13 Best Blade Comics You Need to Read Right Now

Despite the fact that he can thank his rise to popularity to the movies and Wesley Snipes’ excellent interpretation, Blade is a character with a long tradition and although he deviates from Marvel’s most popular stories and their usual style, Blade has been a pillar of Marvel’s comics for decades. His stories are for those that like a darker approach to stories, which is good in terms of diversity, while Blade himself is also relevant for the African American community and its status in mainstream comics. All things considered, we at Fiction Horizon are bringing you a list of the 13 best Blade comic books and graphic novels for your pleasure!

Best Blade Comic Books

13. Doctor Strange: Damnation

Writer(s): Donny Cates, Nick Spencer
Artist(s): Rod Reis
Publication Date: 2018

During the 2017 Secret Empire crossover event, Las Vegas was destroyed when HYDRA helicopters were dispatched to level the city. After regaining his status as Sorcerer Supreme from Loki, Doctor Strange uses his magic to restore him and revive the dead.

In front of him is Mephisto, the ruler of hell, who has already claimed their souls as his. He orchestrates events that cause his demons to bring Doctor Strange to his newly created Hotel Inferno. Mephisto claims the remains of Las Vegas were in his kingdom before it was restored.

The Inferno Hotel is starting to make an impact on the people of Las Vegas. It also impacted the Thor form of Black Panther, Captain Marvel, Falcon, Hawkeye, and Jane Foster, where they were all transformed into Ghost Rider-type creatures. Doctor Strange’s talking dog ghost, Bats, went to Wong to help Doctor Strange.

To aid Doctor Strange, Wong summoned Blade, Doctor Voodoo, Moon Knight, Elsa Bloodstone, Ghost Rider, Iron Fist, Scarlet Spider, and Man-Thing to form the latest incarnation of the Midnight Sons. Mephisto transformed Doctor Strange into a Ghost Rider-like creature. As Wong gathered the Midnight Sons, they were overwhelmed by the demons roaming Las Vegas.

This attack separated the minds of Wong and Bats from the rest. While the Midnight Sons were rescued from the Ghost Riders by Scarlet Spider, the ghost of Wong and Bats encountered the Ghost Rider form of Doctor Strange. The spirit of Bats is able to possess the soulless body of Doctor Strange.

While the Midnight Sons and Scarlet Spider battle demons, Ghost Rider rides his motorbike to the top of the Hotel Inferno to take on Mephisto. After Mephisto removes Johnny Blaze’s Ghost Rider, he throws Blaze off the roof.

The Midnight Sons have been fighting the possessed Avengers for hours. Mephisto appeared on the battlefield, happy that they sent Johnny Blaze to attack him. At this point, the Possessed Avengers attack Mephisto when Wong reveals that Mephisto has left his throne, which allows Ghost Rider to become the new ruler of the Mephisto Realm.

After Doctor Strange returned from the realm enters, he helped the Midnight Sons and the Avengers prevent Mephisto from returning to his realm to reclaim his throne. Although Doctor Strange defeated him, Mephisto fled to his kingdom, where he was defeated by Johnny Blaze and the various Ghost Riders of the Multiverse.

After Johnny Blaze sent Mephisto back to Earth, he was held in countless chains atop Hotel Inferno, while Hotel Inferno remained on Earth. When Doctor Strange, the Avengers, and the Midnight Sons left for Las Vegas, Wong stayed behind to watch the Hotel Inferno casino.

12. Captain Britain and MI13: Vampire State

Writer(s): Paul Cornell
Artist(s): Leonard Kirk
Publication Date: 2008 – 2009

The vampire lord Dracula, with the support of Doctor Doom, is preparing a full-scale attack on Great Britain. While the Black Knight and Faiza Hussein travel to Africa to retrieve the true Black Blade from Wakanda’s Queen Ororo, Dracula tries to destroy the team from within.

He turns Faiza’s father into a vampire, forces Spitfire into his inner circle, and infiltrates his agents into MI13 to remove the protective magical field around the British Isles. Using Plokta’s abilities, MI-13 agents inspire Dracula that his plan is being implemented perfectly, that the resistance is almost broken, and that he is about to conquer Britain.

