Crypt Of Shadows #1 [2023] [Part Two] - Marvel Comics

CRYPT OF SHADOWS No. 1, December 2023

Penned by Declan Shalvey to “haunt new fans and long-time readers alike this Halloween season”, the second half of “Crypt Of Shadows” opens with a pulse-pounding piece depicting a heavily-fatigued Daredevil fending off a literal army of deadly ninjas in a long-abandoned subway system. Aptly entitled “…Without Fear”, the six-pager quite succinctly showcases both that there is much more to the blind crime-fighter than simply being a phenomenal acrobat, as well as taps into the horror of poor Doctor Ted Sallis’ never-ending existence as the lonely Man-Thing, after the desperate scientist injected himself with an experimental serum in order to save his life.

Also adding an incredible amount of bang for your buck to this tale is Alex Lins, who does a first-rate job in illustrating Matt Murdock’s ‘wear and tear’, along with the adrenalin-fuelled fighting’s frantic speed. Furthermore, the Eisner Award-nominee quite wonderfully captures the formidable, hulking presence of Horn-head’s plant-based fellow protagonist, imbuing the giant “marshy mass” with a sad, quiet presence which starkly contrasts with all the flames, death and destruction occurring around him; “Where some see devils, other see angels. And they should be guided toward heaven.”

Arguably swapping out a sizeable portion of petrifying plot for some good old-fashioned Marvel Team-up shenanigans is “A Soul Worth Hunting” by Sarah Gailey, which quickly pits Jack Russell and Bruce Banner’s unholy alter-egos up against the overconfident arrogance of (Last Son of) Kraven the Hunter. Played with all the hubris this anthology’s audience might expect of a Sergei Kravinoff clone, this yarn does a solid job in exploring another of the super-villains ostentatious hunts, only for it to ultimately fail because he’s underestimated the anger-fuelled rage of his opponent.

Extremely engaging to the eyes, courtesy of Eder Messias’ lavishly-pencilled layouts, the story never misses a beat, and is only debatably disappointing due to the ex-Sinister Six member being so quickly dispatched miles into the air by the incredible Hulk. Indeed, the adrenalin-fuelled action abruptly ends just as Werewolf By Night appears to be squaring up to Kraven for a memorable close combat clash in the woodland, and many a bibliophile was probably therefore drooling at the imminent scrap ahead – especially as the Wundagore Mountain-born warrior is armed with the seemingly deadly Empyrion blade!

Writers: Declan Shalvey & Sarah Gailey, and Artists: Alex Lins & Eder Messias

Crypt Of Shadows #1 [2023] [Part One] - Marvel Comics

CRYPT OF SHADOWS No. 1, December 2023

Apparently returning “with more chilling tales starring your favourite Marvel Heroes”, Steve Orlando’s “Brick By Brick” certainly seems to get this anthology comic off to a somewhat “Creepshow” flavoured start, courtesy of the Scarlet Witch encountering “a terrifying new villain called the Bricklayer!” Admittedly, a man-shaped monster created by having a possessed brick inadvertently lodged in his chest probably isn’t the most convincing of origin stories for a central antagonist. But the American author still manages to imbue the figure with a surprisingly palpable evilness which may well make readers want to see more of the Elderspawn in future adventures.

Furthermore, the sheer ickiness of this six-page shocker is also down to Paul Azaceta’s deeply disturbing layouts, which impressively capture all the terror a living building might cause when it decides to impale its occupants with numerous nails and the odd flying piece of masonry. Indeed, the facial injuries suffered by the students inside the Hudsonview Hostel is only bettered by the artist’s disturbing drawings of the Bricklayer himself – complete with mutilated torso and fast-balding bonce; “I can’t be cleansed, girl. Can’t be killed. I’m in the walls…”

Much more tongue-in-cheek, as an audience would probably expect from a yarn featuring the ‘Merc with a Mouth’, is “The Living And The Dead” by Cavan Scott. Initially appearing to be a titanic tussle between N'Kantu and an overzealous Egyptian magic-user, this battle inside the Buckler Museum of Human History becomes a thoroughly bemusing melee once Deadpool literally crashes the party, and inadvertently prevents the Living Mummy from defeating his foe before she can raise some of the building's other heavily-bandaged relics back to life.

