract with Marvel, though it would not affect his work on Scalped. Later that July, he wrote the Penguin issue of The Joker's Asylum.
After a 4-issue stint on Wolverine in 2007, Aaron returned to the character with the ongoing series Wolverine: Weapon X, launched to coincide with the feature film X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Aaron commented, "With Wolverine: Weapon X we'll be trying to mix things up like that from arc to arc, so the first arc is a typical sort of black ops story but the second arc will jump right into the middle of a completely different genre," In 2010, the series was relaunched once again as simply Wolverine. He followed this with his current run on Thor: God of Thunder.
Aaron's career in comics began in 2001 when he won a Marvel Comics talent search contest with an eight-page Wolverine back-up story script. The story, which was published in Wolverine #175 (June 2002), gave him the opportunity to pitch subsequent ideas to editors.
In 2006, Aaron made a blind submission to DC/Vertigo, who published his first major work, the Vietnam War story The Other Side which was nominated for an Eisner Award for Best Miniseries, and which Aaron regards as the "second time" he broke into the industry.
Following this, Vertigo asked him to pitch other ideas, which led to the series Scalped, a creator-owned series set on the fictional Prairie Rose Indian Reservation and published by DC/Vertigo.
In 2007, Aaron wrote Ripclaw: Pilot Season for Top Cow Productions. Later that year, Marvel editor Axel Alonso, who was impressed by The Other Side and Scalped, hired Aaron to write issues of Wolverine, Black Panther and eventually, an extended run on Ghost Rider that began in April 2008. His continued work on Black Panther also included a tie-in to the company-wide crossover storyline along with a "Secret Invasion" with David Lapham in 2009.
In January 2008, he signed an exclusive contract with Marvel, though it would not affect his work on Scalped. Later that July, he wrote the Penguin issue of The Joker's Asylum.
After a 4-issue stint on Wolverine in 2007, Aaron returned to the character with the ongoing series Wolverine: Weapon X, launched to coincide with the feature film X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Aaron commented, "With Wolverine: Weapon X we'll be trying to mix things up like that from arc to arc, so the first arc is a typical sort of black ops story but the second arc will jump right into the middle of a completely different genre," In 2010, the series was relaunched once again as simply Wolverine. He followed this with his current run on Thor: God of Thunder.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 132 reviews
October 2, 2023
Vampires. Blade. Ghost Rider. "Horror comics meets action comics"! All things that I really don't enjoy in the Marvel Universe, and certainly not in the Avengers. Unfortunately this series is still leaving me very much underwhelmed. 5 out of 12, Two Star meh read.
2019 read
2019 read
July 15, 2019
Aaron's run is finally rounding into shape. He focuses on giving us a good old vampire war, even if most of the Legion of the Unliving are unfleshed out and generic. Most of them didn't even get introduced for several issues. Aaron actually seems to have some interesting plans for Ghost Rider. I hope one of them is for a costume change. He needs a flaming skull instead of that dumb stylized Halloween mask thingy. Prehistoric Iron Fist was pretty cool in her solo issue too.
April 23, 2022
What a volume!
I loved this one as we focus on the origins of the Iron fist of one million bc and its fun and its a standard origin so not the most original but we see how she came to be and the theme of Mephisto continues and then we see how the civil war of the Vampires has started and the new Shadow colonel and his legion of the unliving are here and well they fight and its awesome for sure, he gets captured but that was his plan and what he does to Robby and then the war in Russia and which also involves the winter guard sort of and the battle between the Legion and the Avengers and its epic and the conclusion promises to lead into a great new status quo or massive battle for the Avengers ahead for sure!
Aaron continues to build upto something epic and all that ties them is Mephisto and its great to see how he is carefully weaving this tapestry as well and then giving Robbie his own big story and also showing Blade action taking out vampires and having Avengers fight off agsint creature of the nights with a promising lead was awesome! I loved this one for sure and the art is just too good and Aaron teases the GR arc to come and am looking forward to it!<3!
