Another big Avengers story, another new team for Earth's Mightiest Heroes to take on. After launching his new Avengers volume by introducing the Ashen Combine, writer Jed MacKay has now teamed up with artist Pepe Larraz to create the Bloodcoven, the villainous group at the heart of the upcoming Avengers/Doctor Strange/Moon Knight and more crossover Blood Hunt.
Composed entirely of vampires, the Bloodcoven consists of members Cruel, Unusual, Megrim, the Damascene, Smoke Eater, and leader Bloodstorm One, a clone of the most famous vampire of all, Dracula.
Rather than simply being bloodthirsty, pale goths in black capes like stereotypical vampires, however, the members of the Bloodcoven are far more bizarre and alien, almost channeling a Cenobite like vibe in their designs by Larraz, seen in the promo art below:
"I knew going in that vampires weren't bad enough," explains MacKay in a statement. "If the children of the night were going up against the Avengers, let alone the other heroes of the world, bigger guns were required."
"Hence the Bloodcoven - supervampires, fed on the blood of superhumans that follow different vampiric philosophies, subsisting not only on blood but pain, or magic, or thoughts, or even ghosts!" continues. "I threw together a list of names and some thoughts about powers, but it was Pepe who really brought these characters to (un)life, creating an extremely gnarly set of predators!"
Blood Hunt will be a massive event encompassing the entire Marvel Universe, with dozens of tie-in issues alongside the main limited series - which will also receive a special "Red Band" release with extra blood and gore.
Blood Hunt #1 goes on sale May 1.
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