Staying Sharp: Guggenheim Talks "Blade"

[andy khouri]

Blade is famous for having a foot in both the human and vampire worlds and his ongoing series walks in two worlds as well: the supernatural and the mainstream Marvel U. CBR News spoke with writer Marc Guggenheim about the series.

http://www.comicbookresources.com/news/newsitem.cgi?id=9098

[Cayman]

Cool interview. Blade is a really fun series that I didn't expect to get hooked on.

I'm looking forward to the Morbius guest appearance.

[drwho]

Cool interview. Blade is a really fun series that I didn't expect to get hooked on.

I'm looking forward to the Morbius guest appearance.

gotta hate the fact that they parade him around in that clown suit still.

[Blade X]

This series is ok, but I have a few problems with it.

1. I hate the art.

2. I hate the unnecesary and HYPOCRITICAL retcons of Blade's origin and past. I find it really sad that Marvel felt the need to ignore and change Blades establish history in order to make him more resemble his tv and movie counterpart. Yet, on the flip side, they decide to keep the whole stereotypical and offensive part of his origin about his mother bing a hooker. They also decided to make his father white, which is kind of funny since his father is black in the tv series. Which brings me to my 3rd complaint .................................................. .................

3. Does Marvel think that by making Blade half white, he will be "more relatable" or "more appealing" to white readers. If this turns out to be the case, then I'll chalk this up to another reason to dislike th current Marvel.

4. I hated the fact that they allowed (although it could have been a mistake) the cuss word "asshole" in issue #3. This type of language does not belong in a T+ rated Marvel comic.

[mattx110]

This series is ok, but I have a few problems with it.

1. I hate the art.

2. I hate the unnecesary and HYPOCRITICAL retcons of Blade's origin and past. I find it really sad that Marvel felt the need to ignore and change Blades establish history in order to make him more resemble his tv and movie counterpart. Yet, on the flip side, they decide to keep the whole stereotypical and offensive part of his origin about his mother bing a hooker. They also decided to make his father white, which is kind of funny since his father is black in the tv series. Which brings me to my 3rd complaint .................................................. .................

3. Does Marvel think that by making Blade half white, he will be "more relatable" or "more appealing" to white readers. If this turns out to be the case, then I'll chalk this up to another reason to dislike th current Marvel.

4. I hated the fact that they allowed (although it could have been a mistake) the cuss word "asshole" in issue #3. This type of language does not belong in a T+ rated Marvel comic.

well, i like the art, but i've only seen a few pages. i'll pick upthe issues in a few days. and i think making him half white half black increases the feeling that he doesn't really feel like he belongs anywhere. he' not quite human, not at all a vampire. not quite white, and not quite black. i think rather than make him more relatable for being white, we're supposed to relate to him being even more of an outcast than usually depicted.

and i don't mind the language, but i'm not sure of the levels of language allowed in E books versus T versus max(unrated).

[sinjection]

1) I'm not crazy about the art either. However, opining as one who does happen to sketch a little and realizes how truly difficult an undertaking it can be, I try to respect the effort of those artists/illustrators who have achieved a level of skill that meets the professional standard of the industry as a whole. I won't usually buy a book having an illustrated presentation I don't particularly appreciate. I make an exception for Blade because I like the character a great deal.

2) I love what the writers have done to (and for), Blade's origin and powers. Originally, the fatal attack on Blade's mother and the affect it had upon him while in the process of being born, left him as a normal human being with the ridiculous "power" of being immune to vampire bites. Like too many black Marvel superheroes, Blade was vastly under-powered. Peter Parker gets bitten by a tiny radioactive spider, the venom enters his bloodstream and he is endowed with the proportionate strength, speed and ability of a spider as a result. Parker is able to lift tons, cling to walls, leap (or swing by web), from building top to building top and is given a special "spider sense" that warns him of impending danger. Blade's mother is bitten and murdered by a vampire. The vampire - Deacon Frost's saliva imparts his vampiric essence into her bloodstream which she shares with her son. So Eric Brooks has what Marv Wolfman himself described as "vampire blood in his veins" and all Brooks gets out of it is an immunity to vampire bites and nothing else? That's bull...since this is a friendly forum, I can't finish the "bull...." descriptor.

