Read the stories that created the legend!Blade burst onto the comics scene in the 1970s, a time when horror movies were all the rage and Black cinema was introducing bold new action heroes who defied authority. He immediately raised the stakes in Marv Wolfman and Gene Colan’s Tomb of Dracula, bringing unstoppable determination as he hunted the vampire who killed his mother — and dispatching a few others along the way. This Epic Collection presents Blade’s complete early adventures — from his influential role in Tomb of Dracula and his 1970s solo stories in Marvel’s black-and-white magazine titles to his final vengeance on Deacon Frost and his 1980s collaboration with Doctor Strange to end the vampire menace once and for all.COLLECTING: Tomb of Dracula (1972) #10, #12-14, #24, #30, #41-43, #51, #58; Fear (1970) #24; Marvel Preview (1975) #3; Doctor Strange (1974) #61-62, #67; material from Tomb of Dracula (1972) #17-19, #21, #44-50, #52-53; Vampire Tales (1973) #8-9; Marvel Preview (1975) #8; Marvel Comics Presents (1988) #64Written by Marv Wolfman with Chris Claremont, Steve Gerber, Roger Stern & Marcus McLaurinPenciled by Gene Colan with Tony Dezuniga, Rico Rival, P. Craig Russell, Steve Leialoha, Dan Green & Malcolm Davis
Contributors: (W) Marv Wolfman; Chris Claremont (A) Gene Colan; Tony Dezunizga (CA) Gil Kane
An award-winning writer since 1973, Marv Wolfman succeeded mentor Roy Thomas as Marvel’s editor in chief. Well-remembered for his Tomb of Dracula scripts, he also enjoyed runs on Dr. Strange, Fantastic Four and Nova, among other titles. New Teen Titans, his 1980s collaboration with George Pérez, became DC Comics’ biggest hit in years. Wolfman and Pérez literally rewrote DC history with Crisis on Infinite Earths. He subsequently penned episodes for such animated TV series as G.I. Joe, Transformers and others.Industry legend Chris Claremont is best known for his epic sixteen-year run on Uncanny X-Men. Claremont’s focus on the themes of prejudice and tolerance struck at the hearts of comics fans, and he built an unparalleled following during the next three decades. Under his pen, the X-Men franchise spawned a vast array of spin-offs, many of them written by Claremont himself. His other credits include Iron Fist, Ms. Marvel, Power Man and Spider-Woman. Claremont has returned to the X-Men universe in New Exiles, GeNext, X-Men Forever, Chaos War: X-Men and Nightcrawler.The unique, shadowy style of Gene Colan (1926-2011) most memorably appeared in long stints on Captain America and Daredevil, and all 70 issues of Tomb of Dracula — among the dozens of other Marvel titles he has drawn. His DC work on Detective Comics and Night Force is equally well remembered. During the Golden Age, he drew multiple war stories for Marvel and DC alike. Colan has earned several Eagle Awards and had professional art showings in New York City. His work on Ed Brubaker’s Captain America at the age of 82 drew well-deserved raves.