A Sense of Doubt blog post #2742 - STRANGE - Comic Book Sunday for 2208.21
So, Doctor Strange is dead.
And now, the Doctor Strange comic re-launches with a new number one (because: sales) with Clea as the new Sorcerer Supreme, trying to find a way to bring her husband and love back to life.
Today, I will share the round up pages for each comic and a couple of reviews (maybe with some of my own reactions).
Not before he did one last thing to protect his world, giving all his magical items and his powerful title to his wife Clea, the new Sorcerer Supreme Strange for the Earth realm while still remaining the Sorcerer Supreme of the Dark Dimension.
Clea is a character that hasn’t had the same type of profile in the last decade or more that she once had when it came to Strange related stories, but one would never know that after reading this first issue. Jed MacKay is a true master at creating engaging plotlines/stories but perfectly nails capturing all the elements of emotion and character beats that help us become attached to these fictional beings. We saw this with the recent Black Cat series and the also currently running Moon Knight, and we see it here fully.
I can’t think of that many stories that I’ve read with Clea in all the time I’ve read Marvel Comics, the old school Strange books being a hole in my reading resume, but with just this one issue I fully love the character. The strength, the sass, the power, the firm determination with a side of vulnerability and honesty about her situation and her goals and a good sense of humor are a winning combination. I mean watching Clea utterly verbally destroy Doctor Doom is worth the price of admission alone, not to mention the great moments between her and Wong.
Also, the ending is exactly the sort of tied to the past but done in a whole new way situation centering around a sadly forgotten but formerly pretty big character that MacKay does so well, yet still wonderfully catches one off guard.
Marcelo Ferreira returns to the realms of magic after diving in with the recent The Death of Doctor Strange: Spider-Man #1 tie-in issue. Much like that issue, his work has a lot of great magical and emotional, and fun vibes to it, perfectly capturing the body language/facial expressions. On one hand, there is a ton of detail work at play but on the other hand, the focus is often on the moment/emotion rather than capturing every detail which works. Our focus never leaves the characters or things that we need to have our eyes upon, the backgrounds and people are out of focus as their not part of this story.
Don Ho and Roberto Poggi handle the inking of Ferreira’s work this time and comparing the art between the two issues there are certainly some noticeable differences. On some of the pages, it can be somewhat seen when the inking changes. None of this is a bad thing whatsoever, let’s just tackle that right away. It’s all perfectly natural and flows together pretty smoothly, with the same depth and weight found in the one-shot but with a different focal point.
The paneling style that Ferreira uses is really great as it’s very mixed across the pages slipping and sliding around into the shapes or spaces that are needed or wanted. No two pages really are matching in how the panels are set up, which is fun and very artistically pleasing. Standard type of paneling is fine and great, but a lot of the visual work that is being put on the page today is just top-notch and fantastic to see happening.
Java Tartaglia and Felipe Sobreiro’s colors are overall toned down a bit from some of the bolder brighter colors one might see around some of these characters or their counterparts, which is fitting for the tone of this story. Not only is this darker in many ways, one but has to look at how Clea deals with an attacking force in the issue for that, but it’s a heavily emotional one about how grief and loss are handled or in some cases not handled. There are still some bright parts, as this is a magic book, but overall, they feel nicely earthy or muted and grounded.
One thing that is nice about covering so many books is getting to keep seeing the work of a lot of the same awesome folks, like Cory Petit. This is the second book in as many days where I got to write about how great his lettering work is across so many books. From how great and easy it flows around the pages for reading purposes, to the great care put into making sure that dialogue feels natural in the sense of clear intent (whispers are whispers, yells are yells, etc.). Tons of great and colorful and immersively fun SFX that are dotting the pages.
In that vein, seeing the loud and incessant knocking SFX on the opening pages leading to a Doom reveal brought a big smile to my face and got a good chuckle. Very well done.
Strange #1 is now on sale in print and digitally from Marvel Comics.
