It is difficult to overstate how important Blade (1998) and Blade 2 AKA Blade II AKA Blade II: Bloodhunt (2002) were to my development as a fan and a creator.* I have sometimes called them “my Star Wars,” which still isn’t fully accurate, unless there’s a scene I’m forgetting where a power-limping Kris Kristofferson pumps a shotgun into R2-D2.
The Blade movies are perhaps more accurately my Godfather and Godfather Part II, in that I flip back and forth on which is the superior and more important film. Appropriately — and to director Guillermo Del Toro’s apparent regret on the commentary — both sequels contain the line, “Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer.” Although only Blade 1 (and zero Godfather films) contains the line, “I’m gonna be a naughty vampire god!” which likely makes it superior to all movies, Godfather and otherwise.
I’m also on the record saying — and I don’t think it’s a remotely controversial opinion — that Blade (1998), as both hit film in its own right and proof of concept, should be getting constant credit for kicking off the superhero movie revolution (leather-clad X-Men would drop a mere two years later). Without Blade (and Snipes, and Goyer, and Dorff, and Norrington, and co.) the trillion-dollar superhero genre juggernaut that now thoroughly dominates global pop culture might have never taken flight, making Blade (and again, this is just math) as or more culturally and commercially important than Star Wars.
Obviously, I’m teasing, no letters please. Although, AGAIN, UNLESS I’VE FORGOTTEN, Star Wars doesn’t feature Norman Reedus exploding into a cloud of brittle pink granules.
Blade is THE character I’ve been gunning for (swording for?) since my first conversation in 2017 with editors Wil Moss and Sarah Brunstad (Team Loki, but also crucially, Team Lockjaw). So it would mean a lot to me if you PRE-ORDERED DARKHOLD: BLADE from a LOCAL COMIC SHOP NEAR YOU.
Here’s how:
Go to http://Comicshoplocator.com (yes, it’s just called that) and look up the comic shop nearest you. Or, just use Google Maps, you’re a smart person, everyone is saying so.
Call that local shop and ask them to reserve you a copy of DARKHOLD: BLADE by Daniel Kibblesmith and Federico Sabbatini, due out in October 2021. Give them your name and number!
Pick it up when they call you (make sure to pay for it first).
Read it!
Tweet and Instagram yourself holding up the cover and tell other people what beloved local shop you bought your copy at and how they can support them (and me, and Frederico, and dozens others) by doing the same. This final step is crucial.
You can also pre-order digitally here, OR order a mail-order copy from a store that ships nationally, like Midtown Comics here, OR you can just pre-order the whole paperback collection of the entire Darkhold storyline, here or from a bookstore near you.
Currently Reading:
Or just Follow me on GoodReads so we can all earn that personal pan pizza.
Currently Watching:
JUST FINISHED Watching:
Loki on Disney+ which, to answer an FAQ, I did NOT work on in any capacity, however I did (very proudly) still get a surprise line in from our 2019 run:
