Undead, rise from your mortal coils and come forth for the Blood Hunt comics reading guide!
Blood Hunt is Marvel Comics’ summer blockbuster event for 2024. With over 50 issues, this massive crossover is already being compared to classics like Civil War and Secret Invasion! Like any major event, Blood Hunt is expected to have huge repercussions for the whole Marvel Universe. In fact, Blood Hunt has been billed as “The bloodiest event in Marvel Comics history!”
The basic premise is that legions of vampires have united together for world domination. This is similar to what Dracula’s son Xarus tried to do in X-Men: Curse of the Mutants (2010), but this time the vampires are far more strategic! Now led by the Bloodcoven, their first step is to block out the sun, then immediately incapacitate the heroes who pose a threat to vampirekind. There also seems to be some kind of mystery with the Darkforce, which has ties to the Darkhold. Blade concocts a wild plan to turn heroes into vampires, though ultimately, the solution may lie with Strange Academy and Doctor Doom…
But you gotta read to find out! So here are the most important reading essentials for Marvel Comics’ Blood Hunt event:
Blood Hunt Comics Recommendations:
- Prologue
- Doctor Strange (1974) #59-62
- Doctor Strange: Sorcerer Supreme (1988) #9-18
- Blade (2023) #6-10
- Blood Hunt (2024) #1-5
- Dracula: Blood Hunt (2024) #1-3
- Doctor Strange (2023) #15-17
- Vengeance of the Moon Knight (2024) #6-7
While we don’t know exactly what to expect yet, we do know that the event is being spearheaded by superstar writer Jed MacKay. This means the events of Blood Hunt will likely tie into his other ongoing series with Avengers, Doctor Strange, and Moon Knight. Consequently, the main players are expected to be the Avengers, Hunter’s Moon, Tigra, Doctor Strange, and Clea. Of course, Blade, Bloodline, and Dracula are expected to have major roles as well.
Blood Hunt builds on a lot of history and comes with a lot of tie-ins. Thankfully, you DO NOT need to read everything! The strongest recommendations are highlighted below, but pick whatever you want to read. If you have questions or suggestions for edits, just let us know!
For more vampire comics, check out our other reading guides, including Blade, the Midnight Sons, and Marvel Horror!
Comics Before Blood Hunt
Blood Hunt is one of the great Marvel events that connects loose threads from all of Marvel history. From Doctor Strange causing a vampire genocide in the 1980s to Blade becoming the sheriff of Vampire Nation in the 2020s, here is everything that leads up to Blood Hunt!
NOTE: These are extra recommendations for completionist readers. They are not required for the standard Blood Hunt comics event. Pick and choose what you want to read!
Blade, Dracula, and the Vampire Nation
- Nightstalkers (1992) #16-18
- Introduces Bloodstorm One, a genetically enhanced Dracula clone controlled by Varnae
- Part of the Bloodcoven in Blood Hunt!
- Avengers (2018) #14-17, 45 by Jason Aaron & David Marquez
- King in Black (2020) #1-5 by Donny Cates & Ryan Stegman
- Blade: Vampire Nation (2022) #1 by Mark Russell, Mico Suayan & Dave Wachter
- Bloodline: Daughter of Blade (2023) #1-5 by Danny Lore & Karen Darboe
- Blade (2023) #1-10 by Bryan Hill & Elena Casagrande
- In #6, Blade trains under Dracula and gains new powers
Blade Team-ups
- Black Panther (2005) #12-13 by Reginald Hudlin
- Features Black Panther, Monica Rambeau, Luke Cage, and Brother Voodoo!
- Captain Britain & the MI-13 (2008) #10-15 (“Vampire State”) by Paul Cornell
- Features Union Jack and other UK heroes against Dracula!
- Miles Morales: Spider-Man (2022) #10-12 by Cody Ziglar
- Features Miles and Bloodline!
The Darkhold: Doctor Strange and Scarlet Witch
- Avengers/Doctor Strange: Rise of the Darkhold
- Doctor Strange (1974) #59-62, 67 (“The Montesi Formula”)
- Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme (1988) #9-21, 29-30, 36, 45, 56, Annual #2
- Introduces Victor the vampire, the secret brother of Doctor Strange!