Well sketched by Devmalya Pramanik, there's a genuine pulse-pounding pace to this tale as the Indian illustrator provides all the ancient wrappings with a swirling animation that bewitches the eye and only occasionally provides a glimpse of the rotting flesh beneath them. In fact, many a bibliophile will doubtless be disappointed that this ‘devilish delight’ isn’t any longer in length than half a dozen pages, due to the unlikely anti-heroic duo looking pretty good together, fending off the three-thousand-year-old cadavers of Zeeta with a mixture of wit, sorcery, throwing knives and bullets.

Writers: Steve Orlando & Cavan Scott, and Artists: Paul Azaceta & Devmalya Pramanik

Horror Comics #30 - Antarctic Press Comics

HORROR COMICS No. 30, November 2023

Described by its San Antonio-based publisher as a “time-travelling horror” story containing “science-spawned monsters”, Dino Caruso and Shawn Richison’s narrative for “Origin Point” is arguably as good as such frightening fiction can get. Sure, it may take readers a moment or two to acclimatise themselves to colorist Paul Little’s dark-hued palette. But once they’ve become accustomed to the disconcertingly dreary surroundings of Doctor Liebrandt’s out-of-the-way lock-up and realise the struck-off surgeon is ferrying human corpses about on a trolley, this comic’s claustrophobic atmosphere becomes all the more palpable; “I realise it’s not the nicest part of town.”

Indeed, the motivation behind the former GENesis Labs employee is probably the first thing to grab the audience’s undivided attention. For despite his illegal underground workshop apparently about to be imminently hit by a squad of heavily-armed Special Forces, the man appears disturbingly unperturbed; casually stacking up a handful of carcasses upon a pushcart and then calming walking the cadavers across to where a fellow scientist is frantically finishing last minute repairs to her own invention.

The sheer volume of questions this bizarre behaviour raises in the mind should immediately grab any fright-fest fan’s interest, and subsequently help carry them on through the twenty-page periodical’s plot as more and more intriguing characters are added to the cast. Furthermore, the fact that one particularly shadowy soul suggests he’s somehow come back from the past to finally meet his “father” will surely raise the hackles on the neck of even the most cold-blooded of bibliophiles.

Probably this book’s best moment though, is the shockingly savage demise of the aforementioned police tactical team, who initially foolishly feel this “mystery-science-junk” assault is going to be a total waste of their precious time. Artist JC Grande does a good job in helping this comic’s writing team imbue a few of the troopers with all the arrogant indifference twenty years of gun-toting survival in such a high-pressure role might bring. And as a result, when the illustrator suddenly prodigiously pencils the squad being literally torn apart by a viciously-fanged ghoul, many holding this publication in their hands may well startlingly feel the overconfident gunmen are simply receiving their just deserts.

Writers: Dino Caruso & Shawn Richison, Illustrator: J.C. Grande, and Colors: Paul Little

Daredevil [2022] #5 - Marvel Comics

DAREDEVIL No. 5, November 2022

For those readers simply dipping into this ongoing series to witness its titular character completely ‘clean the clock’ of the ever- egotistical U.S. Agent, Chip Zdarsky’s script for Issue Five of “Daredevil” should have quite quickly brought them up to speed with Matt Murdock’s present-day life. Indeed, the Canadian author rather succinctly shows the Man Without Fear to have utterly embraced both his marriage to Elektra Natchios, as well as his seemingly formidable mission to establish “a new world order” as The Fist’s king.

Of course such bizarre cameos as Doc Samson making an appearance as a green-hued, giant yeti-turned-camp psychologist, and Foggy Nelson doing a disconcertingly acrobatic landing from a multi-storey rooftop takes a little bit of getting used to. But once these surprises are laid to rest and it’s firmly established that the now heavily-bearded horn-head is forming an army to fight a similarly-sized force of ninjas lead by a clearly crazed Frank Castle, the multiple Harvey Award-winner dedicates the rest of his narrative to simply telling a good old-fashioned tale of jaw-socking, covert infiltration; “You know the plan. We only have enough time to clear Block D.”