I loved this one as we focus on the origins of the Iron fist of one million bc and its fun and its a standard origin so not the most original but we see how she came to be and the theme of Mephisto continues and then we see how the civil war of the Vampires has started and the new Shadow colonel and his legion of the unliving are here and well they fight and its awesome for sure, he gets captured but that was his plan and what he does to Robby and then the war in Russia and which also involves the winter guard sort of and the battle between the Legion and the Avengers and its epic and the conclusion promises to lead into a great new status quo or massive battle for the Avengers ahead for sure!
Aaron continues to build upto something epic and all that ties them is Mephisto and its great to see how he is carefully weaving this tapestry as well and then giving Robbie his own big story and also showing Blade action taking out vampires and having Avengers fight off agsint creature of the nights with a promising lead was awesome! I loved this one for sure and the art is just too good and Aaron teases the GR arc to come and am looking forward to it!<3!
December 23, 2019
Probably closer to 2 stars, but I feel generous after surviving Snyder’s most recent volume of Justice League, which Aaron’s Avengers is definitely not as bad as. That’s not to say there’s anything special about it, it’s mostly just dumb action, but at least it’s entertaining dumb action and there’s some fun bickering between the characters. One thing I was annoyed at was, of course, the handling of the whole russian side of the story. At one point russian super-people punish Dracula by sending him to Chernobyl and it’s said that he is being sent somewhere within Russia — newsflash, Jason Aaron, Ukraine is an entirely separate country, though I have no idea how you could find that out on your own in 2019, it’s not like there are any easy ways to look that shit up... Also, it’s not nearly as silent, empty and unpopulated as is implied, what with the area becoming more and more famous and tourism being quite popular — Dracula will have a lot of young fresh hipsters to bloodsuck on over there. You can find much quieter, emptier and scarier places within our country, though that would require Aaron to do that annoying thing called research instead of going for the most obvious thing even if it makes no sense. Ah, whatever, rant over.
June 9, 2019
The Avengers are at war! When Dracula comes seeking sanctuary, a new collection of undead warriors have other ideas, and soon the Avengers, the Winter Guard, and the Legion Of The Unliving are causing problems on a global scale.
Avengers really is getting better and better. Aaron's first arc was shaky, his second was better, and his third is the best yet. Pitting the Avengers and their international counterparts against Dracula and the new Legion Of The Unliving makes for some compelling reading, and even when you think you've got the double/triple crosses down pat, you really don't have any idea what's going on.
The character work is also more focused, with some good stuff going on with Robbie Reyes (who I thought Aaron was mishandling previously, but I see he has more of a plan than I thought), while She-Hulk and Thor remain amusing as ever. There's also a 10,000 BC Avengers issue here that focuses on the prehistoric Iron Fist which I really liked.
On the art front, we've got David Marquez on the main issues and Andrea Sorrentino on the flashback. They need no introduction - they're two of the best artists in the business right now, so this book is lush to look at.
War of the Vampires is easily the best of the bunch so far, and the quality keeps climbing, which only gives me high hopes for the future.
Avengers really is getting better and better. Aaron's first arc was shaky, his second was better, and his third is the best yet. Pitting the Avengers and their international counterparts against Dracula and the new Legion Of The Unliving makes for some compelling reading, and even when you think you've got the double/triple crosses down pat, you really don't have any idea what's going on.
The character work is also more focused, with some good stuff going on with Robbie Reyes (who I thought Aaron was mishandling previously, but I see he has more of a plan than I thought), while She-Hulk and Thor remain amusing as ever. There's also a 10,000 BC Avengers issue here that focuses on the prehistoric Iron Fist which I really liked.
On the art front, we've got David Marquez on the main issues and Andrea Sorrentino on the flashback. They need no introduction - they're two of the best artists in the business right now, so this book is lush to look at.
War of the Vampires is easily the best of the bunch so far, and the quality keeps climbing, which only gives me high hopes for the future.
September 30, 2019
I get the impression Marvel are stretching Jason Aaron, and it shows. The avengers comics are just filler, no real substance.
Thor however....that's a different story (No pun intended).
