MARVEL PREVIEW #3 (1975): Blade

A black-and-white Blade story in a magazine-sized issue, and unlike the previous issues of Marvel Preview, this one is entirely devoted to this one, single story.

It’s pretty simple: Vampires kill a 13-year-old girl (and some other people), Blade hunts them down, Blade kills them.

Blade is African American.  And a vampire.  Unfortunately, that means he’s written in a stilted “street” tone that, by today’s standards, is a bit offensive. Like saying “Not tonight, baby!” to a vamp.

The story takes place in England, and is the first appearance of Chief Inspector Dai Thomas, who will play an ongoing, minor role in the subsequent Captain Britain/Excalibur/Knights of Pendragon series, where he’ll wield the power of Pendragon.

The story also features a few minor recurring characters from the Tomb of Dracula universe and the recent Vampire Tales comic series, but none of them are important enough to tag or mention by name.

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