- Also features the origins of vampirism, and Varnae, the ancient lord of vampires!
- Doctor Strange (2023) #12 by Jed MacKay & Danilo S. Beyruth
- Victor the vampire ghost returns!
- Darkhold (2021) Alpha #1, Omega #1 by Steve Orlando
- In Darkhold Omega #1, Wanda absorbs the powers of the Darkhold!
- Contest of Chaos (2023)
- Agatha Harkness recreates the Darkhold in the form of a living child!
Moon Knight and Hunter’s Moon
- Moon Knight (2021) #13-21 by Jed MacKay & Alessandro Cappuccio
- Major vampire storyline
- #20-21 features Blade!
- Vengeance of the Moon Knight (2024) #1-5 by Jed MacKay & Alessandro Cappuccio
- #5 leads right into Blood Hunt #1!
Blood Hunt (2024)
This is the big event! The main storyline runs in Blood Hunt #1-5, and that’s all you need to read for the basic invasion and resolution.
If you want the fun of the full weekly crossover madness, the list below has everything in order. Released comics are listed in the correct story order and upcoming releases are listed alphabetically. As the event unfolds, the reading order will be adjusted regularly for the best story experience. If you have suggestions for edits, let me know!
Each of the Blood Hunt #1-5 issues are also sold for a higher price in “Red Band” editions. These Red Band versions feature the same story, but with extra scenes of R-rated violence! The Blood Hunt Red Band comics will only be sold physically, so digital copies may not be available.
- Prologue
- Doctor Strange (1974) #58-62 (“The Montesi Formula”)
- Blade (2023) #6-10
- Vengeance of the Moon Knight (2024) #1-4
- “New York Ambience” Livestream (Definitely not BLOOD HUNT) (2024)
- Blood Hunt Diaries (2024) #1 (behind the scenes promo)
- Free Comic Book Day 2024: Blood Hunt / X-Men (2024) #1
- May 1
- Vengeance of the Moon Knight (2024) #5
- Blood Hunt (2024) #1
- May 8
- Dracula: Blood Hunt (2024) #1
- Blood Hunters (2024) #1
- Avengers (2023) #14
- Doctor Strange (2023) #15
- Strange Academy: Blood Hunt (2024) #1
- Amazing Spider-Man (2024) #49
- Venom (2024) #33
- May 15
- Amazing Spider-Man: Blood Hunt (2024) #1
- May 22
- Union Jack the Ripper: Blood Hunt (2024) #1
- Blood Hunt (2024) #2
- May 29
- Black Panther: Blood Hunt (2024) #1
- Midnight Sons: Blood Hunt (2024) #1
- June 5
- Blood Hunters (2024) #2
- Venom (2024) #34
- Wolverine: Blood Hunt (2024) #1
- June 12
- Blood Hunt (2024) #3
- Amazing Spider-Man: Blood Hunt (2024) #2
- Avengers (2023) #15
- Fantastic Four (2024) #21
- Miles Morales: Spider-Man (2024) #21
- Strange Academy: Blood Hunt (2024) #2
- X-Men: Blood Hunt – Jubilee (2024) #1
- June 19
- Black Panther: Blood Hunt (2024) #2
- Doctor Strange (2023) #16
- Dracula: Blood Hunt (2024) #2
- Wolverine: Blood Hunt (2024) #2
- June 26
- Blood Hunt (2024) #4
- Midnight Sons: Blood Hunt (2024) #2
- Union Jack the Ripper: Blood Hunt (2024) #2
- Vengeance of the Moon Knight (2024) #6
- X-Men: Blood Hunt – Magik (2024) #1
- July 3
- Black Panther: Blood Hunt (2024) #3
- Blood Hunters (2024) #3
- Doctor Strange (2023) #17
- Dracula: Blood Hunt (2024) #3
- Miles Morales: Spider-Man (2024) #22
- Werewolf By Night: Blood Hunt (2024) #1
- X-Men: Blood Hunt – Psylocke (2024) #1
- July 10
- Avengers (2023) #16
- Hulk: Blood Hunt (2024) #1
- Union Jack the Ripper: Blood Hunt (2024) #3
- Wolverine: Blood Hunt (2024) #3
- July 17
- Amazing Spider-Man: Blood Hunt (2024) #3
- Blood Hunters (2024) #4
- X-Men: Blood Hunt – Laura Kinney: The Wolverine (2024) #1
- July 24
- Blood Hunt (2024) #5
- Fantastic Four (2024) #22
- Midnight Sons: Blood Hunt (2024) #3
- Strange Academy: Blood Hunt (2024) #3
- Vengeance of the Moon Knight (2024) #7
- Wolverine: Blood Hunt (2024) #4
Blood Hunt Comic Tie-Ins (2024)
Blood Hunt is an insane event, spanning over 50 comics in full. BUT YOU DON’T NEED EVERYTHING!
