Issue(s): Blade #9
Cover Date: Mar 95
Title: "Dead on arrival"
Credits:
Terry Kavanagh - Writer
Doug Wheatley - Penciler
Steve Moncuse - Inker
Chris Cooper - Editor

Review/plot:
Checking in randomly on the Blade series, and it turns out that it's been cancelled! This is the second-to-last issue, with regular writer Ian Edginton having been replaced by the beloved Terry Kavanagh (same regular art team). It's said in the lettercol that the next storyline, which was intended to address the question of Dracula (you may remember the clone of Dracula situation from the end of Nightstalkers/beginning of this series) will be truncated from 3 issues to the single finale issue.

This issue, though, features the very Terry Kavanagh-ish villains called the Vampz, best enjoyed via the cover or this panel where Blade calls them Vampires and they feel the need to correct him. Branding is important.

The Vampz are working for Marie Laveau (who is apparently a cyborg now?).

Blade has just rescued Bible John (thanks to some intel from Morbius), who is dying but is trying to tell Blade that Hannibal King and Frank Drake are still alive. Blade - in a move that i consider to be very out of character! - considers trying to force one of the Vampz to turn John into a vampire to keep him from dying, but then he realizes that the Vamp (Vamp = singular for Vampz?) is only pretending to be his prisoner so that it can spy on him for Laveau, and that causes him to come to his senses; he kills the Vamp. Then cyborg Blade shows up.

I have not (and probably will not!) read next issue, but looking online this guy is literally Cable-Blade - an alternate future version of Blade - and that suuuuuuuuuuuucks, Terry Kavanagh!

Quality Rating: D

Historical Significance Rating: 1

Chronological Placement Considerations:

References: N/A

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A