When hinges creak in doorless chambers and strange and frightening sounds echo through the halls, that is the time when Marvel puts out a special horror-themed comic for the Halloween season. There’s plenty of horror to go around in the Marvel Universe and some of them have gathered here.
“Crypt of Shadows #1″ brings together several of your favorite characters for a collection of spooky stories just in time for the coming holiday. It’s a wicked comic full of ghosts, vampires, werewolves and whatever Man-Thing is. Marvel and horror fans alike are going to want to pick this one up.
Readers are greeted by Vincent Price impersonator Victor Strange, the brother of the former Sorcerer Supreme, as he introduces the first of five nightmarish stories. We follow Brielle, the daughter of Blade as she hunts vampires but finds something completely different.
Next, the hero known as Moon Knight comes face to face with a werewolf once again as he protects those who travel by night. Dr. Morbius is controlled by a mysterious being, putting those around him in serious danger as he loses control.
Then, Elsa Bloodstone does what she does best: hunts monsters. Only this monster isn’t quite what you would expect. Luckily, a familiar face is there to help make sure a fan-favorite hero survives the night. And finally, two unbeatable, forever regenerating heroes do battle in the Nexus of Realities for all time when Wolverine stumbles into Man-Thing’s swamp.
This is the perfect comic book to pick up for those who are looking for some classic horror vibes. This book isn’t exactly giving you anything that will terrify you into checking under your bed at night, but rather it leans into that inherent cheesiness of classic horror, while putting a Marvel spin on it.
And that Marvel spin mean bringing you lots of your favorite characters. Moon Knight, Elsa Bloodstone, Man-Thing and Wolverine are just some of the character you get to enjoy in this book. There are plenty of others and even a handful of surprises who you might not expect to see in a horror story.
While this book is enjoyable overall, it likely would have benefitted from being cut down from five stories to three. Some of the stories just aren’t allotted enough time to really breather and develop and they come to an end just when you start to really become invested. A few more pages given to each would have been beneficial and the Wolverine vs. Man-Thing one probably could have spared a few.
That being said, this is going to be a favorite for those looking for original horror stories in the Marvel Universe. Many of these characters already have obvious horror ties, what with some of them being vampires, monster hunters and whatever else might be lurking in the shadows. But these stories don’t just rely on those familiar elements, and instead add some horrific twists and turns along the way.
You can check out “Crypt of Shadows #1″ now.