To help you decide what to read, here is a little information about the comics that tie directly into Blood Hunt. Each series features some of Marvel’s best talent, led by Jed MacKay (Avengers, Doctor Strange, Moon Knight) and Pepe Larraz (House of X, X-Men) on the main Blood Hunt title. Take a look and see what catches your eye!
- Amazing Spider-Man #49 by Zeb Wells & John Romita, Jr.
- Amazing Spider-Man: Blood Hunt #1-3 Justina Ireland & Marcelo Ferreira
- Spider-Man protects NYC from vampires and teams up with Lizard!
- Meanwhile the vampires hunt Morbius as he tries to develop a cure for vampirism.
- Avengers #14-16 by Jed MacKay & C.F. Villa
- Spotlights Steve Rogers, Kate Bishop, Quicksilver, Hercules, Hazmat. Battle on a helicarrier!
- Black Panther: Blood Hunt #1-3 by Cheryl Lynn Eaton & Farid Karami
- T’Challa becomes a vampire! Might tie into Avengers (2018) vampire/vibranium story
- New vampires inspired by real African legend and mythology. Features a massive battle in Atlantis!
- Blood Hunt #1-5 by Jed MacKay & Pepe Larraz
- Main series event! Essential reading.
- Blood Hunters #1-4 (anthology)
- #1 by Mark Russell & Bob Quinn, Christos Gage & Javier Garrón, and Erica Schultz & Bernard Chang
- #2 by Kaare Andrews & Alex Lins, Ann Nocenti & David Baldeon, and Erica Schultz & Bernard Chang
- #3 by Sean McKeever & Lan Medina, Josh Trujillo & Robert Gill, and and Erica Schultz & Bernard Chang
- #4 by Written by Fabian Nicieza & Patrick Zircher, Mary SanGiovanni & Giada Belviso, and Erica Schultz & Bernard Chang
- Anthology series with various characters. Features Dagger, Elsa Bloodstone, John Jameson (Man Wolf), Clint Barton, Kate Bishop, Silver Surfer, Satana, and Hallows’ Eve!
- All four issues have a connecting storyline by Erica Schultz & Bernard Chang.
- Doctor Strange #12, 15-17 by Jed MacKay & Pasqual Ferry
- Dr. Strange turns into a vampire?! Features Stephen, Clea, and Wong.
- Make sure to read Doctor Strange #12!
- Dracula: Blood Hunt #1-3 by Danny Lore & Vincenzo Carratù
- Dracula teams up with Blade’s daughter and… Daredevil?!
- By Brielle’s co-creator Danny Lore
- Fantastic Four #21-22 by Ryan North & Ivan Fiorelli
- Reed Richards tries to cure vampirism!
- Free Comic Book Day 2024: Blood Hunt / X-Men (2024) #1 by Jed MacKay & Sara Pichelli (one-shot)
- Prelude to the Blood Hunt event. Free comic!
- Hulk: Blood Hunt #1 by Philip Kennedy Johnson & Danny Earls (one-shot)
- Might be connected to Blood Hunters #2 or the current run of Incredible Hulk.
- Midnight Sons: Blood Hunt #1-3 by Bryan Hill & Germán Peralta
- Midnight Sons vs. Blade! Continues Bryan Hill’s story from Blade (2023). Mysteriously, the covers show old characters and costumes that only belonged to the 90s version of the team…Could there be some kind of time trickery involved here?
- Miles Morales: Spider-Man #21-22 by Cody Ziglar & Travel Foreman
- Miles might turn into a vampire! Is this all part of Blade’s plan?
