REVIEW: Strange Academy: Blood Hunt #1

Marvel’s magical kids collective get their first taste of the Vampire apocalypse in Strange Academy: Blood Hunt #1. Can the students help save the world? And what’s up with the new girl?

A cemetery in New Orleans is a spooky place all on its own, but add a full-blown vampire uprising and you have one wild way to kick off a comic book. New student Pia, her familiar Tito Peping (GOAT-level character name btw), and the rest of the Academy are on a guided tour that quicky goes south as the Blood Hunt event begins. Since they’re not your average high schoolers they actually dispatch of the vamps with little trouble Their journey in this saga begins in earnest when they eavesdrop on Dr. Strange and Doctor/Brother Voodoo dropping some serious exposition for those who are just coming into Marvel’s summer mega event. They discuss what they need to stop the invasion and the kids take it upon themselves to locate what the doctors need, the Darkhold. No spoilers but when they find it, it’s not exactly what they, or readers would expect.

The look of the issue is top-notch modern comic book style thanks to the team of Luigi Zagaria, Eric Gapstu, and Scott Hanna (art) and Edgar Delgado and Erick Arciniega (colors). The students are all vibrant and unique. They could easily be X-Men rip-offs but these exceptional young people have a look and style all their own. The issue also includes an excellent visual representation of the underutilized Brother Voodoo. The Darkhold section is the most fun artistically and it’s easy to see how much fun the art team had with this portion of Daniel Jose Older’s excellent script.

Missing the “big names” in the Marvel Universe, aside from Doc Strange, this could be an easily overlooked issue in the overall Blood Hunt saga. But not only is Strange Academy: Blood Hunt #1 a fun read, it’s actually a must read. The issue lays out what the Marvel heroes must do to stop the zombie apocalypse. And I really want to spoil what’s going on with the Darkhold but it’s really worth seeing for oneself. If you are loving Blood Hunt, make sure to check this entry out.

Writing – 4 Stars
Art – 4 Stars
Coloring – 4 Stars

Overall
4 Stars

Written by; Daniel Jose Older
Art by; Luigi Zagaria, Eric Gapstu & Scott Hanna
Colors by; Edgar Delgado, Erick Arciniega
Letters by; Clayton Cowles
Published by; Marvel Comics

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Christopher R. Ford

Writer, author, and blogger. Published author of three children's books and also writes for the boy Creators For The Culture. Part-time sneaker head, full time nerd.