Thor however....that's a different story (No pun intended).
May 19, 2019
Besides the one issue of the past where we see how a female iron fist became the first this is a vampire centered story. I love blade so I was pretty excited for this but it failed to deliver much more than a few funny moments and cool action set pieces. Loved seeing big epic fights with this team of avengers and both robbie and thor have their share of funny moments. However the plot is boring and the subplot with Tony was pretty meh. Overall decent but not as good as the last volume. 2.5-3 out of 5.
May 19, 2020
I haven't been a huge fan of this run so far, but this volume was pretty good. They toned down the "lets introduce the new 500 minor members of the Avengers" and the terribly forced Thor/She-Hulk romance and just stuck to murdering hordes of vampires left and right.
May 8, 2021
The Avengers travels to Transylvania for the War of the Vampires, Blade joins the team and Robbie fights a inner demon, pure entertainment.
August 2, 2019
So, the Avengers are Vampire slayers now?
I mean...okay. I guess. Why not?
Besides the Iron Fist history lesson and some interesting planted plot hooks for Ghost Rider, this one didn't grab me as much as Vol. 1-2 did. There were still some cool set pieces for some fights that were pretty badass...but the overall book wasn't all that meaty. Not that it always needs to be, mind you, Sometimes you just need a little snack before dinner time.
And dinner time is what I am hoping vol. 4 will be cuz now I'm kinda hungry.
I mean...okay. I guess. Why not?
Besides the Iron Fist history lesson and some interesting planted plot hooks for Ghost Rider, this one didn't grab me as much as Vol. 1-2 did. There were still some cool set pieces for some fights that were pretty badass...but the overall book wasn't all that meaty. Not that it always needs to be, mind you, Sometimes you just need a little snack before dinner time.
And dinner time is what I am hoping vol. 4 will be cuz now I'm kinda hungry.
September 25, 2019
4.5🌟
This series is really heating up. It becomes more intricate with each volume. Aaron has planted so many seeds for future arc's while telling a great tale. Looks like things are mapped out for what I hope is going to be a long running strip.
This volume focuses heavily on Robbie Reyes AKA the new Ghost Rider, and introduces Blade to the Avengers. Blade joining while whooping Vamp backside is no big surprise but Aaron seems to have plans for him in the future. Aside from the main guys in this volume Aaron is developing the others nicely, and I'm sure we will see more of them next round. Dracula plays well as the enigmatic villain showing off shades of Hannibal Lector. I loved Dracula's twist at the end. The rest of the Vamps served well for a high octane smash up that has David Marquez running a clinic on how you do illustrations for a team book. Guest artist Andrea Sorrentino is probably my favourite active artist atm is slaying his limited role on this series, and only made the 1 million BC iron fist one shot even more of a treat.
The 1 million BC Stand alones continue to be a highlight of the series. I hope Aaron has more origin stories on deck. I don't know if anyone at marvel ever had a history class but they should call it 10,000 BC instead since there weren't mammoths or civilizations etc. 1 million BC. It's kind of cringy, but only subtracts slightly from my full enjoyment of the stories.
My expectations for volume 4 are at an all time high for an Aaron/Avengers book.
Vol, 1. Final Host 3🌟
Vol, 2. World Tour 4🌟
This series is really heating up. It becomes more intricate with each volume. Aaron has planted so many seeds for future arc's while telling a great tale. Looks like things are mapped out for what I hope is going to be a long running strip.
This volume focuses heavily on Robbie Reyes AKA the new Ghost Rider, and introduces Blade to the Avengers. Blade joining while whooping Vamp backside is no big surprise but Aaron seems to have plans for him in the future. Aside from the main guys in this volume Aaron is developing the others nicely, and I'm sure we will see more of them next round. Dracula plays well as the enigmatic villain showing off shades of Hannibal Lector. I loved Dracula's twist at the end. The rest of the Vamps served well for a high octane smash up that has David Marquez running a clinic on how you do illustrations for a team book. Guest artist Andrea Sorrentino is probably my favourite active artist atm is slaying his limited role on this series, and only made the 1 million BC iron fist one shot even more of a treat.
