Crypt of Shadows #1

I've gotta hand it to Marvel. I really thought that they skipped producing a horror special just in time for Halloween once again. However, I was wrong. Crypt of Shadows is based on Marvel's Infinite Comics (in other words, web comic) of the same name. But for an established fan of horror comics, the title goes back even further with Crypt of Shadows being one of Marvel's first horror anthologies to come after the loosened restrictions on stories about monsters by the Comics Code Authority. 

I don't recall that the original series from 1973-75 had a host. But the third volume of the title does! The host is Victor Strange, younger brother of Doctor Strange who is trapped in a pocket universe inside a mirror down in the Crypt of Shadows section of the Sanctum Sanctorum. Victor hosts 5 stories in total with 3 of them definitely set during Halloween. 

• Bloodline, the Daughter of Blade, inspects reports of a vampire terrorizing the streets of Atlanta only to find a pair of ghost hunters with unsavory intentions.
• Morbius, the Living Vampire, is tormented by a swarm of demonic bugs that only he can see and hear.
• Young Werewolf by Night, Jake Gomez, is invited to what is supposed to be the hottest Halloween Party in the Big Apple. Only when he arrives, Jake learns that he's the only guest on scene. But he's not the only werewolf!
• Elsa Bloodstone and Johnny Storm trudge through the sewers of New York seeking a horrible monster made up of a mutated Spider-Man Man-Spider monster! Yes- Spidey has multiple arms and 8 eyes once again!
• The Laura Kinney Wolverine and Man-Thing do endless battle in the Infinite Swamp. In a twist I don't think anyone saw coming, Man-Thing's pheromones meet Laura go full berserker mode and her rage makes Man-Thing keep producing more natural chemicals keeping the two brawlers battling through all time.

I'm not as up-to-date on modern Marvel as I am on current DC Comics. I did not know that the vampire hunter Blade had a daughter named Bloodline. I also was not aware that Jack Russell had been replaced by teenager Jake Gomez. I have no complaints about either. I just wasn't familiar with these two.

I felt that the Morbius story was the creepiest. That ending which was inspired by such films as the original Invasion of the Body Snatchers really got under my skin. The Wolverine and Man-Thing battle was also very good. Though a couple of the pages had intentionally blurry artwork and with the psychedelic palette and unpanelled artwork, the beginning was a little vertigo inducing. 

With 3 of the 5 stories being set during Halloween and host Victor Strange mentioning that it's All Hallow's Eve at the beginning of this one-shot, I'm going to declare that this is indeed a Halloween special. But I am also going to say that I feel cheated by Marvel. 

Victor Strange tells viewers to follow his adventures over at Marvel Unlimited for exclusive digital content. I know that Marvel has been releasing holiday specials annually through the Infinite Comics Imprint. But they've also been doing Halloween stuff too? Unfair! Really, Unfair!

I know Marvel wants to release their stuff digitally as a way of covering costs. But come on- release this stuff as a floppie as well! I will buy it. I know others that are print only and they are devoted to holiday specials! House of Ideas, at least consider releasing your holiday books as a trade or hardcover!

Sadly, the digital only stuff is the new nature of the beast. It's like how TV and film have gone to streaming only. It's just that companies like Disney/Marvel and Warner/DC have got to understand that a large chunk of their customer base are die hard devotees to traditional mediums and both have got to continue to market to those customers if they want to stay out of the red ink!

A good Halloween horror anthology. Only it could have been better had Marvel dug deep into its digital archives. Those stories seem more enjoyable and fun- and more TRADITIONAL TOO!- and that's the kind of stuff a reader like myself wants. Make the material that captures the spirit of vintage Marvel available in print and take the more legacy related stuff like Bloodline and Jake Gomez and have their stuff be digital as that's where the younger readers are going to get their comics. I think if Marvel would switch things around to have the more modern edgy stuff being online and the stuff that recalls the days of Stan Lee, Roy Thomas and Jim Shooter go into print, they'd see a rise in sales.

What have you got to lose, Marvel and Disney? It's worth a shot to appropriately market to the correct demographics!

Rating: 6 out of 10 stars.