It's
the one that started it all.
A
guy thinks he's got lucky with a hot chick. They go to an exclusive
dance club. Suddenly the sprinkler system starts up. But it's not
water, it's blood. And the guy discovers that he's in a room full of
vampires so he's in real danger. They beat and torture him as he
tries to escape. He lands at the feet of someone and looks up. The
entire mood changes. All the vampires recognise the stranger and
they're scared - really scared. An entire room of vampires backs away
to reveal Blade. He smiles and steps forward as the vampires continue
to move back.
Here
was the first legitimate black comic character. Not the jive-talking
escapee from a blaxpolitation movie that was in the comics but a real
live recognisable black American. OK, so he was created in 1973, two
years after Shaft and although it was also 6 years after In "The
Heat Of The Night", I suppose that they thought a Shaft clone
would appeal to their younger, hipper readers. Or maybe as a bunch of
middle class whiteys, they had no idea how to present a black
character. As Marv Wolfman said "The early Blade dialogue was
cliche 'Marvel Black' dialogue. Later on, I tried to make him more
real. But it took growing up as a writer"
And
he looked liked someone who could take on a room of vampires, too. He
came in armed and prepared.
Sadly,
nothing that followed ever lived up to the promise.
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