The 1 million BC Stand alones continue to be a highlight of the series. I hope Aaron has more origin stories on deck. I don't know if anyone at marvel ever had a history class but they should call it 10,000 BC instead since there weren't mammoths or civilizations etc. 1 million BC. It's kind of cringy, but only subtracts slightly from my full enjoyment of the stories.
My expectations for volume 4 are at an all time high for an Aaron/Avengers book.
Vol, 1. Final Host 3🌟
Vol, 2. World Tour 4🌟
June 30, 2019
The real pity of it is that Jason Aaron is a good writer. He proves it in every standalone issue of Avengers, particularly the 1 million BC issues — and we get another one here, a great focus on the origins of the Iron Fist.
But we also get another long story here, the eponymous War of the Vampires, and it's another overly long, overly decompressed trudge. It also features some of the worst tropes in superhero comics, including a group of villains who are almost entirely uncharacterized, and who are able to effortlessly beat the heroes until the last issue, when the heroes effortlessly beat them (with no reason for the change). There's good stuff here, from the Avengers actually fighting vampires to the vampires' ultimate goals. But getting there is long and tedious.
But we also get another long story here, the eponymous War of the Vampires, and it's another overly long, overly decompressed trudge. It also features some of the worst tropes in superhero comics, including a group of villains who are almost entirely uncharacterized, and who are able to effortlessly beat the heroes until the last issue, when the heroes effortlessly beat them (with no reason for the change). There's good stuff here, from the Avengers actually fighting vampires to the vampires' ultimate goals. But getting there is long and tedious.
October 6, 2021
A generic and boring story, from perhaps the most generic & boring modern Avengers team.
October 16, 2023
Some interesting ideas here, but the characters are flat. The action dominates every page, every panel, largely eschewing story. Left me sort of cold.
July 1, 2020
Jason Aaron finally has all his game pieces in place and begins to move them around. The Avengers and Russia's Winter Guard butt heads as they get drawn into a vampire civil war that pits the Legion of the Unliving against Dracula. Entertaining superhero nonsense with lots of vampire slaying. Fun!
October 11, 2024
I have always been a fan of vampire stories. So an Avengers comic named "War of the Vampires" had me excited. While not amazing I can say it was good.
Firstly allow me to point out that the artist for the female Iron Fist origin story, Andrea Sorrentino, did a great job. I really enjoyed that story and the beautiful artwork. Sadly the rest of the comic art wasn't as good. It is by no means bad, it just never measures up to the quality of Sorretino's work.
So what's going on? The overarching story is that of the Shadow Colonel and his legion of vampires. This Colonel has overthrown Dracula and seeks Lordship of vampires. Yet where is Dracula? In Russia seeking asylum. As strange as this sounds eventually the "vampire war" will conclude and we will find that Dracula has a master plan in his new irradiated homeland of Chernobyl, Ukraine.
The secondary story revolves around the annoying new Ghost Rider and his internal struggles with the Spirit of Vengeance.
After that interesting ending I will have to hunt down volume 3.
Firstly allow me to point out that the artist for the female Iron Fist origin story, Andrea Sorrentino, did a great job. I really enjoyed that story and the beautiful artwork. Sadly the rest of the comic art wasn't as good. It is by no means bad, it just never measures up to the quality of Sorretino's work.
So what's going on? The overarching story is that of the Shadow Colonel and his legion of vampires. This Colonel has overthrown Dracula and seeks Lordship of vampires. Yet where is Dracula? In Russia seeking asylum. As strange as this sounds eventually the "vampire war" will conclude and we will find that Dracula has a master plan in his new irradiated homeland of Chernobyl, Ukraine.
The secondary story revolves around the annoying new Ghost Rider and his internal struggles with the Spirit of Vengeance.
After that interesting ending I will have to hunt down volume 3.
