In the realm of comic books there are two genres that stand head and shoulders above the rest. The first is obviously superheroes, which is a genre of the medium that most people think of when they hear the words “comic book”. The second is horror, which had a bit of a heyday in the late 1940’s with companies such as EC comics putting out fun little horror anthologies such as “Tales from the Crypt”, which were always emceed by otherworldly creatures such as the Crypt Keeper or Uncle Creepy.
Sadly, the horror genre took a massive hit with the rise of the Comics Code but all was not lost. In time, Marvel and DC kept the tradition of horror comics alive, albeit in a very kid friendly manner, with titles like “House of Mystery” and superheroes like Man-Thing, Swamp Thing, Blade, and the greatest of them all: Morbius the Living Vampire.
Now, just in time for Halloween, Marvel has continued the tradition of horror comics anthologies with “Crypt of Shadows” #1 so sit back, relax, and read it…if you dare!
Written by Al Ewing, Danny Lore, Rebecca Roanhorse, Chris Cooper, Chris Condon, and Adam WarrenCover by: Lenil Francis Yu and Matt Milla
Illustrated by Ramon Bachs, Karen S. Darboe, Geoff Shaw, Ibrahim Moustafa, Fran Galan, and Adam Warren
Colored by Rain Beredo, Chris Peter, Arif Prianto, Neeraj Menon, James Campbell, and Guru e-FX
Lettered by VC’s Travis Lanham
The heroes of the Marvel Universe spend most of their time in the bright sun, flying high above it all…but every once in a while, they venture into the darkness that lurks in the hidden corners of the world. There lurk the creatures, the monsters, the vampires…the ones who prey on innocence and goodness. Join us, and some of your favorite heroes, for tales of fangs, claws and silent, stalking swamp creatures to celebrate All Hallows’ Eve!
In the darkest depths of Dr. Strange’s Sanctum Sanctorum there lies a room reserved only for the darkest and most nightmarish of rites, a room known only as the Crypt of Shadows. If you somehow manage to find your way down here, there is a mirror that is home to a man named Victor Strange, the undead brother of the actual Doctor Strange, who was cursed to a living death behind every mirror in existence. Don’t be afraid, he just wants to tell you a couple of stories to pass the time, and don’t worry about the monsters creeping towards you in the mirror…it’s just a figment of your imagination.
As stated above “Crypt of Shadows” #1 is an anthology comic starring many of Marvel’s great horror themed villains. The book includes stories from Blade, Werewolf by Night, Moon Knight, Morbius, Elsa Bloodstone, X-23, and Man Thing. It’s a wide variety of characters written by some of the best talent working at Marvel like Al Ewing, Danny Lore, and Chris Cooper, great writers such as Rebecca Roanhoarse, and other comic book talent including Chris Condon and a personal favorite in Adam Warren. The book does a great job of telling solid stories starring characters that don’t get a whole lot of attention outside the mainstream comic book scene, which means that there will be quite a few readers who don’t know who most of these characters are. The good news is that all of these stories are very well written and don’t require a whole lot of previous knowledge to be effective. On top of being well written, there is a nice variety in the types of stories being told. Each of the writers demonstrates a keen grasp of what their characters are about and how they would react to certain situations, which is how the comic gets stories ranging from a misunderstood ghost story, to a knock down bare knuckle fight scene that lasts until the death of the universe, to a tortured soul narrative starring a vampire that only feeds on the blood of the guilty, to a good old fashioned monster hunt in the back alleys of New York City. It’s a good showcase of the horror side of Marvel and should entertain and educate horror fans and superhero fans alike.
Continued belowIf “Crypt of Shadows” #1 has any problem with the writing, it’s that the stories aren’t allowed to breathe and take their time. Granted, there’s something to be said for limiting creative talent and forcing them to adapt within boundaries, but there are a couple of tales here that would be better served as a full one shot or limited series. It really does say something when the biggest critique of a story is that there isn’t enough of it.
While the writing in “Crypt of Shadows” #1 is nicely varied, sadly the same thing doesn’t really apply to the artwork. While the artwork is great across the board, most of the stories tend to stick to pencils and color schemes that could often be associated with a sort of house style that has been showing up in a lot of Marvel’s books lately. Now, by no means is this a bad thing, all of the art is clear to read, derailed and realistic, and makes sure that the action is dynamic and easy to understand, but it doesn’t do a very good job of making the book feel very special. The one noticeable exception is with Adam Warren’s story, where he provides the art work in his own unique style. For anyone who isn’t familiar with his work, it’s a hyper realistic, super detailed western style, but his characters have a heavy manga influence which allows them to be incredibly expressive with a minimal amount of facial detail. Anyone who knows Adam Warren’s work will tell you that it looks best when it’s just pencils, but this story brought on a colorist, which does enhance the story without taking too much away from the artwork.
“Crypt of Shadows” #1 is a great tribute to the classic horror anthologies of old and a great introduction to some of Marvel’s more terrifying heroes for potential new readers, and while it feels like there could have been an opportunity to showcase some weird and interesting art styles, this is still a very special and interesting book.
Final Verdict: 8.9- A great dive into some more esoteric corners of the Marvel Universe with a wide variety of stories and characters. Read it…if you dare!