This edgily-penned penetration of The Myrmidon prison facility really lies at the heart of "The Red Fist Saga", and should wholly enthral its entire audience just as soon as Daredevil’s aircraft disgorges numerous bat-gliding warriors over the penitentiary's security perimeter. In fact, by the time Bill Everett’s co-creation actually confronts John Walker and a troop of Guardsmen in a dark, highly claustrophobic corridor, the tight tension in the air is already positively palpable; especially once the cocky West Coast Avenger begins piously claiming that God is on his side, and brazenly challenges Murdock’s alter-ego to simply “fight me like a man!”

Also helping to carry their fair share of this book’s storytelling duties is artist Rafael De Latorre, who provides some impressive, pulse-pounding panels throughout this publication’s climatic contest. Furthermore, the Brazilian illustrator’s layouts add plenty of pace to the proceedings, as well as somehow imbuing an onlooking Captain America with a genuinely dislikeable ‘holier than thou’ swagger when the Sentinel of Liberty sides with Tony Stark against Matt’s movement, and arrogantly declares that the Avengers are “bringing Daredevil in.”

The regular cover art to "DAREDEVIL" #5 by Marco Checchetto & Matthew Wilson

The Incredible Hulk [2023] #10 - Marvel Comics

THE INCREDIBLE HULK No. 10, May 2024

Considering just utterly enthralling Phillip Kennedy Johnson’s narrative is for this second instalment to his “Frozen Charlotte” storyline, it’s hard to imagine many Hulk-heads arguing with a fan’s Letters Page declaration that the title “is a consistent measuring stick for high quality”. Indeed, this twenty-page periodical’s superbly-penned sub-plot depicting a ghost detective’s life-long “noir hunt for a serial killer set in 1850s New Orleans” will probably cause many a bibliophile to hope that “Marvel Worldwide” actually gives Inspector Francis Bergeron his own mini-series at some point in the future – Whether it be based upon his historic career or as a modern-day spectre obtaining justice for the recently deceased.

Surprisingly however, perhaps this secondary character’s greatest endearing quality, besides his remorseless determination to hunt down some supernatural serial killer to her underground lair singlehandedly, is the pistol-packing do-gooder's fallibility in bringing the murderous ghoul to justice. Before his gory death the man is clearly willing to continue stalking the fiend who has spent the past century slaughtering New Orleans’ hapless workers despite the Authorities wishing to hush the entire matter up, and his subsequent shocking realisation that the mediocre technology of the Nineteenth Century Pinkerton Detective Agency was ultimately no match for a devil who can scythe a person’s soul out without a moment’s thought is truly palpable; “Wh-What? B-Beg your pardon. I most… most certainly am not – - [dead].“

Similarly as successfully written is this comic’s central antagonist, who genuinely appears both as eerily creepy and diabolically deadly as any bibliophile could surely want. In fact, the Eisner-nominated author’s suggestion that Frozen Charlotte seemingly believes she’s rescuing the people she has somehow cold-bloodedly imprisoned within China dolls from “the world that would seem them ruined and broken”, is desperately disturbing – and leans heavily into the notion that rather than be a simple, stereotypical villain-of-the-piece, this sickening spirit believes themselves to actually be the tale’s heroine.

Sadly what doesn’t seem to strike as high a note as the script are some of Danny Earls’ layouts, which at times contain such grotesque-looking caricatures of the Big Easy’s residents that they can throw its audience completely out of the book. This heavily-stylised pencilling does admittedly work tremendously well for the scenes concerning the aforementioned evil ethereal entity, and arguably Bergeron too. But the Hulk himself appears far too cartoony to debatably be all that convincing in what is essentially a horror yarn.

The regular cover art of "THE INCREDIBLE HULK" #10 by Nic Klein

Blade #9 - Marvel Comics

BLADE No. 9, May 2024

Considering Bryan Hill’s storyline for this twenty-page periodical depicts Blade nonchalantly massacring the entirety of the Archives of the Second World without so much as getting a hair out of place, it’s probably crystal clear just why this is the penultimate issue of a title originally much-hyped as an “all-new ongoing solo series” which would dawn a “new age of vampire hunting”. True, the comic does contain a modicum of pulse-pounding action during its opening, when the werewolf Tanaka unsuccessfully attempts to evade capture from the Dhampir he was warned not to play games with. But this is incredibly short-lived, and everything which follows the lycanthrope’s beheading just seems to fall straight into Eric Brooks’ lap without rhyme, reason or even rationality.

