In a surprise announcement as part of Marvel’s Next Big Thing panel at NYCC 2023, Marvel Comics have announced their next event Blood Hunt.
Over the past few years, Dracula and his Vampire Nation have been quietly making moves throughout the Marvel Universe. In Benjamin Percy’s Wolverine, we saw Logan go head-to-head with the Vampire threat as they recruited then-villain Omega Red to sow chaos amongst Krakoa. Then, in Jason Aaron’s Avengers we saw Blade recruit the team to stem the rising threat of the Vampire Nation itself.
Now, all those simmering plot points seem to be coming to boil. In Spring 2024, Blood Hunt will grip the Marvel Universe, and shake it to its core.
Which Creators are Working on Blood Hunt?
Accompanied by promotional art and, presumably, covers by the incredible Leinil Francis Yu, Blood Hunt will be crafted by current Avengers and Moon Knight writer Jed MacKay. What’s more, Marvel have also unveiled that the artist attached to the title is none other the X-Men extraordinaire Pepe Larraz!
Given the Avengers feature prominently in the promotional material Marvel have released, and Moon Knight is no stranger to beating on rogue vampires (see Moon Knight Vol. 3: Halfway to Sanity for that), it’s not hard to imagine that MacKay will be featuring both sets of characters heavily.
Blade, of course, features centrally on the cover, but there are some notable absences. Peter Parker’s Spider-Man is nowhere to be found, though Miles Morales is – always a welcome addition to any large-scale event. And importantly, so too are the X-Men nowhere to be found.
Given recent news about the Fall of the House of X, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that they’re too busy fighting for their survival to chip in with the vampire threat.
What Do We Know About Blood Hunt?
Marvel promises that Blood Hunt is their ‘next major crossover’, implying that this will take the form of a likely 6-issue limited series beginning in Spring 2024.
What’s more, much like Amazing Spider-Man: Gang War, Marvel are also promising a host of tie-in stories (most likely taking place within the pages of ongoing titles, like Avengers) and supporting one-shots to fill out the event.
There’s also mention in their official announcement of limited series that will spin off out of Blood Hunt. Are we to expect a new Doctor Strange or Tigra series perhaps, given their prominence in the promotional art?
Marvel have confirmed that more details will release in the coming months.
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