Crypt of Shadows #1 (2024)

This is the third Halloween annual from Marvel based on the short-lived horror anthology from the 70s. Only this time the Crypt of Shadows, Vol. 3 issue #1 doesn't take place in the Crypt of Shadows. Nor is the anthology hosted by Doctor Strange's deranged brother Victor. This time around, Agatha Harkness, sitting in her intergalactic residence on the planet Amanna, is our hostess and she's spying on several characters of the Marvel Universe.

First up is Agatha's former pupil, the Scarlet Witch. When a magic door appears in her kitchen, Wanda Maximoff finds herself lured into a trap. An innocent nibble on the back of the Man-Thing unleashes a plague into the murky domain of the Sub-Mariner. Finally, the Werewolf by Night, Jack Russell finds himself the latest prey at the hands of Kraven the Hunter. Thankfully old friend, Blade is on hand to make it a fair fight.

First of all, that regular cover. How I wouldn't line up at my favorite LCS to pre-order a supernatural themed title with that lineup. Having Scarlet Witch, Vision, Prince Namor, the Man-Thing, Werewolf by Night, Blade and Kraven the Hunter on the same team fighting some kind of magical threat? I'd be all over that series in a heartbeat.

The stories were pretty good. I didn't exactly like that the Scarlet Witch story was a lead up to upcoming events in the pages of her solo book. I understand that specials like these are paid for advertising for fledgling titles. At least it wasn't a cliffhanger that requires me to buy her book.

I also don't quite understand the changes with the host. There wasn't anything wrong with having Victor Strange as the host. Plus if you're going to call it the Crypt of Shadows, then it should at least take place in the Crypt of Shadows.

I do know that some of the changes were done to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. For decades, Agatha Harkness has been either this ancient spindly old crone or dead. With a younger Harkness appearing in WandaVision, Marvel has once again changed the looks of a comic book character to reflect the live action version. I'm not too upset with that. Plus with the character's new Disney+ series Agatha All Along debuting now, I understand that Marvel Comics wants to cash in on that connection and is using their Halloween annual book to do it. I don't like it. But I understand the reasoning behind changing a great formula. 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Vision and the Scarlet Witch #8

1958 marked the first of many appearances of civil rights leader, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr in a comic book. Martin Luther King and The Montgomery Story tells of the Atlanta preacher's involvement in the Alabama bus boycott that came about from the incarceration of Rosa Parks after she refused to give up her seat to a white patron. What I am not certain about is the first instance of a comic book to take place during Martin Luther King's birthday, I very much may have read the very first one. 

The first push for a federal holiday honoring King was in 1968 just a few days after his assassination. The push for the ratification of a bill had gained enough momentum by 1981 that the US Senate was presented with a petition signed by some 6 million people after a brief march through the nation's capitol, led by King's widow, Coretta. After a few committee stalls and some contentious debate, a vote took place in the fall of 1983. The bill was signed into law by Ronald Reagan in November with the first official Federal holiday of Dr. King's birthday to take place in January, 1986.

This issue of Vision and the Scarlet Witch hit store shelves on February 4th, 1986, just 2 short weeks after the first official MLK, Jr. holiday observance. Other books might have come out before celebrating the unofficial observances of King's birthday. There might have been other books released by DC and Marvel (or some of the smaller publishers) earlier that year that also have stories that take place during that first MLK Day. I just don't know. For a fan of holiday themed comic books, this is my first experience with a story set during this event. There's been a couple of books I've read that mention the Federal observance as a part of King's legacy. But usually those books only have a single panel set during the holiday. This story is 24 pages of super heroes operating during the night of January 20th, 1986.

Quicksilver and wife Crystal are visiting with Vision and the Scarlet Witch when Luke Cage comes crashing through the living room window of the former Avengers. This is supposed to be a peaceful day for Cage, reflecting on the legacy of Dr. King. Instead, a magical death cult has other plans for the Hero for Hire. 

Followers of a demon called Zor are looking for a set of idols that Luke Cage and partner Power Fist once confiscated and gave to Wanda for safe keeping. Wanda hid the idols somewhere in the World Trade Center. With brother Pietro in tow, Cage, Vision and the Scarlet Witch head over to the WTC to destroy the relics once and for all.

You might think that a story such as this has minimal references to MLK Birthday and you're right. Unlike an issue set at Christmas, Halloween or just about any other holiday, the settings are not full of posters of Dr. King and other decorations. We get Luke Cage reflecting on the civil rights icon. Scarlet Witch bestows Cage a blessing of the 'new holiday'. Then as things end for the story, Quicksilver makes a racist statement against humans and Cage comments that making strides for racially equality includes mutants and that was what Dr. King's dream was all about.

Yes- this issue really ends with Luke Cage doing his best impression of Linus from A Charlie Brown Christmas! The sapping ending kinda gives new meaning to Cage's trademark exclamation of 'Sweet Christmas.' Yet, in a time when not every state was willing to celebrate a holiday devoted to a black American, this issue was a big deal. Remember it wouldn't be until 1993 before Arizona would finally observe MLK Day and another 7 years before South Carolina would pay state employees for the day off work. So to have January 20th the setting of this Marvel issue, as passing or trite as the creative team might have made it's usage in this story, it was a huge step forward in bringing about normalcy and acceptance to the new holiday celebrating the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out 10 stars.

