Marvel Preview #3
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeMarvel Preview #3 gave Blade his first true starring vehicle — a 56-page, novel-length black-and-white solo story that concluded the arc begun in Vampire Tales #8–9 and delivered the character's first comprehensive origin, cementing who Eric Brooks was as both a man and a dhampir. Written by a young Chris Claremont, the issue planted seeds well beyond the Tomb of Dracula corner of the Marvel Universe: Chief Inspector Dai Thomas debuted here as a gruff, hero-distrusting Scotland Yard detective who would become a recurring fixture across Captain Britain, Excalibur, and Knights of Pendragon for decades. The magazine also marks the first appearance of Jamal Afari, Blade's surrogate father and trumpet-playing vampire-hunting mentor, a figure whose influence on Eric Brooks's backstory has been revisited in every subsequent retelling of the origin. As the only issue of Marvel Preview dedicated entirely to a single character's story, it stands as an early example of Marvel's black-and-white magazine line being used to tell genuinely expansive, serialized narratives that the standard color comics of the era could not accommodate in length.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
The story was originally announced and planned as a multi-part serial in Vampire Tales, but when that horror-comics magazine line was cancelled before the material could be published, the completed pages were redirected to Marvel Preview, a black-and-white showcase title edited by Marv Wolfman (with Archie Goodwin serving as editor-in-chief). Chris Claremont scripted the entire issue, with interior art divided between Tony DeZuniga and Rico Rival across its four chapters; a painted cover was provided by Gray Morrow. The issue went on sale July 22, 1975, with a September 1975 cover date, and also included a short illustrated prose recap of Blade's career history written by Scott Edelman with repurposed art by Gene Colan, John Romita Sr., Jack Abel, and Tom Palmer.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance of Chief Inspector Dai Thomas, the Scotland Yard CID detective who later became a major supporting character throughout Captain Britain, Excalibur, and Knights of Pendragon (where he briefly wielded the Pendragon spirit of Sir Gawain).
- First appearance of Jamal Afari (in flashback), Blade's jazz-musician mentor and surrogate father who first encountered a nine-year-old Eric Brooks during a vampire attack and trained him as a vampire hunter.
- Contains the first comprehensive, in-story telling of Blade's full origin as Eric Brooks, the dhampir whose mother was attacked by the vampire Deacon Frost during childbirth.
- Written entirely by Chris Claremont, with interior art by Tony DeZuniga (chapters 1–2) and Rico Rival (chapters 3–4); painted cover by Gray Morrow.
- The 56-page lead story, 'The Night Josie Harper Died!', was originally planned for Vampire Tales #12, but landed in Marvel Preview after that magazine line was cancelled.
- The issue also contains a 2-page illustrated prose recap of Blade's history by Scott Edelman, illustrated with panels from Tomb of Dracula and the cover of Fear #24.
- Safron Caulder (Blade's romantic partner) and Detective Inspector Kate Fraser appear prominently in the story; the London setting also references supporting cast from the Tomb of Dracula universe including Quincy Harker and Rachel Van Helsing.
- The lead story has been reprinted in Savage Action (Marvel UK) #6 (April 1981), Blade: Black & White (2004), Marvel Horror: The Magazine Collection (2017), Marvel Horror Lives Again! Omnibus (2020), and Blade: The Early Years Omnibus (2023).
Cast · 13 characters
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Reprints
Reprinted in Savage Action #6 (1981), Savage Action #7 (1981), Savage Action #8 (1981), Blade: Black & White #[nn] (2004), Tomb of Dracula 10 (New Line Cinema) #[nn] (2005), Marvel Milestones: Blade, Man-Thing & Satana #[nn] (2005), Marvel Horror: The Magazine Collection #[nn] (2017), Marvel Horror Lives Again! Omnibus #[nn] (2020), Blade: The Early Years Omnibus #[nn] (2023), Marvel Horror Classic Collection #2 (2023), Blade: The Early Years Omnibus #[nn] (2023), Marvel Masterworks: Tomb of Dracula #4 (2024)
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