Eric Brooks deserved to be stronger. Now, thanks to David Goyer and now, Marc Guggenheim, Blade is the dhampir he should have been originally. I don't recall the race of Blade's father being revealed in the comics until this current series. Contrary to what many people participating in this forum might believe, I am not adverse to romantic/sexual interracial relationships AS LONG AS THOSE RELATIONSHIPS ARE RESPECTFUL AND INTELLIGENT. Unfortunately, except for in the movies and the t.v. series (I enjoyed the first Blade movie and loved the t.v. series), Blade's lovely mother was employed by a brothel in England. At the time she was destroyed by Deacon Frost, a black male patron would not have been welcome in such places. However, those houses of ill repute would have a place for a comely woman of any racial and ethnic persuasion, which explains how and why Blade's mother could have become impregnated by a white man. I love the way they are handling Blade's origin in the comics. It appears that this white man, Blade's probable father, could be a vampire himself. While it doesn't follow vampiric lore exactly, this could be how Guggenheim is able to make Blade the dhampir (half-vampire/half-human) he is and as he was successful in his movie incarnation. Brooks is now as strong as a vampire. "He possesses all of a vampires' strengths and none of their weaknesses save for "the thirst". I like it like that. If a tiny radioactive spider can do what it did for Spider-Man, Blade should not have had to have waited until he was bitten by the fake vampire Morbius, to be endowed with the powers he should have been given at birth. Goyer and Guggenheim have got it right and for doing so, I have them right up there with Reggie Hudlin in my esteem.

3) Who knows how the larger comicbook-buying demographic will react and relate to a character who is bi-racial? More than a few of them don't seem to have a problem with Iron Fist/Misty Knight. They seemed angered because T'Challa was able to "win" Ororo "away" from the likes of Forge and Wolverine. Evidently, that part of the larger comicbook-buying demographic didn't have a problem with Forge or Wolverine being romantically/sexually involved with Storm. We know that Christopher Priest's attempt to replace (albeit temporarily), T'Challa with the bi-racial Kasper Cole as the Black Panther didn't save his Black Panther series. Once Priest began calling his "bi-racial Black Panther", the White Tiger, it still didn't do much for the character. In my opinion, the right person is now wearing the White Tiger helm; Angela Del Toro, Hector Ayala's neice. I don't believe that the writer of the new White Tiger series should involve Del Toro romantically with Daredevil, if that is the direction she is hoping to move in. I believe Angela Del Toro should be paired with a Puerto Rican male. Her uncle Hector Ayala, was befriended by and shared a very close relationship with a black detective who I now only remember by his nickname, "Blackbyrd". Hector Ayala was also once attracted to and dated Peter Parker's friend Gloria Grant, a black female, before he married a woman who I can only assume (and hope), was Puerto Rican. I believe Del Toro should be like her uncle and be attracted to and date the type of people she grew up being with, that would be either a Puerto Rican male or Black American male. Back to the point of your post, I wouldn't have a problem with Blade's father being white and a vampire if that white, male vampire truly loved and respected Blade's mother. The way Blade's mother was asking for "Lucas" during her last moments suggests to me that she was probably well-treated by this "Lucas" and possibly even loved him. I could accept that relationship much more easily that I can Anton Pretorious' kidnapping and decades-long rape of T'Challa's mother, Ramonda.

4) "Asshole" doesn't belong in a comicbook nowadays. How about Spider-Woman's skin-tight, full-form revealing costume which shows off the nipples of her breasts? How about Ms Marvel's costume which is basically a full bathing suit with buttock-revealing thong bottoms? It's a different day in the world of comics. Some of it good. Some of it not so good, but that's the way it is.

[Francisco]

He should be stronger than Wolverine and Just as skilled fighter! Guggenheim is screwing Blade!!

[The Sentry]

Good post, Sinjection !

I enjoyed reading that.

[StoneGold]

This series is ok, but I have a few problems with it.

1. I hate the art.

2. I hate the unnecesary and HYPOCRITICAL retcons of Blade's origin and past. I find it really sad that Marvel felt the need to ignore and change Blades establish history in order to make him more resemble his tv and movie counterpart. Yet, on the flip side, they decide to keep the whole stereotypical and offensive part of his origin about his mother bing a hooker. They also decided to make his father white, which is kind of funny since his father is black in the tv series. Which brings me to my 3rd complaint .................................................. .................

3. Does Marvel think that by making Blade half white, he will be "more relatable" or "more appealing" to white readers. If this turns out to be the case, then I'll chalk this up to another reason to dislike th current Marvel.

4. I hated the fact that they allowed (although it could have been a mistake) the cuss word "asshole" in issue #3. This type of language does not belong in a T+ rated Marvel comic.
I'm not sure exactly how it is being hypocritical, but in any case, they retconned out the hooker thing. Now his mom was sent to the whore house by the father, apparently because they have something to do with vampire killing or something. As far as I can tell, she was only at the whorehouse for 20 minutes before Frost showed up.

