Making some house calls.
Note: This is a spoiler-free advance review of Doctor Strange #1, which will be released on Wednesday, October 7.
With some Marvel franchises like Daredevil, it’s always a challenge for each new creative team to establish a unique voice and stand out from the terrific work that’s been done in the past. This isn’t necessarily a problem with Doctor Strange. It’s been many, many years since Strange has had an ongoing series to call his own. As such, there aren’t a lot of expectations with this new book apart from the simple idea that Jason Aaron + Chris Bachalo = good comic booking. It quickly becomes clear when reading Doctor Strange #1 that Marvel selected the right creative team to finally put Stephen Strange back on the map.
The new series is instantly welcoming to all readers regardless of their familiarity with the character. The issue opens with a recap (juxtaposed against a backdrop of classic Steve Ditko art) that succinctly breaks down Strange’s origin and role within the Marvel Universe. With that out of the way, Aaron and Bachalo immediately jump into the action as Strange deals with a particularly nasty supernatural mission.
There’s a very timeless quality to this comic and its depiction of Strange. It could just as easily have been published in 1995 as 2015 (not that Marvel was putting out much of quality back then). Aaron doesn’t directly reference any of Strange’s recent continuity baggage (the temporary loss of his Sorcerer Supreme status, his Faustian bargain in Jonathan Hickman’s New Avengers, his alliance with Doom in Secret Wars), instead focusing on the man and his relationship with the magical realm. This approach certainly has the benefit of not spoiling the events of Secret Wars. But more importantly, it allows the book to start with a clean slate and slowly add layers to Aaron’s ongoing conflicts.
What really makes Aaron’s take on the character shine is the way he blends lighthearted humor with truly larger-than-life magical drama. The simple sight of an ax-wielding Doctor Strange on the cover should give you some idea of what tone the creators are striving for. As the running narration quickly points out, Strange loves his job despite the heavy physical and psychological toll it takes on him. He’s an adventurer, one who doesn’t miss the chance to flirt in the middle of a dangerous exorcism. Aaron also fixates on the idea that Strange is a bit of a flake in his personal life. After all, it’s silly to think that all of his less savory qualities vanished the moment he was crowned Sorcerer Supreme. This does lead to some weird interaction between Strange and some of his magical colleagues in one scene. Here Aaron goes a little too far in trying to portray Strange as a joke in the magical community.
Other than perhaps Frazer Irving, it’s tough to think of a current Marvel artist better suited to Doctor Strange’s surreal world than Bachalo. Bachalo already has a certain degree of familiarity with the character and his magical trappings thanks to books like New Avengers and Uncanny X-Men. That familiarity pays off nicely here. Bachalo’s creative monster designs alone make this issue worth reading. He’s also adept at contrasting the supernatural realm with the mundane world. At times the two even collide in one chaotic but visually dynamic. Strange travels between dimensions and battles foes that would drive most ordinary people insane, and Bachalo is there to convey all the scope and weirdness of these adventures. Bachalo’s pages don’t have a lot of variety when it comes to facial work, though his body language often makes up for that omission.
While the usual array of inkers are present to accompany Bachalo’s pencils, Bachalo colors the pages himself, and that’s another major point in the book’s favor. Each setting in this issue has its own set of hues and its own distinct mood. The issue is perhaps most impressive during a sequence where Bachalo removes all color from the page except where Strange and his magical foe are concerned. This really highlights the clash between the ordinary and extraordinary.
As has been discussed a lot in various pre-release interviews, one of the central themes of this series is the idea that magic has a cost. This isn’t as simple as Strange’s spells having rules associated with them, although that is a part of the book. It’s more the idea that there’s a cause and effect to dabbling in magic and altering the course of supernatural conflicts. While the enemy amassing against our hero is still very vague in this first issue, the simple notion that a big threat is looming is enough to give the book its impetus. All the readers needs to become invested in Strange’s world is contained within these pages.
It’s high time Doctor Strange had his own comic again, and this new series certainly doesn’t disappoint. It lends a touch of fun and adventure to Strange’s world even as it begins building a massive new threat for the Sorcerer Supreme to contend with. It’s plenty accessible to all readers, and it boasts a terrifically surreal art style courtesy of Chris Bachalo. Hopefully this book is a sign of things to come for Marvel’s relaunch.