However, he soon realizes that everything is going too smoothly, and breaks free from the captivity of the illusion. A team of heroes begins a joint attack on Dracula’s ship. Spitfire acts from within, Captain Britain fights Lilith, Dracula’s daughter, but they are forced to retreat. Dracula receives a gift from Doom in the form of Meggan, Captain Britain’s wife.

However, Doom betrays Dracula, and Meggan uses her powers to wreak havoc among his servants. The heroes begin a new attack, with Captain Britain destroying Lilith, Blade, and Union Jack capture Dracula’s coffin, and Faiza Hussein kills the vampire lord with Excalibur.

11. Blade MAX

Writer(s): Christopher Hinz
Artist(s): Steve Pugh
Publication Date: 2002

Blade encounters a new vampiric creature named Tryk, who is unafraid of vampires and pursues them. The Queen of Tryks is interested in a ceremony that would make Blade her king, and an organization called Seven is established to pursue a policy of “vampiric balance”.

They kill both the vampires and the Tryks they hunt, but just enough to keep the numbers of the two types down. They are upset by Blade’s recent escalation in vampire murders as they don’t want anything spilling out into the streets, so they allow him to be murdered.

The Seven reveal that the Queen of the Tryks wants Blade to be her mate so that she can devour him and produce another queen. Blade goes out with his new girlfriend Susan and tells her that the vampires tricked him into killing his former lover with a sword by drugging her and equipping him with contact lenses and fake fangs.

The vampires capture Fofo, Blade’s weapons supplier, and place a tracking device on him so he can lead them to Blade after dropping him into the river. The vampires recover Blade and take him prisoner. The Tryk captures the seven agents sent to kill Blade while Blade escapes the vampires.

The Tryk takes the agents to his queen after Blade receives some information on them, which he traced back to their leader. The boy (from the leader of the Seven Ages upside down) offers Blade a sword to enter the Queen’s stronghold and kill her so that he can dive into the Queen’s baths and become fully human.

After Blade sleeps with Susan, he finds out that she was Queen Tryk in disguise the entire time. Blade enters the queen’s baths but doesn’t change and realizes the Leader of the Seven is manipulating him. Blade then destroys the Tryk cave, but the now pregnant queen escapes.

When the Seven realize that Blade’s Tryk numbers have been reduced so much, she revokes her previous order to assassinate Blade and gives him carte blanche in the field. Blade helps a woman bury her husband, who has been killed by a vampire who has been pursued by Blade.

10. Sins of the Father

Writer(s): Marc Andreyko
Artist(s): Bart Sears
Publication Date: 1998

The daughter of a mafia vampire Don manipulates Blade into attacking her father’s estate with a revenge story for being turned into one of the living dead, but she and her husband really want to take out the daywalker and remove his father in a power grab. After she and her husband kill her father, Blade kills them both.

9. Blade Vs. The Avengers

Writer(s): 
Artist(s): 
Publication Date: 

For some time, vampires in have been confronted by Blade, a half-vampire who hates the vampire race to death and is believed to be the “cure”, and Anthony, the elder and experienced leader of the Order. In recent times, however, something unexpected and incredible has happened: Anthony was bitten and transformed, passing to the dark side of this war.

The terrible fact becomes worse, as Anthony is also a brilliant and skilled strategist and within a few weeks all the clans are serving him. In fact, Anthony has a plan to make his new race win: to transform superheroes, metahumans into vampires and in this way give their cause a lethal and invincible weapon.

Blade continues his hunt, refusing an offer of truce even from Anthony himself. One night, however, the turning point takes place: Nerd-Hulk, being once again denigrated and seeing the possibility of entering the official team of the Ultimates denied, decides that for once he would do things as he wishes.

So he escapes from the base of S.H.I.E.L.D. but it was not long before Anthony attacked and vampirized him. The next day, at the Triskelion, they notice his disappearance, and given that Fury himself has noticed other strange disappearances among the metahumans, he decides to go in search of him and organizes a team which is also joined by Steve Rogers.

Having begun the search through a detector that the Hulk clone carries under his skin, the signal leads them half a mile from Times Square, six hundred meters underground in the sewers. Sneaking into the sewer system, Fury and his team run into a dying Devil, whom Cap tries to help, only it turns out to be a trap.