[Francisco]

I'm not sure exactly how it is being hypocritical, but in any case, they retconned out the hooker thing. Now his mom was sent to the whore house by the father, apparently because they have something to do with vampire killing or something. As far as I can tell, she was only at the whorehouse for 20 minutes before Frost showed up.


He also turned Blade into a total wuss unable to punch Wolverine a single timea and willing to transform a person into a vampire. Marc Guggenheim doesn't like Blade at all. To him it is just something that Joe Q asigned to him and the he didn't want to do. He is just waiting for the book the get canceled so he doesn't have to write Blade anymore. And until that happens we will see Blade jobbing to every single white character in the MU.

[Xero]

They didn't change Blade's history that much, you simply didn't know his history. He was always half black and he was always born in 19th century England.

[Marc Guggenheim]

Marc Guggenheim doesn't like Blade at all.

Wrong.

To him it is just something that Joe Q asigned to him and the he didn't want to do.

No.

He is just waiting for the book the get canceled so he doesn't have to write Blade anymore.

Untrue.

And until that happens we will see Blade jobbing to every single white character in the MU.

???

[Francisco]

Wrong.



No.



Untrue.



???
Why isn't Blade dodging bullets instead of being shot by regular cops? How it is possible for normal cops to get into Blade's house without him noticing until they are literally at his bed's edge. Then why would you have Blade acting like a fool who can take advantage of the Intel he has been given? Why would you have Blade using vampire blood on a person? Even if the blood trick were to work and Wolverine had become a vampire, once injected in the position they were He just had to swipe his claw once to kill Blade. This gets us to my next point why would Blade be pinned to the ground when he is stronger than Wolverine? He is supposed to have all the strengths and non of the weakness of vampires after all. And this get us to my other point; what the hell happened to Blade's healing factor? Next morning after the joke/fight he was still sporting the claw marks on his face. He has healed injuries a lot worse a lot faster.

You had the opportunity to make Blade one of the toughest guys in the MU but you chose to job him to Wolverine. You could have come with plenty of ways for Blade to take down a guy who walks around with a metallic skeleton other than turning him into a vampire. (Industrial magnet or magnetic bullets had done the trick before)It was the perfect opportunity to amp Blade's arsenal and to show off his cunning in ways that made sense but hell it was easier to go for the old route of let the black guy get beaten up.

[Francisco]

They didn't change Blade's history that much, you simply didn't know his history. He was always half black and he was always born in 19th century England.

Wrong we never knew he was half white and he was born in the early decades of the 20th century. Blade has been always drawn as a dark skinned black man. the TV series had him with a black father and his mom was not prostitute.. Then how comes that now when Marvel is supposedly making Blade more like his film version he turns out having a white dad, acting like a moron and fighting like a little girl?

[Cayman]

Issue 6 was another great issue. I'm completely sold on the book.

[Francisco]

This book sucks!! Guggenheim placed the last nail in Blade's coffin... Thank you so much hack!!

[drwho]

I think Marc is doing great on this book. What sucks is having an artist drawing it that makes all the characters stiff with cruddy action scenes.

[Rahul]

Yeah I wish John Romita JR or David Finch was doing this book.....but its great still....

[Matt Murdock]

This book sucks!! Guggenheim placed the last nail in Blade's coffin... Thank you so much hack!!

Dude, what's your problem exactly? You don't like the book. Alright. We get it. But there's no need to go that far. If you don't like it, then just stop reading the issues.

[Francisco]

Dude, what's your problem exactly? You don't like the book. Alright. We get it. But there's no need to go that far. If you don't like it, then just stop reading the issues.
My problem is that Guggenheim is screwing up Blade... He gets beat up all the time.. It was his own book but Guggenheim had him getting beat up by Wolverine.. If I didn't know I would had thought it was Wolverine's book.. Blade is supposed to be a great fighter.. it doesn't look like it thoug...

It's sad taht when it gets canceled I'll have to wait for several years to have another series and with our look it probably would suck just as much as this one does...

[kitamu re]

My problem is that Guggenheim is screwing up Blade... He gets beat up all the time.. It was his own book but Guggenheim had him getting beat up by Wolverine.. If I didn't know I would had thought it was Wolverine's book.. Blade is supposed to be a great fighter.. it doesn't look like it thoug...