Leading this conveyor belt of contrivances is arguably the sword-wielding slayer’s trip to the aforementioned Archives, which unsurprisingly are manufactured by the American author just for the titular character to annihilate in this book. Supposedly a highly secret location, packed full of ancient black magic tomes and protected by a thousand-year pact, this apex of stored dark knowledge would surely pose even the much-lauded Daywalker an almost insurmountable hurdle to overcome..? Yet the vampire-killer simply asks Satana “nicely” where it is and then toddles off to destroy it; “You cannot be here! You should not even know of this place!”

Correspondingly catastrophic is how Blade discovers the specific whereabouts of his arch-nemesis the Adana, with Draven apparently now able to conveniently burrow into any living being’s mind (even when they’re the undead) and suck them dry of information. This extremely useful power debatably springs out of nowhere, and disconcertingly allows the Chicago-born writer to have Brooks forgo any effort to track his main target down himself – albeit it does subsequently lead to penciller Valentina Pinti desperately having to sketch seventeen sedentary panels filled to the brim with poetic banter to presumably help pad out the publication.

Indeed, there’s a distinct feeling with some of this comic’s interior artwork that possibly its Italian Illustrator wasn’t always completely sold on Hill’s script, such as when Draven places his hand on Tanaka’s head, and instead of any surreal insight into the mental madness which the deceased assassin’s presence obviously causes, the reader is underwhelming just shown Rotha and Tulip watching on. Such a lack-lustre portrayal of events is disappointing, and greatly contrasts with the werewolf’s pulse-pounding flight just moments before.

The regular cover art to "BLADE" #9 by Elena Casagrande & K.J. Diaz

Moon Knight [2021] #25 - Marvel Comics [Part Two]

MOON KNIGHT No. 25, September 2023

Having arguably stuck to a somewhat ‘realistic’ modern-day world for this super-sized edition’s opening half, Jed MacKay’s writing certainly seems to lean in to the Marvel Universe’s more super-powered inhabitants for its second. In fact, even the Karnak Cowboy’s fantastically fast-paced flight from Alexandria somewhat surprisingly introduces their understandably-feared foes to be the paramilitary terrorist organization Hydra, and matches Marc Spector’s grounded mercenary team against a team of green-garbed, neo-fascist operatives in a flying automobile; “I told you not to say it. I told you! You know as well as I do, Plesko. Speak the devil’s name and he shall appear.”

Likewise, Moon Knight’s supposedly covert infiltration of Hart Island is utterly upended by a flurry of the anti-hero's most recent assailants all coming together in a sense-shatteringly savage team-effort to have their revenge. Whether it be Jigsaw, Manslaughter Marsdale, Man Mountain Marko or the truly-terrifying Waxman, this sub-plot genuinely pulls few punches in its portrayal of the former West Coast Avenger duking it out against some of the most brutal members of his Rogue’s Gallery, and repeatedly requires illustrator Alessandro Cappuccio to be at the very top of his game sketching the increasing fatigue Khonshu’s avatar is simultaneously fighting. Indeed, the cowled crimefighter’s visible concern at an insanely irate goo-bodied human mutate attempting to smother him is truly palpable.

Furthermore, the Canadian author even manages to imbue Zodiac’s chaotic penitentiary break from the Myrmidon Prison with some additional super-villainous vibes, courtesy of the mysterious Black Spectre himself making an impressive appearance towards to conclusion. This epilogue, prodigiously pencilled by Partha Pratim, is particularly well-penned due to its inclusion beautifully bookending the entire publication by showing just what price the pitiable Keith Burrough had to pay for having his ex-wife permanently disappear from his life at the comic's very beginning.

Perhaps however, this book’s biggest win is the sense of redemption felt for Jeff Hagees, who heroically returns to a near-dead Moon Knight’s side, so as to save him from the suffocating clutches of Waxman. Initially viewed by this comic’s audience as an untrustworthy D-list criminal, Eight-Ball’s resolve to be better than people think of him sensationally comes completely out of the blue, and doubtless even caused the odd reader to involuntarily cheer the failed bank robber on as he aids a badly bloodied Spector back up on his feet.

Writer: Jed MacKay, and Artists: Partha Pratim, Alessandro Cappuccio & Alessandro Vitti