The horror anthology Crypt of Shadows returns this week in time to spook up our comic shops. It contains three tales, with a framing story featuring Agatha Harkness. Anthology tales can be hit or miss, but fear not, as the Crypt of Shadows offers more delights than duds.
Crypt of Shadows opens on the planet Amanna, which runs on magic. Written by Steve Orlando and drawn by Claire Roe, we get a nice check-in with Agatha, who enjoys magical TV via a glass orb. It’s a fun, magical way to segue into the three main stories and works as a framing device.
First up, Harkness watches the first tale, “Do Androids Dream in the Witch House?” by Chris Condon and Djibril Morissette-Phan. This tale features Scarlet Witch and Vision when her red door opens to a swamp. Inside, is a man in trouble, or is he? He’s a burly type and soon threatens Scarlet Witch’s life! Condon has to get her out of a tricky situation without magic, which is a fun take. Meanwhile, Vision acts as a comedic relief with super sharp art by Morisette-Phan.
It’s fun to see Condon taking on Marvel horror after his contributions to the recent EC Comics anthologies. He strikes a good spooky tone, although the tale isn’t very scary. In fact, I’d argue most of these tales are more about action than scares.
Man-Thing needs to exfoliate.
Credit: Marvel
“The Green Tide” focuses on a strange byproduct of Man-Thing. Written by Benjamin Percy and illustrated by Raffaele Ienco, the creative team shows us what happens when a bit of green goop infects a mosquito. This sets off a chain of events that disturbs Namor and threatens the very sea. This is a good creature feature that reminds us that Man-Thing deserves a lot more love from Marvel Comics.
The last tale Harkness watches is “Monster Games” by Jason Loo and Carlos Magno, featuring a werewolf, Blade, and Kraven! Quite honestly, the idea of Kraven hunting a werewolf and fighting Blade is a genius one, yet a no-brainer. It’s a fun, action-fueled tale with a dark tone, thanks to the art.
Harkness closes out the issue with a nice nod to where she goes from here.
All told, Crypt of Shadows features horror action with Blade, the weirdness of Man-Thing, and a spooky tale featuring Scarlet Witch. Pick this one up if you’re looking for all-ages spookiness with a touch of weird.
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