It's sad taht when it gets canceled I'll have to wait for several years to have another series and with our look it probably would suck just as much as this one does...

dude you just owned guggenheim, that's what I call putting a hack in his place. I agree 1,000,000,000% with your assessments as he has ruined the character. Jobbing to cops, getting beat up by wolverine, chewing off his own hand, being half-white (was that some freaking ephiphany:rolleyes: )...did he ever watch the freakin movies:cool: Blade could have been much better but due to guggenheims incompetence the book has failed and is going to get cancelled within the next 2 months probably.

They should relaunch with a writer who has a passion for the character and wants to make Blade a badd ass in the marvel U...white daddy and gun hand is not going to get it done.:eek:

[drwho]

Blade is just a tough sell period. Marvel always says they want to have new pitches for characters and not the same stuff as the past. I expect that was what marc brought to them so Blade was given another shot.

[mattx110]

My problem is that Guggenheim is screwing up Blade... He gets beat up all the time.. It was his own book but Guggenheim had him getting beat up by Wolverine.. If I didn't know I would had thought it was Wolverine's book.. Blade is supposed to be a great fighter.. it doesn't look like it thoug...

It's sad taht when it gets canceled I'll have to wait for several years to have another series and with our look it probably would suck just as much as this one does...

first of all, wolverine is a ninja with unstoppable claws. anyone would have trouble fighting him.

second, i think what you don't like is the noir-type feeling.

blade isn't supposed to be in control yet. he's still in a falling down period, he just lost a hand. he has issues.
sam spade got his ass kicked often enough, he's still a badass cause he gets up and does what he's supposed to do.

and i like chaykin, so i can't help you like the art.

[kitamu re]

Blade is just a tough sell period. Marvel always says they want to have new pitches for characters and not the same stuff as the past. I expect that was what marc brought to them so Blade was given another shot.

blade the movie was not a tough sell..freaking moon knight is outselling blade..now that book was relaunched with a young gun like finch and it sold. Look at this run we get guggenhem and chaykin..that is not going to sustain a monthly title. the fact that blade has been considerably weakened from the movies makes this book unbearable as a blade fan. I am with francisco on his assessments of the current creative team they lack the passion and creativity to take blade to the next level.

if you look at what reginald hudlin has done with BP that is how Blade should have been relaunched. The fact that Marvel is so lazy to try and sell us a blade title because of a name writer and artist without having any real substance to their work turns my guts.

[kitamu re]

first of all, wolverine is a ninja with unstoppable claws. anyone would have trouble fighting him.

blade is supposed to be stronger and quicker then wolverine. He is a freaking Dhamphyr not some ordinary vamp. No way blade loses to wolverine in a fight especially not in his own book.

[mattx110]

blade is supposed to be stronger and quicker then wolverine. He is a freaking Dhamphyr not some ordinary vamp. No way blade loses to wolverine in a fight especially not in his own book.

if you want a character that can beat anyone no matter who it is in their own book, keep reading black panther.

[kitamu re]

if you want a character that can beat anyone no matter who it is in their own book, keep reading black panther.

BP is one of the best reads on the shelf.:D

[StoneGold]

They should relaunch with a writer who has a passion for the character and wants to make Blade a badd ass in the marvel U...white daddy and gun hand is not going to get it done.:eek:

Except that hasn't worked the last two or three times they've tried it either.

[Dagger]

if you look at what reginald hudlin has done with BP that is how Blade should have been relaunched. The fact that Marvel is so lazy to try and sell us a blade title because of a name writer and artist without having any real substance to their work turns my guts.
Moon Knights selling better than both of those books(and rightly so, the book is freaking amazing, too bad the same couldn't be said for the other two titles), so maybe we should try a different approach.

[StoneGold]

Moon Knights selling better than both of those books, so maybe we should try a different approach.

Let Charlie Huston write it?

[Dagger]

Let Charlie Huston write it?
That might work. I'd probably start buying it if he did.

[Sean Whitmore]

They should relaunch with a writer who has a passion for the character and wants to make Blade a badd ass in the marvel U...

Yeah, that's a great idea.

I need a new Blade #1. I've almost got enough now to wallpaper my bedroom.

I hope they bring Marvel Team-Up back too, so I can do the guest room.


SEAN

[StoneGold]

Yeah, that's a great idea.

I need a new Blade #1. I've almost got enough now to wallpaper my bedroom.

I hope they bring Marvel Team-Up back too, so I can do the guest room.


SEAN

Not one written by Charlie Huston though.

[Rahul]

C'mon can't we get all along? I like this inarnaion of Blade, and I understand it may leave his past a bit blotchy, but its keeping me(and likeminded fans) entertained, despite some mediocre art, and thats a testament on how good the writing is..

