My Rating
“Blade: Red Band – Part 05”
Back in chains! Blade has discovered Pontius Van Helsing’s temple, but the elder vampire is too fast. Blade awakens again to more chains and a secret dungeon. But is the world’s oldest vampire truly a threat or a means to an end? In the firelight, bound upside-down, Blade is forced to relive Pontius’ last day as a man.
What are the true motives of the Spellguard? Has Blade doomed both Pontius and himself? Will the vampire hunter receive a second chance at redemption? These last few minutes will determine the fate of the vampire race. Eric Brooks must make the final decision based on new evidence presented in good faith…
Reviewer Notes
I will admit up front, this miniseries was not my cup of tea. For some reason, I just could not get into this storyline no matter how hard I tried. Is it due to the recent overexposure of the Blade character? His latest solo series came to an end last year. Blade has had multiple appearances in such series as The Midnight Suns, Crypt of Shadows, as well as other one-shot books. Am I suffering from character burnout, or is it just the writing here?
I did enjoy this finale, but it wasn’t enough to make the Red Band series unique. It’s great to see another vampire character leaning towards the hero’s side of things. The question is if Marvel Comics will utilize Pontius Van Helsing in future projects, or will he fade into the archives. I guess we will have to wait and see. Issue #5 of Blade: Red Band gets four out of five stars. The series as a whole is a lukewarm three-star story at best.
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