Anthony’s vampires come out, with Banner and Stick, and Ray takes the opportunity to bite Steve in the neck. A few hours before they set out on his trail, Banner had in fact managed to capture and vampirize both Devil and his master, thus further fleshing out the ranks of Anthony’s army, which is bringing vampires from all the clans.

A second team of agents manages to attack the vampires from behind and Anthony orders Banner to open a passage to escape. The fight is postponed but Captain America is injured, and they decide to take him to the Triskelion.

Arriving at the base, Fury mobilizes the entire medical department and expels Carol Danvers, Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., from the operation. Nobody believes in the real existence of the “vampire” and they approach the situation as if it were a case of infection by an outside agent. But Blade thinks otherwise.

Discovering Anthony’s plan and following the moves of the government agents, Blade sneaks into the infirmary with the intention of driving a stake into Cap’s heart, because he is only a Trojan horse for the vampire king’s plan.

In the confusion, Steve escapes and Blade is taken prisoner. At the base arrive both the brilliant, and extremely competitive, Stark brothers and with them begins the interrogation of Blade, who, not without a hint of cynical humor, tells everything he knows about the current threat in progress. Following this information, they decide to mobilize the largest possible team of agents.

In the meantime, a change of leadership has taken place in the vampire community: during a hunt Banner challenges Anthony and defeats him with a simple punch that detaches his head from the torso.

The attack begins and takes the Triskelion by surprise while government troops are still organizing. Stick and Devil sneak into the building attacking Tony Stark and knocking him out. Meanwhile, Banner leads the charge. Fury and all the agents try desperately to resist by shooting as hard as they can.

Inside the building, Stick and Devil managed to find Blade, asking the guards to free him and give him a sword and glasses: if the vampires occupy the Triskelion it will be the end of everything. Perun manages to hit Rogers, who seems to be showing resistance to the disease, but before he can do more, Banner breaks his neck and throws him against a wall.

The massacre is in progress: Blade is put in serious trouble by the duo of ex-members of the Order, while men and women fall like harvested wheat. Banner eventually manages to catch Fury, Stick, and Devil in blocking Blade by throwing him onto the roof of the building. All three super vampires mock their victims.

In the midst of the chaos, Steve Rogers’ immune system finally manages to fend off the vampiric disease and bring the Captain back to his senses. Steve manages to find in a few moments the right strategy to turn the situation in their favor: he grabs Perun’s hammer and after attracting Banner’s attention, telling him that even transformed he was still a loser who never had what it took to be an Ultimate, he hits the ground and teleports the entire Triskelion to Iran.

A vampire’s main weakness was always one: sunlight. Under the sun’s rays, as it was daylight in Iran, the entire vampire army catches fire as Captain America and Blade finish off their respective opponents. After the crisis, the S.H.I.E.L.D., however, finds itself with two major problems: the diplomatic crisis that the transport of the Triskelion has entailed and the fact that Tony Stark is in danger of life due to the attack he has suffered; Gregory Stark has, in fact, found his brother in a critical condition.

8. “Undead By Daylight”

Writer(s): Marv Wolfman
Artist(s): Gene Colan
Publication Date: 2015

Blade confides in his girlfriend Safron that he doesn’t know what to do after Deacon Frost, the vampire who killed his mother, has now been destroyed. Even when his quest is over, Blade explains that all he’s really good at is killing vampires.

Safron steps in to tell Blade that she has something to tell him. Not far away at Boston General Hospital, a man named Musenda calls in his wife Lorraine for being turned into a vampire with a strange twist: she’s normal at night, but during the day her fangs grow and she becomes like a vampire. The doctor finds the case interesting and calls in the local expert Rachel van Helsing to examine Lorraine’s condition.

During the investigation, Musenda reveals that he had a past encounter with Dracula when he was a vampire hunter with Blade. Shocked to find out, Rachel tells Musenda that Blade is in town and gives him Blade’s address. The two vampire hunters are reunited, and Blade agrees to go back to the hospital with Musenda to see Lorraine.

When they arrive, they find that Lorraine has freed herself and killed the doctor. Blade steps in to attack. When the moon rises, Lorraine goes back to normal and passes out. When the threat passes, Rachel theorizes that Lorraine is somehow connected to a real vampire and that if that vampire rests during the day, she in turn will be turned into a vampire who walks during the day.

