Following the cancellation of Nightstalkers, Blade debuted in his first color-comics series, Blade: The Vampire Hunter #1–10 (July 1994 – April 1995), written by Ian Edginton (with the last two issues by Terry Kavanagh) and penciled by Doug Wheatley.
Tag: Marvel
Strange Tales (Silver Age)
Strange Tales switched to superheroes during the Silver Age of Comic Books, retaining the sci-fi, suspense and monsters as backup features for a time. Strange Tales‘ first superhero, in 12- to 14-page stories, was the Fantastic Four‘s Human Torch, Johnny Storm, beginning in #101 (Oct. 1962). Here, Johnny still lived with his elder sister, Susan Storm, in fictional Glenview, Long Island, New York, where he continued to attend high school and, with youthful naivete, attempted to maintain his “secret identity” (later retconned to reveal that his friends and neighbors knew of his dual identity from Fantastic Four news reports, but simply played along).
The title became a “split book” with the introduction of sorcerer Doctor Strange, by Lee and artist Steve Ditko. This 9- to 10-page feature debuted in #110 (July 1963), and after an additional story and then skipping two issues returned permanently with #114. Ditko’s surrealistic mystical landscapes and increasingly head-trippy visuals helped make the feature a favorite of college students, according to Lee himself. Eventually, as co-plotter and later sole plotter, in the “Marvel Method“, Ditko would take Strange into ever-more-abstract realms, which yet remained well-grounded thanks to Lee’s reliably humanistic, adventure/soap opera dialog. Adversaries for the new hero included Baron Mordo introduced in issue #111 (Aug. 1963) and Dormammu in issue #126 (Nov. 1964). Clea, who would become a longtime love interest for Doctor Strange, was also introduced in issue #126.
Heroes Reborn (2000)
In the years after the Heroes Reborn event, Marvel published a series of one-shots that revisit the pocket universe created by Franklin Richards. These can be read in any order and even touch on some characters who were not featured in the original storyline.
Doctor Strange V2 (1980’s)
Strange met his allies Topaz in #75 (Feb, 1986) and Rintrah in #80 (December 1986). The series ended with a cliffhanger as his home, the Sanctum Sanctorum, was heavily damaged during a battle. Among the losses was Doctor Strange’s entire collection of mystic books and other important artifacts. As a consequence, Strange was now considerably weaker and several spells designed to protect humanity from vampires and the evil serpent god Set expired.
The title was discontinued so that the character’s adventures could be transferred to another split book format series. Strange Tales vol. 2, #1-19 (April 1987 – Oct. 1988) was shared with street heroes Cloak and Dagger. This new Doctor Strange series resolved Strange’s quest to reclaim his power and missing artifacts, as well as resurrecting the Defenders, who had died in the last issue of that team’s title.
Alien – Marvel (2021)
Gabriel Cruz gave his life to Weyland-Yutani–In the case of an alien attack he barely survived, almost literally! Recently retired, Cruz is trying to patch things up with his abandoned son with the help of his friend, a Bishop-model android, but his re-entry into civilian life is not going smoothly…and his encounters with the deadly Xenomorph are far from over.
Adventure into Fear (1974)
Morbius, the Living Vampire, introduced in The Amazing Spider-Man #101 (Oct. 1971), became the starring feature with Adventure into Fear #20 (Feb. 1974), and continued through the rest of the run. After a single issue by writer Mike Friedrich and penciler Paul Gulacy, Steve Gerber wrote several issues in which Morbius went on a picaresque interdimensional journey and fought the Caretakers of Arcturus and was advised by the eyeball-headed character I. Doug Moench and Bill Mantlo followed, successively, as the feature’s writers. Its round-robin of artists included Gil Kane, P. Craig Russell, Frank Robbins, George Evans, and Don Heck. Back up reprints shortly resumed in issue #20. Morbius would receive his own short-lived comic-book series in the 1990s.
Avengers A.I. (2013)
Avengers A.I. was an ongoing comic book series published by Marvel Comics that was released in July 2013, as part of the company’s Marvel NOW! initiative. The series takes place after the events of Age of Ultron, where the world has been colonized by A.I.s “who may or may not have positive feelings about the way humanity has been treating them for the past 100 years.” The series ended in April 2014.
Elektra – Root of Evil (1995)
Created by Frank Miller, Elektra first appeared in Daredevil #168 (January 1981). Miller originally intended this issue, which was essentially a filler story, to be Elektra’s only appearance, but she instead became a frequently appearing villain in Daredevil until her death in issue #181 (April 1982). She was resurrected shortly after, but the story contained a narrative note which indicated that Daredevil would never encounter her again.
After over a decade’s absence, she reappeared in Daredevil #324-327 (January–April 1994), and went on to a brief stint as a supporting character in Wolverine (in #100-106). Daredevil writer D. G. Chichester recounted that he and editor Ralph Macchio had
bandied about the idea [of bringing back Elektra] in a casual fashion now and again, but neither of us wanted to do it as a gimmick. On the rare occasion I thought I had a legitimate angle to use her, Ralph was cool to the idea. But as we geared up for what would become Fall From Grace, Ralph out of the blue said, “What about bringing back Elektra?” — and it was really the missing piece that clicked together all the loose pieces of the story in my head, and became the nexus for everything tying together as well as it did. In my mind, it’s always been her to whom the title refers.
This upset Frank Miller, who claimed that Marvel had previously promised him that the character would not be used in any publication. She has since appeared in two eponymous ongoing series and several mini-series.
Towerl of Shadows (1969)
Designed to compete with DC Comics‘ successful launches of House of Mystery and House of Secrets,[2] Tower of Shadows, like its companion comic Chamber of Darkness, sold poorly despite the roster of artists featured. After its first few issues, the title, published bimonthly, began including reprints of “pre-superhero Marvel” monster stories and other SF/fantasy tales from Marvel’s 1950s and early 1960s predecessor, Atlas Comics. After the ninth issue, the title changed to Creatures on the Loose, and the comic became a mix of reprints and occasional sword and sorcery/SF series.
Tomb of Dracula V4 (2004)
Every thousand years, Dracula enters a chrysalis state for four days, leaving him in a vulnerable state. During this time the most powerful vampires from around the world gather in Transylvania to protect him. Now they are about to be joined by an eclectic team of vampire slayers that have gathered to take down the legendary Vampire King – including the best and most dangerous slayer of them all – Blade!











