August 8, 2019
Solid. Aaron in my opinion writes the best arc in his Avengers run to date. I'm a huge fan of Blade and I am of course incredibly excited he is coming to the MCU.Aaron writes a Blade that fits perfectly on the Avengers team but still feels like the Blade we all know and want. Aaron is always great at building a since of myth and lore into his superhero tales and this book is no exception. The book is a fast pace romp into the darker corner of the Marvel universe. Dracula without is the mustache twirling villain here. Aaron's Dracula is a monster but uses emotion when needed to even fool the reader. Ultimately that is what this book is about, MONSTERS. Robbie Reyes aka Ghost Rider has to literally confront his inner demons and beginning to realize that he may act like the hero but he may become more dangerous then any foe the Avengers have faced. In Blade he may have found a kindred spirit who himself knows he is a monster that hunts monsters. Blade's methods buts heads with the current leader of the Avengers, Black Panther. T'challa (Black Panther) believes all monsters still have a bit of humanity that can be saved but Blade knows that when you fight fire with fire its not long before the hunter becomes the hunted. I also enjoyed the banter between Tony Stark and Dracula who leaves the latter a bit bitter and curious about Howard Stark's involvement with the bloodthirsty immortal. Aaron's written is equally matched by Marquez's perfect illustrating. I love the colors to this book. The book looks great eventhough I miss McGuinness' art. This book was fun and a great comic book for those looking for the Saturday morning cartoon adventure. I looking forward to what direction Aaron is heading.
August 27, 2019
Avengers FINALLY taking a dark turn again with this Volume. Vampires, Blade, and Ghost Rider take center stage here. Hopefully, these sell well, and we'll get a Blade series again. With Carnage on center stage right now, and a new Ghost Rider title on the upcoming agenda, we might be seeing Marvel finally embrace their darkness again...
Beginning with an excellent story on the origins of Iron Fist, the primary focus of the Volume is on the storyline "War of the Vampires". The Legion of the Unliving, led by a being known only as Shadow Colonel, invades Dracula's castle in Romania, and the Avengers are dispatched to stop them. After stopping them, they interrogate the Colonel and get barely anything from him. Turns out it was all a ruse to get close to one Avenger in particular: Ghost Rider. Invoking the names of the previous Riders, he takes control of the Spirit of Vengeance, knocking Robbie out of control (more on that in a minute...). The Rider takes the Legion away from the Avengers and takes them to Madripoor where their killing resumes.
The Avengers follow them to Madripoor and take up the fight again, freeing Ghost Rider from their control, revealing that the Shadow Colonel is Xarus, son of Dracula, AND Blade takes him out in the way he does best: decapitation. The Legion runs off.
Meanwhile, THE Count Dracula seeks asylum in Russia, hoping to live his life in peace. The Winter Guard (led by the sadistic Red Widow) gives him asylum, but kills his people in front of him, takes all of his secrets and dumps him in their idea of a "protected area": Chernobyl. The joke is on them, as that was his plan the whole time. Now that Chernobyl is the protected asylum for deposed Romanian leader Dracula, it becomes his realm legally. The Legion joins him there (with Xarus' still living head) and the Kingdom of Vampires begins!
MORE SIGNIFICANT (at least in my opinion) is what happened to Robbie while he wasn't in control. Sitting in a traffic jam in hell, Robbie knows that something is very wrong. A spirit (it isn't revealed until later in the Volume) talks to him and warns him about making deals, then promises to visit him soon. That spirit is Johnny Blaze, Ghost Rider on the motorcycle, current King of Hell! MARVEL! PLEASE BRING HIM BACK!!!
Overall, a really great Volume, but only really wet my appetite from more Blade and Ghost Rider. Recommend strongly.
Beginning with an excellent story on the origins of Iron Fist, the primary focus of the Volume is on the storyline "War of the Vampires". The Legion of the Unliving, led by a being known only as Shadow Colonel, invades Dracula's castle in Romania, and the Avengers are dispatched to stop them. After stopping them, they interrogate the Colonel and get barely anything from him. Turns out it was all a ruse to get close to one Avenger in particular: Ghost Rider. Invoking the names of the previous Riders, he takes control of the Spirit of Vengeance, knocking Robbie out of control (more on that in a minute...). The Rider takes the Legion away from the Avengers and takes them to Madripoor where their killing resumes.
