ComicsPRO: ‘Red Band Edition’ of ‘Blood Hunt’ Will Be Print-Only

February 26, 2024

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The “Red Band Editions” of the Blood Hunt crossover event will be available only in print, Marvel President Dan Buckley told retailers during his keynote address at the ComicsPRO 2024 Comic Industry Conference. “In order to get these bloody takes, fans will need to pick up the comics in your stores,” Buckley said, pledging that driving foot traffic to comic stores, whether by bringing in new customers or giving regulars more reasons to show up, will be a major focus for Marvel in 2024. As an additional promotion, Marvel is also offering a set of vampire teeth, packaged with an exclusive Blood Hunt trading card, for stores to make available to customers beginning on May 1, the launch date for the crossover.

The “Red Band Editions” are a more graphic version of the five-issue Blood Hunt miniseries, which will be the centerpiece of Marvel’s summer event (see “Marvel Thinks More Gore Might Help”). The miniseries, by writer Jed Mackay, artist Pepe Larraz, and colorist Marte Gracia, will kick off on May 1 and will be accompanied on Free Comic Book Day by a prelude, Free Comic Book Day 2024: Blood Hunt/X-Men #1 (see “Preview: Marvels Free Comic Book Day 2024 Titles”). Here’s a rundown of the event so far:

Limited Series

Blood Hunters, an anthology series that will include a continuing story by Erica Schultz and Bernard Chang featuring a new team, the Blood Hunters. The first issue will also include stories featuring Hawkeye, by Mark Russell and Bob Quinn, and Man-Wolf and J. Jonah Jamieson, by Christos Gage and Javier Garrón, with a cover by Greg Land (4 issues, launching May 8)
Dracula: Blood Hunt, by Danny Lore and Vincenzo Carratù, featuring Brielle Brooks, a.k.a. Boodline, the daughter of Blade (3 issues, launching May 8)
Strange Academy: Blood Hunt, by Daniel José Older and Luigi Zagaria (3 issues, launching May 8)
Amazing Spider-Man: Blood Hunt, by Justina Ireland and Marcelo Ferreira (3 issues, launching May 15)
Union Jack the Ripper: Blood Hunt, by Cavan Scott and Kev Walker (3 issues, launching May 15)
Black Panther: Blood Hunt, by Cheryl Lynn Eaton and Farid Karami (3 issues, launching May 29)
Midnight Sons: Blood Hunt, by Bryan Hill and Germán Peralta (3 issues, launching May 29)
Wolverine: Blood Hunt, by Tom Waltz and Juan José Ryp (4 issues, launching June 5)

One-Shots

X-Men: Blood Hunt – Jubilee #1, by Preeti Chhibber and Enid Balám (on sale June 12)
X-Men: Blood Hunt – Magik #1, by Ashley Allen and Jesús Hervás (on sale June 26)
X-Men: Blood Hunt – Psylocke #1, by Steve Foxe and Lynne Yoshii (on sale July 3)
X-Men: Blood Hunt – Laura Kinney the Wolverine #1, by Stephanie Phillips and Robert Gill (on sale July 17)
Werewolf By Night: Blood Hunt #1, by Jason Loo and Davide Paratore (on sale July 3)
Hulk: Blood Hunt #1, by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Danny Earls (on sale July 10)