Vision and the Scarlet Witch #1

The second miniseries to star Vision and the Scarlet Witch begins with quite a few changes. What do you expect? 3 years have elapsed since then. Here's a small rundown of important things that have some impact of the current plot:

• The American Government has decreed that there are too many Avengers. The team has been trimmed down to 7 members with Hawkeye and Iron Man going to California to start the West Coast Avengers. 
• Since revealing that he is the father of the Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, Magneto has pledged to repent of his past sins against humanity and is currently on trial for his past crimes as the leader of the Brotherhood of Mutants.
• Ultron, acting through a super-computer, turned Vision temporarily evil. Just inches away from taking over the world, the Avenger reclaimed his synthetic humanity and is awaiting being cleared of any dark influences on him...

Issue #1 opens with Wanda and Vision quitting the Avengers due to how Vision has been held by the government without due process. But the heroes' freedom is short-lived when the biological brother of Simon Williams, the Grim Reaper, sends an army of zombies to capture Vision and Scarlet Witch. Meanwhile on the West Coast, Ultron has tracked down Wonder Woman and kidnapped him, leading Hawkeye and his team on a search for their missing comrade.

One of my greatest pet peeves about comic books takes place at the closure of this issue. It ended on a cliffhanger. But instead of being resolved by reading issue #2 of this mini, you have to read issue #2 of West Coast Avengers. Normally, I would have held off on reading any further. But I really want to get to a certain issue of this series before Turkey Day. As I've been waiting almost all year to read these books, I said 'screw it' and went on ahead to the next issue. 

If you are someone who has to have all the correlating issues in your possession before reading the whole story, take note. Otherwise, trust that the team of Steve Englehart and Richard Powell will keep readers abreast of what was missed out if you decide like me to forgo reading West Coast Avengers #2 first.

Worth Consuming! -but losing points for the cliffhanger pet peeve.

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Vision and the Scarlet Witch #2

Former World War II superhero, Robert Frank, the Whizzer, arrives on the doorstep of Vision and the Scarlet Witch. The 'father' of Wanda Maximoff and her brother Pietro the mutant racer Quicksilver, Frank seeks to regain custody of his son, Robert Jr., who is also the radioactive mutant, Nuklo.

Nuklo has the mind of a child due to his autism. As a result, Nuklo isn't able to control his powers which if allowed to get out of control could destroy the entire world. For some time now, Nuklo has been in a self-contained environment, under 24/7 care by specialists seeking to cure his nuclear powers. The Whizzer wants to take Nuklo to Attilan, where Quicksilver lives with his wife Crystal, in hopes of that the Inhumans with their state of the art technology might be able to save Nuklo once and for all. The aging hero believes that with the blessing of some Avengers and Inhumans, he'll be able to reclaim rights to his son and save him.

Well, Robert Frank does win rights to take his son to the Inhumans' base on the moon. Only, before he's able to remove Nuklo from the medical facility, an enemy from the Whizzer's past makes themselves known! Now it's up to Scarlet Witch and Vision to stop this foe from not only killing Nuklo but from also destroying planet earth as the enemy's attack on the autistic mutant threatens to send him into meltdown!

It's not really a spoiler to mention that the real father of Wanda and Pietro is Magneto. That's been established for quite a while. I've also known that it was believed that the Whizzer was the real father to those super-powered siblings. But I never really knew the story behind that. Nor did I know when Wanda and her brother learned that Robert Frank wasn't their real father. While both Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch have known the truth for a while, Whizzer doesn't learn the truth until this issue. We also get the back story as to why Robert Frank thinks he's their real father. 

As for Wanda and Pietro learning their true parentage, that revelation looms for another day...

Another good issue. I was hoping this issue would be Veterans Day themed, since the previous issue took place during Halloween. While the Whizzer did fight along side the Invaders during World War II as part of the Liberty Legion, thus making him a veteran, there's nothing about November 11th that fits into this being a holiday tale. 

Okay, so I was a little disappointed about that. But the story by Bill Mantlo was excellent. Lots of action and adventure. And what happens to Vision shocked the heck out of me!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Vision and the Scarlet Witch #1

The opening chapter of one of two miniseries that inspired the hit Disney+ series WandaVision.

The story opens on Halloween night. It's the first day of Wanda and Vision's new life as a domesticated couple. Retired from the Avengers, living in a new house in the quaint town of Leonia, New Jersey, the Scarlet Witch and Vision are ready to unpack and settle in. As a house-warming gift, Avengers butler Jarvis has come to help with the moving in. As yet another housewarming gift, Captain America has gifted Wanda with an ancient spell-book from one of his SHIELD missions in Europe. 

Being Halloween night, the former Avengers are ready for the goblins and ghosts you'd expect trick-or-treating on your doorstep. What the new homeowners don't expect is for an ancient druid god to escape from their housewarming gifts and try to kill them! 

I was thrilled to get to read a Halloween story out of season. I had no idea that this premiere issue took place on All Hallow's Eve. I've been sitting on these two mini-series almost all year, for reasons that I'll explain in a few days. But had I known that there was a Halloween story in the mix, I would have started Vision and the Scarlet Witch last month!

Another pleasant surprise was the writer. It's Bill Mantlo! A talent whose artistic voice was tragically quieted way, way too early, I love his stuff. I cut my comic book reading teeth on his Rom: Spaceknight stuff. His Marvel Two-In-One and Marvel Team-Up works are master classes on how to write crossovers. Mantlo's prose gets a little too flowly at times, especially at the beginning of this issue. But the man could write some amazing stuff!

A great and surprising first issue to start things off! Perfect for your Halloween reads, though I bet many of you overlook this one as an October time read.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.