[Xanrn]

Owned Guggenheim?

BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

What because he refused to get drawn into a stupid arguement, with some crazy fool?

Try speaking to him in a polite manner and you might actually get somewhere else instead of his Ignore list.

Only children think they have won when someone refuses to lower themselves to their level.

[Francisco]

first of all, wolverine is a ninja with unstoppable claws. anyone would have trouble fighting him.

second, i think what you don't like is the noir-type feeling.

blade isn't supposed to be in control yet. he's still in a falling down period, he just lost a hand. he has issues.
sam spade got his ass kicked often enough, he's still a badass cause he gets up and does what he's supposed to do.

and i like chaykin, so i can't help you like the art.

Oh come on! He is 72 years old how much time does he need to get in control of things? Batman naver gets puncked in his own book! The frigging Punisher never gets puck'd on his own book! Captain America never gets punk'd in his own book or elsewhere! Why in god's name can't Blade had the same treatment?

Blade should have never been arrested by those cops.. With his enhanced senses he should have detected the cops before they entered his home... To hunt vampires should be the easiest of things to him since he has been doing it for years.. no vamp should be able to tusle with him for more than a couple of seconds.. nor should be him be tossed of buildings by regular vampires with a few hours of being transformed... Blade shouldn't need guns.. He should be fast enough to dodge the bullets and kill the vamps and other monsters just with his sword... Hell he is so old that by now he should know a lot of fighting techniques and ninja stuff...
Guggenheim just turned Blade in a lame version of the Punisher just less skilled... If he was to retcone his mom being a hooker why did he had the need to give Blade a white dad? Does it mean Black guys can only get it on with hookers? There was no need for Blade to have a white daddy.. The story could work perfectly by having Blade had an african dad who went to England because there was a war in Africa or something like that.. Hell they could have made Blade half Wakandan... I guess doing that was too creative for Hackggenheim...

[mattx110]

Oh come on! He is 72 years old how much time does he need to get in control of things? Batman naver gets puncked in his own book! The frigging Punisher never gets puck'd on his own book! Captain America never gets punk'd in his own book or elsewhere! Why in god's name can't Blade had the same treatment?

Blade should have never been arrested by those cops.. With his enhanced senses he should have detected the cops before they entered his home... To hunt vampires should be the easiest of things to him since he has been doing it for years.. no vamp should be able to tusle with him for more than a couple of seconds.. nor should be him be tossed of buildings by regular vampires with a few hours of being transformed... Blade shouldn't need guns.. He should be fast enough to dodge the bullets and kill the vamps and other monsters just with his sword... Hell he is so old that by now he should know a lot of fighting techniques and ninja stuff...
Guggenheim just turned Blade in a lame version of the Punisher just less skilled... If he was to retcone his mom being a hooker why did he had the need to give Blade a white dad? Does it mean Black guys can only get it on with hookers? There was no need for Blade to have a white daddy.. The story could work perfectly by having Blade had an african dad who went to England because there was a war in Africa or something like that.. Hell they could have made Blade half Wakandan... I guess doing that was too creative for Hackggenheim...

trust me, you'd be comlpaining a hell of a lot more if blade was suddenly wakandan ("not every black character has to be related!!!")
and nobody, no matter how old they are, goes without having a bad week or two.
and if killing vampires is the easiest thing for him, he'd be done by now. there'd be no sense of danger, and the book would be a series of "that was cool how he killed that vampire again" until you got sick of it.

and you'd have to ask guggenheim and the editor of the book why they wanted blade's dad to be white. but drawing the conclusion that marc must be too racist to have a white person go to a hooker, while you seem to have no problem ignoring the fact that it was a stereotype guggenheim was avoiding in not having blade's mom be a prostitute.

and punisher gets shot and blown up in his own book.
captain america just died in his own book.
and batman routinely screws up his relationships, is manipulated by his enemies, and has had his back broken, gotten arrested for murder twice, been set up by luthor and almost lost his identity one of those times, had his best friend from childhood try to kill him, in a story where bruce almost died at least twice, and had to keep from getting smushed by a possessed superman. he also recently travelled the world in an attempt to allow himself not to ruin every relationship hehas and be an overall terrible person.

blade is getting the same treatment.

[kitamu re]

blade is getting the same treatment.

you neglected to add that blade is getting the same treatment in his first 7 issues.:rolleyes: all those characters you have mentioned have been in print far longer. they did not start out jobbing like blade did. Francisco is right period. if you like your african-american characters weak and depowered then I figure this book is right up your alley. Me I will pass and wait until marvel has the common sense to get an African-american writer on the book. someone who will make the character a real bad ass, not one-hand luke, and call that crap cool.

