The kids have found the Darkhold and are ready to cast the spell to destroy all vampires. But they don’t have the power to do so. Will Doctor Doom help them? Find out in Strange Academy: Blood Hunt #3, written by Daniel Jose Older, drawn by Luigi Zagaria and Eric Gapstur, colored by Edgar Delgado and lettered by Clayton Cowles.
As a comic book reader, it’s been a long time since I read a Strange Academy comic from Marvel. Yet I have lowkey been a fan of magic superheroes and coming-of-age stories, and these things made Strange Academy Vols. 1 and 2 appeal to me. Despite being a tie-in comic, Strange Academy: Blood Hunt has managed to tell a fun and emotional coming-of-age story about a group of friends during summer vacation.
Issue #3 begins with Pia, a young girl who was recently revealed to be a vampire. Given vampires have taken over the Earth, this presents a problem for Pia. In this miniseries, the only time she has bared her fangs is in self-defense when a young human boy known as Kid Darkhold attacked her in the previous issue. Not only has this scared her new friend Germán, but it has caused Kid Darkhold to kidnap her due to his prejudice against vampires.
Speaking of Kid Darkhold, he has taken her to a place in Madripoor called The Arena. He then gives Pia an ultimatum: defeat all the monsters he throws at her or he will activate The Montesi Formula, an ancient spell that will wipe out all vampires on earth. Meanwhile, the Strange Academy students are trying to locate Pia and Kid Darkhold after turning down Doctor Doom’s offer to help. When a horde of vampires block their way, the kids have no choice but to fight.
At this point, there is one particular page that stands out for several reasons. First, Luigi Zagaria and Eric Gapstur’s character designs capture the determination and fierceness of the kids in their facial expressions as well as their synergy as they use their powers. Then there’s Edgar Delgado’s vivid colors, which enhance the powers of the kids. Finally, Clayton Cowles’ lettering and Daniel José Older’s writing capture Germán’s newfound resolve to help Pia through poignant internal dialogue and bright green text boxes that reflect his green Animage powers (i.e. summoning green animal constructs).
In fact, Germán gets so ahead of the others that he ends up surrounded by vampires on his own. Back at The Arena, Pia is also grossly outnumbered, and Kid Darkhold knows this. Before he can use the Montesi Formula, his guardian, Agatha Harkness, appears.
For context, the Darkhold is originally a book of evil spells, and there are many copies of it and also one True Darkhold currently fused with the Scarlet Witch. Agatha Harkness unintentionally created Kid Darkhold when she tried to use a copy of the Darkhold to restore the balance of chaos magic after the Scarlet Witch fused with the True Darkhold. Afterward, Agatha and Kid Darkhold went on the run from the Scarlet Witch posing as a mother and son until Kid Darkhold got bored and ran away to Madripoor, running into the Strange Academy students in the process.
Going back to Germán, he is the one who receives help first as his fellow Strange Academy students catch up to him. After Doyle Dormmamu and Zoe Laveau make short work of the vampires, the team leads Germán to a secluded building where they reprimand him for running off and nearly getting himself killed. He comes to his senses and realizes he needs to view Pia as a friend and not someone who needs saving.
Speaking of Pia, she might not need saving, but she does need backup. Although she let the other Strange Academy students know where she was via a panic button she pushed when she first got to the arena, the arrival of Agatha Harkness has made things more urgent. Agatha is willing to fight Kid Darkhold and Pia to retrieve him and wastes no time hitting Kid Darkhold with a magic attack that removes his magical powers. He runs away from Agatha’s continued assault, and Pia follows him to kill him once and for all.
Before she can do so, Kid Darkhold tells her to wait. Without his powers, he finally understands that vulnerability is the key to acknowledging his humanity. He asks for a second chance to live, and Pia empathizes with him and spares his life as he apologizes for his actions. She also gives him her familiar so she can get his magic back later.
Pia doesn’t trust him but is willing to work with him to defeat Agatha.
Then, Agatha finds Pia and Kid Darkhold’s hiding place, multiplying herself to even the odds. There is also a random bearded guy with an oar who shows up out of nowhere, speaking either Italian or Spanish, and also a dog that came from somewhere. Their sudden appearance is confusing, but at least they even the odds a bit as Pia and Kid Darkhold fight the Agatha clones. They last decently on their own before Pia is punched in the face.
Once Pia picks herself up, she tells Kid Darkhold to find the real version of Agatha by singling out the one using magic. It is then that the rest of the Strange Academy students finally join the battle, with a particularly impressive Germán sitting on Doyle’s shoulders while wielding a bat and yelling, “Hey, pick on someone your own size!”
Once the fight resumes, the real Agatha prepares to aim a spell at Pia, but Kid Darkhold stops her. His magic powers have finally returned, and he uses them to hit the real Agatha and save Pia. As he says, “Rejoice in my magnanimity and be gone!” I can’t help but be reminded of Kid Loki. Just as the child version of Loki hoped to redeem themself, it seems Kid Darkhold wants to do the same.
When Agatha retreats, the other Strange Academy students ask Pia what she wants to do next. Pia suggests Kid Darkhold become a student at Strange Academy, which is the most logical step. Before they can do that, they still have to help Doctor Doom with his spell, which hopefully won’t wipe out all vampires. The comic ends as Pia thinks about how things have changed but she is willing to face the future with her friends.
Overall, this tie-in comic makes me want to catch up on the other Strange Academy comic books and see this particular group of characters again. Pia and Germán’s friendship was sweet, and Kid Darkhold has potential as a character.
Buy Strange Academy: Blood Hunt #3 here. (Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, ComicsXF may earn from qualifying purchases.)
Latonya Pennington is a freelance contributor whose comics criticism can be found at Women Write About Comics, Comic Book Herald, Newsarama and Shelfdust, among others.