Rachel suggests that the only way to save Lorraine is to kill the vampire she is linked to. After getting a bat tracking device from Quincy Harker, Blade tests it and finds that it actually works. The next day, just before sunrise, Blade and Musenda decide to let Lorraine run wild so they can pursue her in the hopes that she would lead her to the vampire who is linked to her.

When she transforms into a bat, Blade and Musenda use Quincy’s device and track her on a motorcycle. The two trackers follow them to a road by the water and are pushed off the road by a car blocking the road. After pulling themselves out of the water and returning to Blade’s apartment, they ponder where Lorraine might have gone after losing her.

Blade gets an idea and the two men return to the place where they lost Lorraine. At sea, they discover a lighthouse, and the two men swim to its location. Blade ventures inside, is attacked by Lorraine, and accidentally stabs her in the heart with his wooden dagger, killing her.

They remind Musenda that a vampire will be instantly resurrected if the stake is removed and they take her back to Safron’s house, and just before dark they pull the wooden dagger from Lorraine’s heart. It is brought back to life and then returns to its human form.

Blade theorizes that the vampire who manipulated her would not appreciate the interference, and that theory is true if the vampire comes to kill her. The vampire comes and vows to take revenge on Blade for his interference by turning Safron into a vampire. Threatening Blade’s girlfriend turns out to be the worst threat the vampire can make, as Blade quickly kills him by driving a wooden dagger through his heart, causing it to crumble to dust.

After the vampire is destroyed, Lorraine goes back to normal without remembering what happened.

7. Wolverine Vs. Blade

Writer(s): Marc Guggenheim
Artist(s): Dave Wilkins
Publication Date: 2019

In this special, Blade has to face a vampirized version of Wolverine, only to be joined by the real Wolverine in defeating the menacing opponent.

6. “Dark Visions” (Blade: The Vampire Hunter #1)

Writer(s): Ian Edginton
Artist(s): Doug Wheatley
Publication Date: 1994

Blade moves to New York City and tries to leave his old life behind, but Bible John leads him on the trail of a vampire clan dealing in a new and deadly drug; Tara witnesses the return of Dracula.

5. Spirits of Vengeance: War at the Gates of Hell

Writer(s): Victor Gischler
Artist(s): David Baldeón
Publication Date: 2017 — 2018

Someone’s uncovered a weapon that can tip the scales in the war between Heaven and Hell, and an ancient peak known as the Covenant is the perfect place to use it. Johnny Blaze, a.k.a. the Ghost Rider, joins forces with Blade, Satana, and Hellstorm to unravel the plan against God himself. The supernatural corners of the Marvel Universe will never be the same again, as the Covenant draws near, and the tensions between the two factions are at an all-time high.

4. Undead Again

Writer(s): Marc Guggenheim
Artist(s): Howard Chaykin
Publication Date: 2006 — 2007

Blade continues his quest hunting and killing vampires of all shapes and sizer, from a vampire-infected Spider-Man, to Dracula, to a cadre of vampiric S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, little knowing that his “father” is keeping tabs on him and is closing in on him.

3. “His Name Is… Blade!” (Tomb of Dracula #10)

Writer(s): Marv Wolfman
Artist(s): Gene Colman
Publication Date: 1973

On the London docks, a young couple try to flee to America when they are attacked by a trio of vampires who describe themselves as part of Dracula’s Legion. Before they can feed on the couple, however, they are attacked by Blade, a vampire hunter armed with wooden knives. Blade easily dominates vampires, stabbing them to the heart with his knives, effectively tilting them, and killing them instantly.

After the fight, Blade is confronted by Quincy Harker and his daughter Edith. Quincy berates Blade for boldly killing vampires belonging to Dracula’s henchmen because they could have led the vampire hunters directly to Dracula himself. Blade simply mocks Quincy and walks away and tells the old vampire hunter that he will hunt by his own methods and kill Dracula on his own terms.

Elsewhere, on a private cruise line hired by the wealthy Gabriel Trulaine, Trulaine has a special surprise in store for his guests: Count Dracula. He really is Dracula, but the vampire lord makes everyone believe that he is just an ancestor with a rare blood disease and needs blood transfusions. After charming his guests (especially the ladies), Dracula retires to his room with his slave Clifton Graves.