[Sean Whitmore]

you neglected to add that blade is getting the same treatment in his first 7 issues.

Of his sixth series.


SEAN

[Young Avenger]

Oh come on! He is 72 years old how much time does he need to get in control of things? Batman naver gets puncked in his own book! The frigging Punisher never gets puck'd on his own book! Captain America never gets punk'd in his own book or elsewhere! Why in god's name can't Blade had the same treatment?

Blade should have never been arrested by those cops.. With his enhanced senses he should have detected the cops before they entered his home... To hunt vampires should be the easiest of things to him since he has been doing it for years.. no vamp should be able to tusle with him for more than a couple of seconds.. nor should be him be tossed of buildings by regular vampires with a few hours of being transformed... Blade shouldn't need guns.. He should be fast enough to dodge the bullets and kill the vamps and other monsters just with his sword... Hell he is so old that by now he should know a lot of fighting techniques and ninja stuff...
Guggenheim just turned Blade in a lame version of the Punisher just less skilled... If he was to retcone his mom being a hooker why did he had the need to give Blade a white dad? Does it mean Black guys can only get it on with hookers? There was no need for Blade to have a white daddy.. The story could work perfectly by having Blade had an african dad who went to England because there was a war in Africa or something like that.. Hell they could have made Blade half Wakandan... I guess doing that was too creative for Hackggenheim...

This sounds more like what you want Blade to be than what he's capable of doing. Fighting the same enemy for years don't mean anything. Captain America has been fighting terrorists for years and it doesn't stop him from getting his ass kicked or failing every once in a while.

Do you even read this book? If you did then you should know that Blade's mom wasn't a hooker. That place was her safehouse and she killed by Deacon Frost shortly after she arrived.

[Rahul]

The best thing about the book is he's moving on from vampires to strange threats like the demon jumper from issue 4, and is interacting with the MU...


Just a question, when did Blade find out Spidey's identity??????

[Sean Whitmore]

Just a question, when did Blade find out Spidey's identity??????

I haven't read the issue, but I would assume he found out with the rest of the world during Civil War.


SEAN

[Francisco]

trust me, you'd be comlpaining a hell of a lot more if blade was suddenly wakandan ("not every black character has to be related!!!")
and nobody, no matter how old they are, goes without having a bad week or two.
and if killing vampires is the easiest thing for him, he'd be done by now. there'd be no sense of danger, and the book would be a series of "that was cool how he killed that vampire again" until you got sick of it.

and you'd have to ask guggenheim and the editor of the book why they wanted blade's dad to be white. but drawing the conclusion that marc must be too racist to have a white person go to a hooker, while you seem to have no problem ignoring the fact that it was a stereotype guggenheim was avoiding in not having blade's mom be a prostitute.

and punisher gets shot and blown up in his own book.
captain america just died in his own book.
and batman routinely screws up his relationships, is manipulated by his enemies, and has had his back broken, gotten arrested for murder twice, been set up by luthor and almost lost his identity one of those times, had his best friend from childhood try to kill him, in a story where bruce almost died at least twice, and had to keep from getting smushed by a possessed superman. he also recently travelled the world in an attempt to allow himself not to ruin every relationship hehas and be an overall terrible person.

blade is getting the same treatment.

Batman and punisher are normal humans... Blade is supposed to be a hybrid.. a damphyr: Half human half vampire with all the abilities of vampires and non of their weakness... Yet he seem unable to do things normal humans like punisher and Batman do all the time... Batman gets beaten by top end nemesis.. You wouldn't never see a 2 dollar thug beaten the crap out of him.. The same way no normal vampire should represent a challenge to Blade neither should a bunch of human cops.. In past incarnations Blade has been seen dodging machingun fire while killing supersoldiers just with a sword... Now he gets shot by regular cops.. They even get into his house while he is asleep.. Wtf? Vampires not been a challenge to him anymore should be the principal reason for him dealing more with other types of evil..

They would have never had Captain America shewing his own hand.. He would have busted that chain off the wall to then strangle the vamp dad with it.. That would've been bad ass... Let's put it this way... Superman>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Normal cops with guns.

By the way when I said that Blade could have been half wakandan I didn't meant that he should be T'Challa's brother or anything like that.. He could be just the son of a regular Wakandan.. Hell it was just an idea he could have simply come up from any other African nation... What about Blade's dad been from Nigeria or Cameroon.. He flees to England running from civil war or something like that.. Then his wife is killed by vampires and he's kidnapped and turned into a vampire...

