NIGHT HAS FALLEN. WILL THE SUN RISE AGAIN? As the heroes rally at the Sanctum Sanctorum, they must first deal with a threat close to their hearts! And while they raise the torch of defiance, the new lord of the vampires enacts his dreaded scheme! Blood Hunt #3 keeps readers on their toes by switching up the surprises.

When it comes to Marvel’s events, recent ones have been lackluster. The concepts have been better than the execution and they often began to run out of gas by the second or third issue. Blood Hunt #3 seems to be the exception delivering an issue that still packs surprises but changes up exactly what that is.

Written by Jed MacKay, Blood Hunt #3 features two sides to the story but both sides in similar positions. The Avengers are beaten and bruised having rallied around Doctor Strange. They need to figure out their next steps as well as deal with Miles Morales who has been turned by Blade. Blade has been beaten a bit and is rallying his crew, having a turned T’Challa looking for something in Wakanda. This is the bridge as to what happens next after the first two action-packed issues.

And MacKay does a solid job of it all. It’s a quieter issue comparatively but it still feels important as each side focuses in on what they need to do next. Like the second issue MacKay gives us a very “Avenger” moment as Sam Wilson addresses the world to try to give them hope, but like the second issue, that hope is dashed as Blade has something up his sleeve. There’s some patterns to the first three issues but it all works and works really well.

Pepe Larraz‘s art helps it all delivering a solid look that’s dark but not “lights out” dark as some comics do. That’s due to Marte Gracia‘s colors which take the familiar tones and dials them down a bit giving us a gloomier look that doesn’t cross into depressing. Cory Petit‘s lettering is solid delivering some emotional moments throughout as well. The comic does a great job visually of taking its superhero roots and blending them with the horror aspects of the event.

Blood Hunt #3 is a solid issue with an epic ending that feels familiar but grand at the same time. What’s been interesting is that while the event is on a planetary scale, it still feels small and focused. It’s very smart in a lot of ways keeping the distractions to the tie-ins and mini-series that have spun out to it. While the threat is huge, it’s an intimate story of hope while facing the threat of annihilation.

Story: Jed MacKay Art: Pepe Larraz
Color: Marte Gracia Letterer: Cory Petit
Story: 8.25 Art: 8.25 Overall: 8.25 Recommendation: Buy

Marvel provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

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