The Avengers follow them to Madripoor and take up the fight again, freeing Ghost Rider from their control, revealing that the Shadow Colonel is Xarus, son of Dracula, AND Blade takes him out in the way he does best: decapitation. The Legion runs off.
Meanwhile, THE Count Dracula seeks asylum in Russia, hoping to live his life in peace. The Winter Guard (led by the sadistic Red Widow) gives him asylum, but kills his people in front of him, takes all of his secrets and dumps him in their idea of a "protected area": Chernobyl. The joke is on them, as that was his plan the whole time. Now that Chernobyl is the protected asylum for deposed Romanian leader Dracula, it becomes his realm legally. The Legion joins him there (with Xarus' still living head) and the Kingdom of Vampires begins!
MORE SIGNIFICANT (at least in my opinion) is what happened to Robbie while he wasn't in control. Sitting in a traffic jam in hell, Robbie knows that something is very wrong. A spirit (it isn't revealed until later in the Volume) talks to him and warns him about making deals, then promises to visit him soon. That spirit is Johnny Blaze, Ghost Rider on the motorcycle, current King of Hell! MARVEL! PLEASE BRING HIM BACK!!!
Overall, a really great Volume, but only really wet my appetite from more Blade and Ghost Rider. Recommend strongly.
September 17, 2020
Slightly less interested in the vampire aspect, but I really like how this is expanding more on Blade and Ghost Rider. I would love to see Robbie have his own series, but until then, this will have to do. It's definitely refreshing to get to see lesser-known characters become more well-developed, especially stacked against fan favorites.
August 9, 2023
I must declare again my passionate disgust for vampires and the sort, so reading this vol. was certainly ominous for the review... BUT, I adore Blade, and the fighting with the disgusting undead was extra-extra fun to read. Would read again, definitely. I wouldn't be in the mood for dinner afterwards, but I would.
May 29, 2020
This was a somewhat fun read but very circular story wise.
August 21, 2021
For anyone who reads my reviews, you know I'm constantly harping on how comics should be fun. Well, here Jason Aaron has somehow managed to accomplish that, in a near perfect awesome Avengers adventure story. Hehe alliteration means love. That said, the artwork throughout was extremely awesome too. There's nothing to really complain about in this book. I don't know if Aaron just wanted to have fun with the book, or if he simply felt like throwing it all out there but it really works in a classic comics kind of way.
The Avengers aren't the team you usually think of when you have a supernatural dilemma. They like the Fantastic Four are busy embroiled in cosmic fare with the Kree and Skrulls, but given the addition of Ghost Rider I should have seen this coming. Vampires are crazy cool, when done right, in the classical Dracula style. Which is exactly how they are done here.
The book begins with Dracula's castle being stormed by some of the baddest vampire bad guys ever, especially The Shadow colonel and his mean demon dog. Dracula appears to be the target of their attack, and this sends all the vampires in the world running for cover, as these guys mean to kill all the fat, old, tired vampires under Dracula's protection and begin a new vampire race of stronger, meaner stock. Vampire Nazis it would appear. We move to Wakanda were Black Panther and Blade are teamed up trying to stop vampires from immigrating to the country to steal their vibranium, which would make them a formidable group against those who went up against Dracula, the Legion of the Unliving, made up of the Shadow Colonel and the Baroness Blood, among others.
It's all as awesome and cool as it sounds. Blade and T'Challa aren't bestest pals just because we're the only two black guys on the Avengers. Blade is actually a loner, and a real sour fellow and I love his characterization like that. A lot of the times in the book he has some salty lines and they are funny, if not wicked. T'Challa thinks he can save the vampires with science, and all Blade wants to do is stab them. And why not, that's what he does. He's a vampire hunter, not a vampire rehabilitator.