When Graves wonders why Dracula isn’t destroying everyone on the ship, Vlad angrily declares that he intends to exercise his will on the wealthy and influential people on the ship for his own ends. When Dracula discovers a woman he had previously charmed and needed a quick meal, Dracula lures the girl to a private place and drinks some of her blood.

He then brings the girl back to her room and assigns Clifton to watch her while Dracula intends to dry her off after completing his task and leaves to join the other guests. First, Dracula takes control of the ship, hypnotizes his captain, and grabs the attention of the passengers by giving the ship a quick jerk. Faced with the gusts, Dracula reveals his true vampire nature.

When one of the guests tries to shoot Dracula, the vampire lord laughs at the attack on him and throws the man overboard. Dracula then begins to show loyalty to the passengers, unaware that Blade has pursued him to the ship and now secretly embarks him.

Dracula’s plan fails when one of the passengers pulls out a crucifix and points it at him, causing pain to the Vampire King and allowing the passengers to rush him. Meanwhile, back in his quarters, his victim wakes up – and thanks to Dracula’s vampire bite in a hypnotic trance – Clifton loses consciousness and leaves the room to find his “lover” Dracula.

Dracula manages to escape the passengers upstairs by transforming into fog and flying off the cross, demanding that they give his ultimatum or die. He receives an answer in the form of Blade revealing himself to Dracula and challenging him. The two fight and Dracula discovers that Blade himself is a skillful fighter.

Dracula manages to subdue Blade, however, his attack is deflected when the woman reaches him and calls out his name, with Clifton Graves shouting behind him to apologize for letting her go. Angry at the distraction because it allowed Blade to free himself and regain his footing, Dracula throws the girl at him.

Dracula then tells everyone on board that he ordered the captain to bring explosives aboard the ship, then fled to leave them all – including Clifton Graves to die. When Dracula escapes in his bat form, Blade blasts everyone overboard, leaving only the pathetic Clifton Graves to beg his master to return for him. If the ship explodes, all passengers will be safely removed from the ship except for Clifton Graves, who appears to be killed in the blast.

Dracula leaves and swears revenge on Blade in a fight from which the vampire slayer will never come back alive.

2. Curse of the Mutants

Writer(s): Various
Artist(s): Various
Publication Date: 2010 – 2011

The vampire nation has gathered its forces for an attack on Utopia. Cyclops has his defenses prepared for this attack: only the literally tough-skinned X-Men can go into combat, while the others remain in the compound; the Archangel prepared for air defense; and the Iceman has his body blessed by a priest to sanctify it.

The battle then begins as the vampires attempt to advance through land, air, and sea on Utopia. Ground and air forces halt as Wolverine lands and passes through his former comrades. Cyclops then presses the button on a remote that Doctor Nemesis gave him, causing Wolverine to pain.

It is revealed that before Wolverine went on the Jubilee Hunt, he had his blood drawn to see if his Healing Factor could counter vampirism. Unbeknownst to him, Nemesis injected him with nanobots to deactivate his healing factor, as Cyclops expected him to be bitten and twisted before he could reactivate him.

Returning to his normal state, Wolverine turns on the vampires when the X-Men and Atlanteans kick them out. Wolverine then warns Xarus via the video that he will come to him. Undeterred, Xarus orders a second wave to be sent. However, his assistant informs him that they have deployed all their available forces and that it may take some time before a new attack force is organized.

But Xarus will have none of it, and declares that that day, he will take Utopia, hoist a flag on it, stand above Wolverine’s bones, and drink Cyclops blood. At this point, Dracula arrives and claims to be the vampire lord again. He grants amnesty to the other vampire sects for betraying him, all but Xarus.

After his father Dracula suddenly returns, Xarus tries to order his henchmen to help him, but receives no help. As the X-Men storm his hiding place, Xarus decides to take care of his father himself. But this time, Dracula is more careful and rewards the favor by ripping Xarus’ head off. Then the X-Men enter.

While Cyclops wants nothing more to do with the vampire nation, Blade does not see him at eye level and rushes towards Dracula, only to pass out with an optical explosion. Cyclops then reminds Dracula of their previous tacit agreement. However, the Vampire Lord believes that if his son has succeeded in uniting the vampire sects into a working alliance, he may be able to complete what he started: conquering Utopia.