- Connects to Miles Morales: Spider-Man #11-12, where he teamed up with Blade and Bloodline, and got a new vampire-hunting suit.
- Strange Academy: Blood Hunt #1-3 by Daniel José Older & Luigi Zagaria
- Continuing from Contest of Chaos (2023), features the Strange Academy vs. Agatha Harkness and the living Darkhold Child.
- From New Orleans to Madripoor!
- Union Jack The Ripper: Blood Hunt #1-3 by Cavan Scott & Kev Walker
- Union Jack protects England from vampires. Might tie into Captain Britain and MI-13: Vampire State (2008)
- Vengeance of the Moon Knight #5-7 by Jed MacKay & Alessandro Cappuccio
- With Moon Knight dead, the Midnight Mission struggles to protect NYC from both vampires and a villainous Moon Knight imposter. Connects to Avengers (2018) #33-37 (“Age of Khonshu”), where Khonshu ends up in Avengers jail, and Moon Knight (2021) which introduces Reese (vampire), Hunter’s Moon (vampire hater), and an arc with Blade (half-vampire vampire-hater).
- Venom (2021) #33-34 by Al Ewing & Juan Ferreyra
- Venom protects NYC. Features the Captive and former Venom-host Lee Price. Might feature a symbiote vampire?
- Werewolf By Night: Blood Hunt #1 by Jason Loo & Adam Gorham (one-shot)
- Features Jake Gomez, the new Werewolf. Expected to be a major issue.
- Jason Loo will also return for the Werewolf by Night (2024) series starring Jack Russell!
- Wolverine: Blood Hunt #1-4 by Tom Waltz & Juan José Ryp
- Features a secret sect of aquatic vampires! Continues from the first arc of Wolverine by Ben Percy, where vampires use Wolverine’s blood to survive in daylight. Also features Louise the Nightguard, a vampire who hunts vampires with a UV sword. For more comics where Logan becomes a vampire, check out What If (1989) #24, 37.
- X-Men: Blood Hunt – Jubilee #1 by Preeti Chhibber & Enid Balám (one-shot)
- Connects to Jubilee’s past a vampire, which started in X-Men: Curse of the Mutants. Might connect to the recent X-Terminators miniseries with Laura and Dracula’s grandson.
- X-Men: Blood Hunt – Laura Kinney: The Wolverine #1 by Stephanie Phillips & Robert Gill (one-shot)
- Laura tries to stop vampires from experimenting on mutants. Might connect to Laura’s friendship with Jubilee, who used to be a vampire. Might also connect to the recent X-Terminators miniseries with Jubilee and Dracula’s grandson. Laura has the same healing factor as Logan, which may connect to the Wolverine storyline as well.
- X-Men: Blood Hunt – Magik #1 by Ashley Allen & Jesús Hervás (one-shot)
- Magik fights vampires in Russia. Might tie into Jed MacKay’s upcoming X-Men series, which also features Magik.
- X-Men: Blood Hunt – Psylocke #1 by Steve Foxe & Lynne Yoshii (one-shot)
- Features monsters from Japanese folklore! Continues Psylocke’s relationship with Greycrow from Hellions.
Comics after Blood Hunt (2024)
While we still don’t know a lot about the state of the Marvel Comics Universe after Blood Hunt, here is what we know so far:
- Werewolf by Night (2024) by Jason Loo & Sergio Dávila
- Features Jack Russell! Jason Loo returns after the WBN: Blood Hunt one-shot
- Available with R-rated Red Band option
- Starts August 14
- Blade (2024)
- Starts late 2024
Werewolf by Night Reading Guide
And that’s our guide to the Blood Hunt comics event! Which series are you most excited for? What are you planning to read? Let me know on X/Twitter @vinwriteswords and remember to follow the site on social media @MyCosmicCircus for more hemoglobinic heroes coming soon!
Also check out our full list of comics reading guides here, including Blade and the Midnight Sons! To learn more about vampires in the comics, visit the Marvel official page.
Are you new to comics? Try our Comics FAQ Guide, and find me on Twitter if you have any questions!
All comics images courtesy of Marvel Comics
