Jamal Afari
Encyclopedia
Jamal Afari is a fictional character
and vampire hunter
in the Marvel Universe
, a former mentor of Blade
and a sometime jazz
player who is best known for his wise teachings of vampires. Afari first appeared in Marvel Preview
#3 in 1975. Since then, he has only appeared in these series, or the Blade series.
, fighting vampire foes such as Dracula
as a youth with only his amazing combatant abilities. This gained him honorable respect from many other street dwellers. Over time, Jamal began to give up his young life as a dark adventurer and learned to play the jazz horn with exceptional skill. This happiness was proved short-lived due to Afari's later drug abuse, and he was soon sent to a hospital to get over his addiction. After Jamal's recovery, the former vampire slayer was ready to give up on his life completely, when one night a ruthless band of vampires attacked his home. During the battle, a nine year old Blade arrived on the scene to help Afari battle the villains. Together the vampires were defeated. Jamal thought that this was a sign he should continue his adventuring life, and he became the mentor of Blade and taught the hero everything he knew about fighting. Over time, Blade became very skilled in this practice. Afari would always test his skills for training, hunting, and patrolling, and he taught the young man.
Character (arts)
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
and vampire hunter
Vampire hunter
A vampire hunter or vampire slayer is a character in folklore and fiction who specializes in finding and destroying vampires, and sometimes other supernatural creatures....
in the Marvel Universe
Marvel Universe
The Marvel Universe is the shared fictional universe where most comic book titles and other media published by Marvel Entertainment take place, including those featuring Marvel's most familiar characters, such as Spider-Man, the Hulk, the X-Men, and the Avengers.The Marvel Universe is further...
, a former mentor of Blade
Blade (comics)
Blade is a fictional character, a superhero/vampire hunter in the Marvel Comics universe. Created by writer Marv Wolfman and penciller Gene Colan, his first appearance was in the comic book The Tomb of Dracula #10 as a supporting character.The character went on to alternatively star and co-star...
and a sometime jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
player who is best known for his wise teachings of vampires. Afari first appeared in Marvel Preview
Marvel Preview
Marvel Preview was a magazine-sized black-and-white showcase comic book published by Curtis Magazines, an imprint of Marvel....
#3 in 1975. Since then, he has only appeared in these series, or the Blade series.
Fictional character biography
Afari grew up a daring adventurer on the mean streets of HarlemHarlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, which since the 1920s has been a major African-American residential, cultural and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands...
, fighting vampire foes such as Dracula
Dracula (Marvel Comics)
Dracula is a fictional character, a comic book supervillain appearing in books published by Marvel Comics. He is based on the vampire Count Dracula from the novel of the same name by author Bram Stoker, and is also influenced by Universal Studios' version of the character.-Publication history:A...
as a youth with only his amazing combatant abilities. This gained him honorable respect from many other street dwellers. Over time, Jamal began to give up his young life as a dark adventurer and learned to play the jazz horn with exceptional skill. This happiness was proved short-lived due to Afari's later drug abuse, and he was soon sent to a hospital to get over his addiction. After Jamal's recovery, the former vampire slayer was ready to give up on his life completely, when one night a ruthless band of vampires attacked his home. During the battle, a nine year old Blade arrived on the scene to help Afari battle the villains. Together the vampires were defeated. Jamal thought that this was a sign he should continue his adventuring life, and he became the mentor of Blade and taught the hero everything he knew about fighting. Over time, Blade became very skilled in this practice. Afari would always test his skills for training, hunting, and patrolling, and he taught the young man.