‘The Death of Doctor Strange #1’ Review
Written by Jed Mackay | Art by Lee Garbett | Published by Marvel Comics
Firstly, what a stunning cover. Reminds me of the Frank Brunner stuff from the 1970’s. If that’s what Kaare Andrews was shooting for, it’s a bullseye. If not, a damn good unintended tribute. So, it’s another Marvel event, albeit a mini-one this time. Doctor Strange gets a 5 issue mini-series, with a few on-shots sprinkled in for good measure. This was an easy pick up for me. I love Doctor Strange as a character, and feel he’s not always given the respect due to him. I know a former top surgeon/sorcerer supreme is not the most relatable character in the world, but the circles Doctor Strange can, and does, move in make for some fantastic stories. Treat him as a normal superhero, then meh. Make use of all the possibilities his abilities and personality allow, then you’ve got a goldmine. Let’s see what Jed MacKay and Lee Garbett have in store.
Behind a nicely designed chapter heading, one of several, we join Stephen Strange having a lie-in. Lee Garbett’s great art makes us appreciate in his full page spread that Strange is essentially a middle aged student, going by the state of his bedroom. Nice touch. Also a nice touch is the first half a dozen pages, which gently introduce things that will be very relevant later, but are somewhat hidden beneath a nicely written and drawn recap ,of elements of Strange’s life, culminating in Wong making breakfast. Classic stuff. The banter between Stephen and Wong is also fantastic, emphasising this a partnership, not a master servant relationship. MacKay even gets in a subtle, affectionate jab about Stephen’s way of talking in the past. All ‘zounds’ and ‘by Mephisto’s beard’. Thor-esque. No more. Stephen’s happy, grounded, and things are going well. He’s even got a ghost-dog, which is pretty cool.
That newfound grounding includes Stephen’s return to work as a surgeon, now that his hands are working properly again. A Doctor of both medicine and magic one again. All is well. So, why the book’s title? The first indicator all is not well when minor villain Mr. Rasputin makes an appearance, having over-reached himself by trying to increase his powers and unfortunately bonded his mind to a dying planet in a dark dimension. As you do. Then back to yet another part of his day job, teacher. Stephen is also a teacher at his Strange Academy, so fits in a bit of that too. What a guy. In retrospect, his talk on the fact he won’t be the last sorceror supreme should have started the spider-sense tingling, considering the book’s title.
Things change rather drastically, rather quickly. After the Rasputin incident, and a breach incursion from Limbo (loved the Magik cameo) it becomes clear that something is happening in the outer dimensions. It’s something that quite literally turns up on Stephen’s doorstep. As powerful as Stephen is, he can’t win them all, and this time it proves fatal. Because of the title of this book, I’m giving nothing away by telling you that this was the day the magic died. Stephen Strange is murdered. Mourned by the obvious like Wong and Brother Voodoo, but also by the likes of Baron Mordo, who wanted Strange’s head himself. Of greater concern, with the sorceror supreme dead, Earth’s magical defenses have fallen, and it’s open season on Earth. Luckily, there’s a new champion to take up the mantle. A bit strange, but definitely a doctor. He’s been waiting to be called upon, and now he’s taking centre stage.
What a great read. The art alone would make this a recommended buy. Garbett’s art is superb, lovely clean lines and a whole array of great layouts, from lush full page panels to multi panel pages that ooze action and movement. Lovely stuff. The real magic for me came from the writing of Jed MacKay, who manages to pack in a great story while writing a love letter to the life and times of Stephen Strange. His internal dialogue for Strange is pitch perfect. I read a lot of it with a smile on my face, thinking as a long time fan this was written for me. I also think a new reader could happily pick this book up with very little knowledge and enjoy it quite happily. That’s good writing right there.
I don’t normally pick up all the tie-in issues to most events, but I may just do that with this one. It’s really drawn me in. I can’t find fault with anything.
Dr. Strange has never been better, or at least not since the Steve Englehart days. Now THAT’S magic.
***** 5/5
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- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 2208.21 - 10:10
- Days ago = 2606 days ago
- New note - On 1807.06, I ceased daily transmission of my Hey Mom feature after three years of daily conversations. I plan to continue Hey Mom posts at least twice per week but will continue to post the days since ("Days Ago") count on my blog each day. The blog entry numbering in the title has changed to reflect total Sense of Doubt posts since I began the blog on 0705.04, which include Hey Mom posts, Daily Bowie posts, and Sense of Doubt posts. Hey Mom posts will still be numbered sequentially. New Hey Mom posts will use the same format as all the other Hey Mom posts; all other posts will feature this format seen here.
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