Marvel Adapted One of Horror’s Best Monster Hunters

Marvel and horror are a match made in heaven. Whether it’s adaptations of classic movie monsters like Dracula, Frankenstein, and the Wolfman or original characters that go bump in the night, Marvel has long had a history of bringing delightful frights to comic pages. So when the chance came to adapt one of the most popular book series starring a monster hunter/criminal investigator/monster lover, Marvel dived straight into the thick of it. With zombies, vampires, and other ghoulish creatures, Marvel’s adaptations of Anita Blake are a solid mix of horror, action, and romance.

Anita Blake debuted in 1993 with her very first novel, Guilty Pleasures. Written by Laurell K. Hamilton, Guilty Pleasures introduced the world to its heroine, Anita Blake, and the supernatural world she inhabits. Similar to our own in every way, save for the fact that monsters exist, Anita Blake’s world is one of intrigue, conflict, and mystery. Guilty Pleasures proved so popular that Hamilton has continued to write thirty novels so far, with 2023’s Slay being the most recent (and this doesn’t even count the short stories and novellas featuring Anita Blake, either.) Translating Anita Blake to Marvel Comics proved a natural and successful move, as the comics breathe new life into Hamilton’s famous hard-boiled monster hunter and zombie raiser.

Anita Blake Brings Horror, Mystery, and Dark Romance Together Into One, Thrilling Package

There is a LOT of Vampire Love

Just like the novels that preceded them, Marvel’s Anita Blake comics feature the titular character as she navigates a world full of monsters. Unlike other stories that feature werewolves and vampires, the monsters in Anita Blake’s world are not inherently evil.

Many of them are officially and publicly folded into everyday human society. As their existence became impossible to ignore, the world’s governments passed laws recognizing their existence as monsters, even granting them their special citizenship. This incredibly forward and unique precedent opens up entirely new means of dealing with the supernatural for Anita Blake. More than just non-humans to fear and kill without mercy, the relationship between monsters and humans is a tenuous but progressive one.

As a character, Anita Blake has a tough-as-nails exterior but a remarkably delicate interior. She often puts on fronts to hide her moments of anxiety and fear. This is necessary in her line of work because even a moment of weakness could spell disaster for her.

Anita works as a criminal investigator, not a police officer or detective, but as a private practice specializing in the supernatural. This puts her in countless situations with monsterkind, sometimes good but most of the time perilous. To make her job even more complicated are the romantic relationships she finds herself in, especially with vampires. Anita often finds herself romancing monsters as much as she does battling against them.

Anita Blake is a Different Kind of Monster Hunter and Horror Star

Her World is Significantly More Textured Than Marvel’s When It Comes to Monsters

Anita Blake stands apart from other Marvel horror films because Anita does not view monsters as creatures that need to be hunted with no compunction. Throughout the series, Anita begins to change her views of monsterkind and even becomes a stalwart ally for their rights and existence.

This is in direct opposition to characters like Blade or Elsa Bloodstone, monster hunters who view the undead and other such beings as aberrations that are to be cleansed from the face of the Earth. In fairness, though, the typical monsters that live in the main Marvel universe are a far cry less pleasant than the ones that Anita Blake contends with. Many of Anita’s adventures involve her solving a mystery involving monsters.

For example, in the second issue of Guilty Pleasure, the story begins with Anita investigating a murder scene. She muses how terrible the murder is, considering that vampires typically don’t attack children. It’s a grim opening, setting the story’s tone perfectly. Moments like this give Anita Blake a sense of identity not often seen in horror comics. She’s a tough woman who battles monsters, but she’s also an ace detective who has to rely on her intellect and wits as much as her fighting skills. It’s a nice blend of genres that makes Anita Blake a satisfying read, even if it’s heavy on her tumultuous love life with the undead.

Anita Blake Could Do Very Well Today With the Right Treatment

It was Twenty Years Too Early to Find Its Biggest Crowd

The Anita Blake novels are still being written today, but she hasn’t had a Marvel Comics collaboration for over ten years. This is mostly because Marvel agreed to a contract to produce adaptations of the first three novels in the series. Unfortunately, the series’ popularity dwindled a bit near the end, and there was a noticeable dip in quality from the first series to the later ones.

Dialogue becomes less frequent, and the art is markedly different from earlier issues. This is a shame because if Anita Blake had received such treatment today, it’s very likely her popularity would have taken off at a much greater rate. In the age of Twilight, The Vampire Diaries, and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Anita Blake fits in perfectly. This is paying attention to the fact that Anita Blake debuted twenty years before many of these shows aired, but interest in supernatural love stories is immensely popular nowadays.

Considering how Twilight has received a renaissance within the past four years, bringing Anita Blake’s sultry monster-loving intrigue to modern audiences would be a hit. The genre might be a bit inundated at this point, and there were even talks of an Anita Blake movie being made at one point (that Hamilton has since confirmed as being canceled). Still, a dedicated streaming series could work if done properly.

Anita Blake Serves as a Sultry and Rousing Read For Scary Romance Fans

And Good-Looking Vampires, Too!

When she broke onto the scene, Anita Blake was a trailblazer. She brought stark sociopolitical commentary to the masses under the guise of monster hunting and dark romance. Through these allegories, Anita Blake brought to light the strife and struggle underrepresented people suffer daily.

It’s a wonderful evolution for her character to start as a person who hunts monsters and turns into a person who advocates for their rights. The messages and themes are very apparent, both in the novels and the comics, and these themes help elevate Anita Blake from other contemporary YA series. The Marvel adaptations focus much more on her earlier adventures, most notably her whirlwind romances, so fans looking for her more political stories should look further into her novels.

As Hamilton is still writingstories about Anita Blake today, there is always the chance that she might make another appearance in Marvel’s pages. Technically, since she had her own comic published by Marvel, Anita Blake exists within the Marvel Multiverse (Earth-97534, to be exact.) Marvel has proven it can do modern horror very well, with its Disney+ offerings of Moonknight and Werewolf by Night being perfect examples. While it would never happen, it would be cool to see Anita Blake receive a dark, steamy Disney+ show full of supernatural suspense, mystery, and action. It’s a winning combo.