One of the most controversial characters to ever be created is the Vampire Hunter “Blade.” Originally appearing in The tomb of Dracula #10 (July 1973) Blade started out his slaying career as a supporting character in the series. Written by Marv Wolfman and penciled by Gene Colan, the creators were afraid that Blade would overshadow his co-characters in the book.
Born Eric Brooks in London (England), Blade’s mother during labor was the victim of the Vampire Deacon Frost. Deacon Frost feasted on Blade’s mother (Tara Brooks) while she was in labor which resulted in Blade’s quasi-vampiric abilities. Which includes a greatly prolonged lifespan, the ability to sense supernatural creatures and an immunity to vampirism.
In his youth, Blade was trained in the ways of combat by Vampire Hunter Jamal Afari. Whom he had to later kill when Dracula turned Jamal into a vampire. Over time, Blade became an olympic level athlete with a high degree of skill in hand to hand combat. A formidable opponent against the vampires, Blade became cocky and arrogant. This led to the death of his friends in his battle against the vampires (and some of which also became vampires).
It was due to all these experiences that Blade set out on a quest to eliminate all vampires in the world….