[rogerio]

I hate the art.

ditto!!!:) :) :)

[Francisco]

This sounds more like what you want Blade to be than what he's capable of doing. Fighting the same enemy for years don't mean anything. Captain America has been fighting terrorists for years and it doesn't stop him from getting his ass kicked or failing every once in a while.

Do you even read this book? If you did then you should know that Blade's mom wasn't a hooker. That place was her safehouse and she killed by Deacon Frost shortly after she arrived.

Yeah Blade's mom is no longer a hooker.. My question is why if he decided that she was no longer a hooker didn't he give her a black husband too? Why the white dad? Do you think he would have done the same thing to Spider-Man? All of sudden Spidey with a black or asian dad? Hell no! What about Conan having a black dad.. or what about Tony Stark's black dad appearing all of sudden?

By the way, Captain America just like Batman is never beaten by henchmen.. 2 cet thug have never beaten Cap... Cap has never been humiliated by other heroes in his own book neither Batman... When they are beaten there's alway s an explanation why.. some external cause.. Blade, well he doesn't get any respect..

[Sean Whitmore]

or what about Tony Stark's black dad appearing all of sudden?

I would totally buy a series called Tony Stark's Black Dad.


SEAN

[StoneGold]

By the way, Captain America just like Batman is never beaten by henchmen.. 2 cet thug have never beaten Cap... Cap has never been humiliated by other heroes in his own book neither Batman... When they are beaten there's alway s an explanation why.. some external cause.. Blade, well he doesn't get any respect..

You are just plain wrong on this. In fact, I was just flipping through Essential Cap Vol 1 the other day and thinking that gee, AIM and the Nazis sure put Cap through his paces back in the day.

[kitamu re]

Yeah Blade's mom is no longer a hooker.. My question is why if he decided that she was no longer a hooker didn't he give her a black husband too? Why the white dad? Do you think he would have done the same thing to Spider-Man? All of sudden Spidey with a black or asian dad? Hell no! What about Conan having a black dad.. or what about Tony Stark's black dad appearing all of sudden?

By the way, Captain America just like Batman is never beaten by henchmen.. 2 cet thug have never beaten Cap... Cap has never been humiliated by other heroes in his own book neither Batman... When they are beaten there's alway s an explanation why.. some external cause.. Blade, well he doesn't get any respect..

great post francisco..you know you'r stuff.:D

[mattx110]

Batman and punisher are normal humans... Blade is supposed to be a hybrid.. a damphyr: Half human half vampire with all the abilities of vampires and non of their weakness... Yet he seem unable to do things normal humans like punisher and Batman do all the time... Batman gets beaten by top end nemesis.. You wouldn't never see a 2 dollar thug beaten the crap out of him.. The same way no normal vampire should represent a challenge to Blade neither should a bunch of human cops.. In past incarnations Blade has been seen dodging machingun fire while killing supersoldiers just with a sword... Now he gets shot by regular cops.. They even get into his house while he is asleep.. Wtf? Vampires not been a challenge to him anymore should be the principal reason for him dealing more with other types of evil..

They would have never had Captain America shewing his own hand.. He would have busted that chain off the wall to then strangle the vamp dad with it.. That would've been bad ass... Let's put it this way... Superman>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Normal cops with guns.

By the way when I said that Blade could have been half wakandan I didn't meant that he should be T'Challa's brother or anything like that.. He could be just the son of a regular Wakandan.. Hell it was just an idea he could have simply come up from any other African nation... What about Blade's dad been from Nigeria or Cameroon.. He flees to England running from civil war or something like that.. Then his wife is killed by vampires and he's kidnapped and turned into a vampire...

i was using your examples. you gave me those examples. i, having read a good amount of comics in my time, gave you examples of things worse than what happened to blade happening to the characters you gave as examples.

you can only be wrong so many times before you need to change your argument to account for reality.

the principal enemy for blade is vampires. they can't all be easy or you'd be flipping through the book going "hey look blade wins again no problem, have these guys learned what a conflict is?"

and chewing off your own hand=badass. i don't care who you are.
captain america had a shield to break chains. and he's been shown to be captured and chained, and didn't escape until given the oppurtinity.

check the early issues of sentintel of liberty for evidence there, when he was held captive by atlanteans and chained up, which his shield unable to help him. he didn't escape until he convinced namor to help him.

and "hey kids! the last 30 years of spiderman was all the false memories of a clone" beats the hell out of "blade came from an inter-racial couple" as far as drastically altering a character and alienating fans.

and it took a while before blade actually had any vampire powers. but you like that retcon, don't you?
and the superman animated series, which is universally acclaimed, had regular villians getting ray guns and hurting superman more than a handgun would. he also had trouble fighting off robots and aliens.

you're allowed to not like the book, but you may be giving it an unfair chance, and you not liking it, doesn't mean it's not good, and that other people can't enjoy it.

and given how many origin's blade has had, tying his past to the civil war so directly may be something they're reticent about.