I'm still annoyed with what's going on with She-Hulk, which is one of the only reasons I don't give this book a perfect 5 stars, and also that story at the beginning of the book of Paleolithic Iron Fist. I'm sure I've said before, I'm not a fan of the pre-historic Avengers. The idea seems stupid to me, and has yet to come to any good reason to be. Let's see if Aaron can change my mind later in his run.
Throughout the story there is a ton of action. A lot of vampire slaying, both by the bad guys and the good guys, Dracula shows up, and now how you'd expect him, which I seriously disliked at the beginning of the book. But there's a reason we don't judge a book before we've finished it. Ghost Rider gets turned, making Robbie his alter ego get lost in one of the more ridiculous hells I've seen but one I can completely relate too. Then he meets [redacted] who appears later letting us know that Robbie's dealing with his inner demons isn't over yet. Which is interesting, especially when coupled with the twist ending. Oh yes, there's a surprise at the end, which I will not spoil.
Let me tell you this is the most fun I've had reading a comic in a long while and I am definitely buying this book to read and reread time and again because the Avengers fighting vampires is seriously cool, and Aaron has promised us it will likely happen again and I cannot seriously wait for that to be.
I will definitely be buying this trade.
The Avengers aren't the team you usually think of when you have a supernatural dilemma. They like the Fantastic Four are busy embroiled in cosmic fare with the Kree and Skrulls, but given the addition of Ghost Rider I should have seen this coming. Vampires are crazy cool, when done right, in the classical Dracula style. Which is exactly how they are done here.
The book begins with Dracula's castle being stormed by some of the baddest vampire bad guys ever, especially The Shadow colonel and his mean demon dog. Dracula appears to be the target of their attack, and this sends all the vampires in the world running for cover, as these guys mean to kill all the fat, old, tired vampires under Dracula's protection and begin a new vampire race of stronger, meaner stock. Vampire Nazis it would appear. We move to Wakanda were Black Panther and Blade are teamed up trying to stop vampires from immigrating to the country to steal their vibranium, which would make them a formidable group against those who went up against Dracula, the Legion of the Unliving, made up of the Shadow Colonel and the Baroness Blood, among others.
It's all as awesome and cool as it sounds. Blade and T'Challa aren't bestest pals just because we're the only two black guys on the Avengers. Blade is actually a loner, and a real sour fellow and I love his characterization like that. A lot of the times in the book he has some salty lines and they are funny, if not wicked. T'Challa thinks he can save the vampires with science, and all Blade wants to do is stab them. And why not, that's what he does. He's a vampire hunter, not a vampire rehabilitator.
I'm still annoyed with what's going on with She-Hulk, which is one of the only reasons I don't give this book a perfect 5 stars, and also that story at the beginning of the book of Paleolithic Iron Fist. I'm sure I've said before, I'm not a fan of the pre-historic Avengers. The idea seems stupid to me, and has yet to come to any good reason to be. Let's see if Aaron can change my mind later in his run.
Throughout the story there is a ton of action. A lot of vampire slaying, both by the bad guys and the good guys, Dracula shows up, and now how you'd expect him, which I seriously disliked at the beginning of the book. But there's a reason we don't judge a book before we've finished it. Ghost Rider gets turned, making Robbie his alter ego get lost in one of the more ridiculous hells I've seen but one I can completely relate too. Then he meets [redacted] who appears later letting us know that Robbie's dealing with his inner demons isn't over yet. Which is interesting, especially when coupled with the twist ending. Oh yes, there's a surprise at the end, which I will not spoil.
Let me tell you this is the most fun I've had reading a comic in a long while and I am definitely buying this book to read and reread time and again because the Avengers fighting vampires is seriously cool, and Aaron has promised us it will likely happen again and I cannot seriously wait for that to be.
I will definitely be buying this trade.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 21, 2019
I liked, but didn’t love this volume. The first issue was great—Andrea Sorrentino’s art and the prehistoric-esque setting helped in that respect—and the vampire arc had a lot of cool action moments, but not a lot of substance.