Cyclops reminds him that the X-Club studied him before reuniting his head with his body, which means he has a trick up his sleeve. After a brief gaze, Dracula calls Cyclops’ bluff, but decides to end hostilities with the mutants nonetheless. He even makes them Jubilee. Back in Utopia, Jubilee is isolated. Blade thinks the only solution is to get them out of their misery. Wolverine warns him and tells the vampire hunter to leave. As they watch the monitor, Cyclops and Emma wonder if Jubilee can be cured.

1. Spirits Of Vengeance: Rise Of The Midnight Sons

Writer(s): Various
Artist(s): Various
Publication Date: 1992

Lilith, the Mother of Demons, was a powerful necromancer whose origins date back to pre-Cataclysmic Atlantis. Thousands of years ago, Atlantean wizards defeated Lilith and imprisoned her in the remains of the biblical Leviathan. Lilith left behind many children, whom she named Lilin.

Over the centuries, the Lilins began to mate with normal humans, and their demonic blood was diluted with each generation. The body of the Leviathan lay buried for millennia until it was discovered in recent years in the frozen wasteland of Greenland. At this point, Doctor Strange realized that Lilith was regaining power and would soon wake up from her long sleep.

He also knew that she intended to open a dimensional rift that would allow her to take over the world with her offspring Lilin. As the Sorcerer Supreme of the Earth Kingdom, Strange knew that his magic was actually too powerful to fight Lilith directly. Such a show of power would only serve to open up the rift even further, further strengthening Lilith’s grounding on Earth.

The key to stopping Lilith lay in nine chosen warriors – the Midnight Sons. Individually, each possessed minimal power, but together they had the potential to stop Lilith’s advance for good. When Lilith finally came out of her torpor, Strange set out to gather as many Nine mystics as he could find. During this time, the Ghost Rider began to have visions, which foreshadowed the coming of Lilith. He convinced his former host, Johnny Blaze, to join him in the fight against her.

Johnny was reluctant to get involved with the Ghost Rider again, but knew his family would be at great risk if he didn’t help. Calling themselves the Spirits of Vengeance, Ghost Rider and Blaze were actually the first to fight against Lilith’s offspring. One of them, Blackout, a proverbial “grandchild” of Lilith, was also one of Ghost Rider’s known opponents.

The Spirits of Vengeance fought Blackout, along with the Lilins, Pilgrim, and Creed, outside of Providence, Rhode Island. Soon after, Lilith, Blackout, and Pilgrim traveled to New York City to locate two more of her Lilins, Nakota and Fang. Lilith also knew that Ghost Rider and Blaze had recently arrived in New York City in search of another of the Midnight Sons – Morbius, the Living Vampire.

She asked Fang to stop Morbius, so Fang infected Morbius’ blood with his own demonic blood from Lilin. The infection produced a mutative effect, which made Morbius stronger and more vampiric. Doctor Strange approached Morbius and asked for his help in fighting Lilith. Morbius, disgusted with his nightmarish existence, readily agreed.

The next three members of the Midnight Sons included Victoria Montesi, Louise Hastings and Interpol agent Sam Buchanan. All three were tasked with locating and protecting the lost pages of the Book of Sins, the Darkhold. After meeting with Darkhold cultists, these so-called Darkhold Redeemers agreed to join the fight against Lilith.

Doctor Strange then arranged for the vampire hunter, Blade, to be released from a mental hospital. Blade reunites with his longtime allies Frank Drake and Hannibal King. Using King’s detective agency, Borderline Investigative Services as their headquarters, the three men became known as the Nightstalkers. Lilith sought to manipulate the Nightstalkers into killing Ghost Rider and Johnny Blaze, explaining to them that the two were in fact demons.

After a brief run-in with the Spirits of Vengeance, the Nightstalkers soon learned that Lilith was their real enemy. Lilith, having gathered all of her surviving Lilins, returned to Greenland and prepared to open the dimensional gate. Doctor Strange used his magic to teleport the Midnight Sons to the same location and the opposing parties began to wage war against each other.

While the Midnight Sons fought admirably against the Lilins, it was actually Ghost Rider who succeeded in defeating the Mother of Demons, turning her own dimensional rift on herself. Lilith and the Lilins were forced to flee, but they were greatly weakened by the battle. Undeterred, Lilith vowed revenge on the Midnight Sons.

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