[justcrash]

great post francisco..you know you'r stuff.:D

I like when people post as alts to support their own arguments. :rolleyes:

[StoneGold]

great post francisco..you know you'r stuff.:D

Except for the second part, in which he is just plain wrong.


Honestly, he's not quite right on the first part, either. We've never seen Blade's dad before. We've seen all the other characters' fathers. Or at least because then you bring up continuity issues.

Although when you think about it, when Mama Blade was a British whore, you have to figure the odds of Blade's pappy being white would have been pretty good, anyways.

[Francisco]

i was using your examples. you gave me those examples. i, having read a good amount of comics in my time, gave you examples of things worse than what happened to blade happening to the characters you gave as examples.

you can only be wrong so many times before you need to change your argument to account for reality.
Let me put it this way for you to understand.. The problem is not Blade getting beat up.. The problem is the way he gets beat up... Normal cops, regular vampires.. They shouldn't be a treat to Blade in fact they never been a threat for Blade in any of his incarnations... Now with vampires like Dracula or Varnae then we are talking of bussiness.


the principal enemy for blade is vampires. they can't all be easy or you'd be flipping through the book going "hey look blade wins again no problem, have these guys learned what a conflict is?" I never said they should all be easy for him to beat but most of them should be.. Having Blade been thrown out of a building by two regular vampires is just wrong. That'd be just like Wolverine getting beat up by two hand ninjas...


and chewing off your own hand=badass. i don't care who you are.
captain america had a shield to break chains. and he's been shown to be captured and chained, and didn't escape until given the oppurtinity.

check the early issues of sentintel of liberty for evidence there, when he was held captive by atlanteans and chained up, which his shield unable to help him. he didn't escape until he convinced namor to help him.

I've seen Captain America busting off chains of steel plenty of times and he is just peak human.. While Blade who's supposed to have super-human strenght is forced to shew off his own hand.. WTF? Face it.. I haven't seen a single thing on this book that makes Blade look like the super human he is supposed to be.. He gets shot and jailed by regular cops.. and even with prep time he gets humiliated by Wolverine.. I know Blade needs to be challeged what I'm complaining about is the quality of those challenges.. regular cops?


and "hey kids! the last 30 years of spiderman was all the false memories of a clone" beats the hell out of "blade came from an inter-racial couple" as far as drastically altering a character and alienating fans.

and it took a while before blade actually had any vampire powers. but you like that retcon, don't you?
and the superman animated series, which is universally acclaimed, had regular villians getting ray guns and hurting superman more than a handgun would. he also had trouble fighting off robots and aliens. Oh come on.:rolleyes: . But what happened at the end? It was all a sham and Peter Parker was the real Spider-Man.. Anyway the white daddy is not my main complaint with this comic... And yes I rather have the old version of the character who could actually kick ass than this sorry ass imitation of the Punisher... NIGHTSONS BLADE!! With good writting of course... a normal human with immunity to vampire bites and a nose for the supernatural.. Incredible fighting skills and unyielding spirit..


you're allowed to not like the book, but you may be giving it an unfair chance, and you not liking it, doesn't mean it's not good, and that other people can't enjoy it.

and given how many origin's blade has had, tying his past to the civil war so directly may be something they're reticent about.

Blade hasn't had more than one origin: His mom was attacked by a vampire while she was in labor.. That's it in the comics and in the movies with some minor changes.. by the way movies are not in continuity.. Guggenheim didn't have to fix anything.. The explanation of Morbius's bite giving Blade vamp powers was a good one and he could have work it from them.. Or he could have simply ignored that and gone right up with the old Blade as he always was just telling good stories..

Yeah I'm allowed not to like it and that's what I'm doing.. not liking it..

[Francisco]

I like when people post as alts to support their own arguments. :rolleyes:
Yeah I know.. That's why you do it all the time..:rolleyes:

[justcrash]

Yeah I know.. That's why you do it all the time..:rolleyes:

Lol, nice try. I argue with so many people on here. :D