Five years ago, the final chapter in the Blade film trilogy, Blade Trinity, hit theatres, capitalizing on the title character, who first appeared in Tomb of Dracula #10.

The third film featured Blade teaming up with a group of humans called the Nightstalkers, led by Hannibal King and Abigail Whistler. Blade needed their assistance because he was being hunted by the ultimate vampire: Dracula.

Did you know that like Blade, Hannibal King first appeared in pages of Marvel’s long-running horror title? It was Tomb of Dracula #25 to be precise.

The character Hannibal King in the comic book is fairly different from the character played by actor Ryan Reynolds. The character in the comic was a private investigator that was killed by the vampire Deacon Frost and was then turned into a vampire himself. Instead of following the standard lifestyle of a vampire, Hannibal King opted to search for blood at blood banks and other various locations. After teaming up with Blade and Frank Drake, another vampire hunter, they created the firm of King, Drake, and Blade which was a private investigation firm which handled cases dealing with the occult.

In November of 1992, Marvel Comics published the first issue of Nightstalkers that featured Blade, Hannibal King, and Frank Drake and lasted 18 issues. The title was one of several Marvel comics featured in the multi-title crossover Rise of The Midnight Sons.