Marvel Comics 2019
Written by Al Ewing
Illustrated by Garry Brown
Stephen Green & Djibril Morissette-Pham
Coloured by Chris O’Halloran
Lettered by VC’s Travis Lanham
You shouldn’t be here. This is a place for the dead, for the damned, for the unholy. You should not be here, not yet...you cannot stay away. There is something within this land of buried dead, a power dark and sinister, a knowledge potent and corrupt, that pulls you in deeper, deeper….pas the old gate, down the winding passageways cutting through hills pockmarked with tombstones so old they are barely legible. At the end of the path stands a building, it’s stone facade cracked and broken by time. What is that name carved above this haunting mausoleum’s heavy metal door? Why….it is yours, dear reader. Thee undeniable gravitation of the inky darkness pulls you in. You should not be here, and now you cannot leave the….Crypt of Shadows.
I wasn’t quite sure what to expect with this, while I was excited as all get out I am not sure if it lived up to my expectations. I think the smarter choice might have been to print this on newsprint, reducing the price and keeping that old school feel to it. Also the interiors should remind me of something out of the Twilight Zone, going back and looking over the original run and I'll be bluntly honest it worked so much better than what I am seeing here and these are some incredibly talented artists.
The way this is structured is extremely well done and Al really uses the theme of the issue in some smart, intelligent ways. Also that the way the story is revealed is sensational and the concept of it and the reveal at the end keep this one and done style exceptional. The way that we learn of Mr. Radley’s fear throughout these three tales is executed nicely and each one has it’s own version of darkness that is unique to the character. While the pacing and breaks in segments of the story transition beautifully I keep thinking there has to be a better use for some of the aspects of the story. I think I would have preferred to see him in her office and being put through the experiences rather than reliving them making what she is doing to him more horrific.
A lot of how I felt while reading this is that it feels like Al is attempting to recreate something rather than letting loose and really giving the reader a proper ripping scare. I will say if Garry had managed to created his artistic segments like we see the canines, which reminded me a lot of Sienkiewicz rendition of Demon Bear and that would’ve been the utmost in respect, homage and creepiness.
The segment where he finds himself unable to bear children and what transpires after that is probably my favourite of what we see here. There is a superb description of Mr. Radley’s predicament and how his phobia managed to sour and already strained marriage. Also the twist ending and learning how everything tied together throughout all the different aspects of the stories was very nicely done. Also while I am flipping through the entire issue there really is some wonderful interior artwork here and any of it would be a great focal point in any book. There is some absolutely lovely utilisation of linework through it’s varying weights along with some marvellous use of page layouts with their angles and perspective in the panels.
There is some great potential for a new series here most with each issue being one that one and done style by a different group of creators. I would really like to see it in newsprint paper because the way we see the artwork on that paper is really what’s going to increase the creep factor.