The artwork is the best it’s been though, and some of Marquez’s pages show off some genuinely stunning spectacle. The story was kinda flat though, and just didn’t have any of the character moments that I liked so much in the last volume. And the character work it did have was pretty familiar territory, so it lacked depth. Still a fun read though, and I’m definitely going to keep reading.
The artwork is the best it’s been though, and some of Marquez’s pages show off some genuinely stunning spectacle. The story was kinda flat though, and just didn’t have any of the character moments that I liked so much in the last volume. And the character work it did have was pretty familiar territory, so it lacked depth. Still a fun read though, and I’m definitely going to keep reading.
October 18, 2020
This volume is probably one of my most favorite ones yet. I love the storyline and how we are introduced to Blade coming in as a new Avenger. I think Blade is such a great and complex character. Now the Avengers went from fighting robot aliens to vampires. This was so fast pace and the action was great. The other Avengers still strong and I also like how at the beginning we see another character from the million years ago own group of Avengers and their backstory. I can not wait to continue the next volume to see what happens next.
December 27, 2019
This Avengers vs Vampires story is just great. I know its sort of a filler story till the War of the Realms but this was my favorite story arc so far from Jason Aaron's Avengers. Also, the introduction of Blade to the team is both cool and kinda off-beat. War of the Vampires is great if your in the mood for superheroes and horror. I think its the perfect Superhero Halloween story, tonally, that is. I loved everything about it and cannot recommend it enough!
March 10, 2021
Best instalment so far of the Aaron Avengers run, squarely in romp and fight mode. I am not entirely sure what the antagonist’s “plan” is here or if the final twist makes any sense but the fun is in the journey not the destination. Undemanding but pacy and entertaining - Marvel could (and have) do a lot worse.
June 11, 2019
3.5* good fun vampire hunting.
October 10, 2019
3’5⭐️
January 21, 2020
War of the Vampires gets a rating bump simply because the entire volume focuses on just one thing: vampires! Whereas previous volumes jumped between narratives like a coke-addled Hollywood exec, War of the Vampires manages to stay the course, even if it's a rather dull, confusing one.
Did you know vampires are a big deal in the Marvel universe? Aside from Blade, I kinda forgot about them. Turns out, they war amongst each other periodically, so the Avengers have to step in to calm things down. Dracula is a character in the Marvel universe (so weird), but the real villain here is a Space Marine from Warhammer 40K who seems to have been renamed "Shadow Colonel." I never knew his deal, or the deal of his Vampire Squad. Does everyone get a team in the Avengers series?
The volume also earns the rating bump with quality art throughout (so long, Ed McGuiness, and good riddance) and a nifty Prehistoric Avengers story starring Prehistoric Iron Fist. Still, I'm not exactly excited about this series.
Did you know vampires are a big deal in the Marvel universe? Aside from Blade, I kinda forgot about them. Turns out, they war amongst each other periodically, so the Avengers have to step in to calm things down. Dracula is a character in the Marvel universe (so weird), but the real villain here is a Space Marine from Warhammer 40K who seems to have been renamed "Shadow Colonel." I never knew his deal, or the deal of his Vampire Squad. Does everyone get a team in the Avengers series?
The volume also earns the rating bump with quality art throughout (so long, Ed McGuiness, and good riddance) and a nifty Prehistoric Avengers story starring Prehistoric Iron Fist. Still, I'm not exactly excited about this series.
May 31, 2023
Avengers vampir avcılığına soyunuyor. Vampirlerin kendi arasındaki çatışmaya "insanlık yok olana dek durmayacaklar" şeklinde makul bir sebepten müdahale ediyorlar. Belki de demokrasi götürüyorlar diyebiliriz. Blade de dahil olunca işler iyice zıvanadan çıkıyor. Hikaye zaten Avengers hikayesi olmaktan çok uzakken üzerine bir de sıkıcı ve uzatılmış diyaloglar eklenince keyif namına hiçbir şey bulamadım. Ayrıca Gerekli Şeyler'in bastığı son Marvel kitaplarından olduğu için yarım kalmış bir seri.
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