BLACK VAMPIRES

With Twilight running away with the MTV Movie Awards, it's official. The Vampire craze has arrived. Along with Twilight, we have HBO's True Blood, and new CW series The Vampire Diaries. So, what's so appealing about vampires all-of-a-sudden. We had Buffy & Angel back in the day and that was way better than any of these knock-offs.  I think it has to do with the new angle Twilight introduced. Being captivated by a dangerously unstable, but yet, good-hearted creature has seemed to capture the teenie-bopper market. It has a Beauty and the Beast feel to it - the overarching complex love story that also served well in Brokeback Mountain and Romeo & Juliet. 

This new bona fide fad, made me interested in how blacks fit into the vampire world. 

AKASHA

No, Alliyah in Queen of the Damned doesn't count. Playing the first vampire, Akasha, she did have a romantic involvement vampire rock god Lestat, whom awoken her with his music. But he turned around a killed her since she was plotting to kill of and enslave all of humanity. Let's not forget, Akasha was never really a black vampire. In the books she was Iraqi. Alliyah just looked bad-ass as hell in the part.   

MAXIMILLIAN

We came close in 1995 with Vampire in Brooklyn, but Hollywood went the predictable route, by making it a cheap comedy. Eddie Murphy plays Maximillian, a vampire who arrives in Brooklyn in search of the Dhamphir (half-human/half-vampire) daughter of a vampire from his native island. He must turn her into order to live beyond the night of the next fill moon. This turns out to be Detective Rita Veder (Angela Basset) whom he entices with his vampire charm.  

BLADE

Blade in the trilogy series was portrayed by Wesley Snipes. The character was created by Marvel Comics at a supporting character in the 1970's comic, Tomb of Dracula. The story goes while Blade's mother was in labor, she was turned into a vampire, thus making Blade a dhampir. He grows up to become a vampire hunter, teaming up with Whistler, an retired vampire hunter and weapons expert. The series was high on action but low on serious drama. At least we got our black vampire hunter even if it was just for an excuse of an action flick. 

CHARLES GUNN

Played by J. August Richards, Charles Gunn of the Angel series is the leader of a gang of vampire hunters in inner-city Los Angeles. When he briefly joins up with Angel's crew, his gang runs amuck causing him to leave them for good. He starts dating Fred Burkle, a white woman whose been captivated in an alternate dimension for years. But when he kills the man that originally banished her, she dumps him. When Angel's crew merges with their adversary, the law firm Wolfram & Hart, he allows them to upload his mind with a comprehensive understanding of the law, deciding to change things from within the system. The only normal human on our list, Gunn has a pretty important role to the Angel universe, yet was never destined to become a main attraction.

KENDRA

Also a Josh Whedon creation, Kendra, played by Edi Gathegi, was from the Buffy series. The law goes, once a slayer dies, a new one resurfaces. After Buffy "died" in Season One, Kendra was sent to guard Sunnydale. She died rather easily of course. Slashed in the neck by Drusilla's fingernails. At least she had the balls to go after Angel why she was living. Though, all-in-all she was never taken seriously in the Buffy Universe. 

 

LAURENT

Played by Ed Gathegi, Laurent is of the Twilight Universe. He is a nomadic vampire that hangs out James' coven, the main baddie going after Bella, though he refuses to fight alongside them. SPOILER: in New Moon, Laurent returns to Forks and tries to kill Bella only to be destroyed by a group of werewolves. Another black vampire bites the dust.