First Dr Strange I think I actually liked. Art wasn't for me though. ( )

My review of this book can be found on my YouTube at:

https://youtu.be/1NGac2tk8Fs

Enjoy! ( )

Dr Strange: The Way of the Weird
Author: Aaron & Bachalo
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Publishing Date: 2016
Pgs: 136
Dewey: 741.5973 DOC
Disposition: Irving Public Library - South Campus - Irving, TX
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REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS
Summary:
Only Doctor Strange can protect our world from the darkness beyond - now, witness the full toll that constant struggle takes on Earth's Sorcerer Supreme! Every spell cast comes at a cost, but what happens when Strange falls behind on his tab? Find out as the good doctor wakes up somewhere very odd, nearly naked - with no spell books, no weapons and no memory of how he got there...or why all the monsters are chasing him! And as a new visitor to Strange's Sanctum Sanctorum learns one wrong door can lead to oblivion, a magic circle of Strange's friends and allies are about to face their greatest threat. Dark forces are destroying everything mystical in the multiverse, and their sights are set on this dimension. Magic's days are numbered, and Doctor Strange is not ready!
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Genre:
Marvel Comics
Graphic Novels
Superhero
Occult

Why this book:
Always loved Dr Strange, both on his own and as part of The Defenders.
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Cover and Interior Art:
"I mean you no harm" and he conjures a giant teddy bear to block the path of the thing trying to eat him. I love Dr Strange when the writer and artist go for it.

Plot Holes/Out of Character:
Wouldn't it be OOC for the Doctor not to be able to sense a Sorcerer Supreme from a different dimension opening a door inside the Sanctum Sanctorum?

Favorite Scene:
Love the exchange, are those snakes on your coffee table, do not talk to the snakes, and the snakes respond by hitting on her and trying to get her to stop and talk to them.

Favorite Concept:
So...Stephen has Boxers of Levitation? I'm sure they are just made to look like the sentient Cloak of Levitation. ... ...course, it has shown a propensity to alter its shape and fit when it wants to. :/ And now I'm left wondering why the Cloak would choose to morph itself into a pair of boxer shorts on Strange's body... :/ ...course if he was naked and running for his life from a mystical entity, maybe it would be protecting his dignity...IDK. It's an interesting conundrum. And I can tell you when I picked up this book, I didn't expect to be typing about Stephen Strange's boxer shorts. But here we are.

Hmm Moments:
Sending the soul eaters to feed on the child molesters in Rikers Island after he got them out of the possessed child is more vigilante justice than what I’d usually expect from Doctor Strange.

Using her as bait for the psychic energy-eating mind maggots. Uhm, what about the Hippocratic oath, or does that not apply to the Sorcerer Supreme?

WTF Moments:
The way Strange sees the world would drive most people mad. The idea of there being spiritual mites and parasites is icky, to say the least.
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Last Page Sound:
I hate TPBs and Graphic Novels that end in cliffhangers with the story unfinished. I hate novels that do the same thing. This was awesome…right up until they did that. Sigh.
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I've always loved Dr. Strange, and maybe some of that's because he's such a different animal from most of the Marvel superheroes. Very often, reading Dr Strange comics is an exercise in frustration, because either the author just doesn't have the imagination to come up with a wild enough storyline to engage me, or the artist can't produce the visuals needed to get that otherworldlyness across.

Jason Aaron has come up with an interesting story. I'm not sure I exactly like the way he actually voices the good doctor, as he's a bit too flippant for my tastes, but Aaron digs into some wonderfully weird stuff, and has a great sense of showing how the magic sits alongside our own, more mundane world.

And Chris Bachalo's art just completes it wonderfully. Again, not sure I'm a fan of the Frank Zappa facial hair, but I can live with it. But aside from that, the art is...well...strange. And exactly what the doctor ordered.

Yeah, sorry, couldn't help myself on either of those last two pathetic jokes.

Anyway, overall, I think these two make a great team, and I'm anxious to read the next volume. ( )

Okay I'll bite.
Still... I have minor petty complaints:
1. Why is Strange wearing rugged work boots?
2. Why does Strange look... weird?
I don't know, maybe I've been reading too much gritty Vertigo Constantine and Swamp Thing from the 90s, and it's making Marvels magical and supernatural realms a bit cartoony? Maybe that's what they're going for? Nonetheless looking forward to reading more Strange. ( )

Really enjoyed this fresh take on Doctor Strange and with that cliffhanger ending, definitely in for more. Bachalo's artwork is gorgeous as usual. ( )

What was I thinking? Why had I put this off for so long? Magic always has a cost, but this is definitely worth it. I should have paid the price a long time ago and picked these up and devoured them. :)

Doctor Strange feels rather young and light of heart even if he's already Sorcerer Supreme in this title, complete with a mansion full of magic and a secret army of monks to take on his magical debts, but that's where the light tone and the humor comes to an end. The dark side of the magic becomes very evident very quickly, and with this artwork, I'm flabbergasted at just how effective it evokes all sorts of feelings.

Light and Dark, indeed. Love the fearless librarian, too. :)

I've just read the Last Days of Magic, too, and my god that was tragic. I should have guessed that these comics started with such a light tone with such a dark background for a reason. Because it's actually a tragedy. Practically all is lost and now Science is gonna win, unless what's in the cellar destroys everything first. (Or Doctor Strange takes back all his debts and pays them, at long last. :) ( )

4.0 ( )

Surprisingly dark and complex storyline with Sorcerer Supreme fading an extra-dimensional and existential threat against all the magic and magically-powered beings in the multiverse. ( )

I've never been a real big Dr. Strange fan, so this series does about as well as I could have hoped. I'm not sure I agree with the transplanting of Tony Stark's flip playboy personality into Stephen Strange, but at least it adds humor and humanity to a character that has been portrayed as way too serious and aloof in the past. ( )

Doctor Strange encounters mystical weirdness on Earth while a mysterious technological force has been draining magic from other dimensions. ( )

This comic comes before Doctor Strange Vol 2: The Last Days of Magic. In this one, he is realizing that the magical creatures he is fighting that are inside people are growing in number and are harder to get out. He brings this to the collection of magical beings at the Bar Without Doors that only allows magicians. But the discussion gets derailed by Monako who demands to know whether or not Strange has been paying the price for using magic. Monako killed rabbits in his day because it is always a life for a life. So what is Doctor Strange doing?

Meanwhile back at the Sanctum Santorum, a young woman waits to see Doctor Strange, but not at all sure if she really wants to see him. Her name is Zelma Stanton and she has something with mouths and teeth coming out of the top of her head. Her best friend heard it from someone that he helped someone with a dog growing out of his chest so she thought she might give him a try at fixing this. Strange has never seen anything like this. He gets out most of the mouth creatures who are now roaming freely about the mansion wrecking havoc. Strange and Zelma must find them and kill them before they cause damage to the house. Strange gives Zelma a sword for protection and tells her not to look at anything for very long and to please stay away from the refrigerator as he has collected some odd things in there that she doesn't want to meet. When they get to the library the creature opens up a book and the blowback knocks Zelda out of the room and the two get separated. Which is how she ends up opening the refrigerator and meeting Wong who saves her from it. Strange, meanwhile, has been meditating and reading in the library.

Earlier in the 13th dimension, the Sorcerer Supreme there is about to die and he sends out a message upon some special birds to let those in other dimensions know what is going on. All those who knew magic have been killed and magic is no longer working in his dimension. The Empirikul has come and taken over. His magic birds are killed in the sky by them.

Doctor Strange is beginning to notice that magic is not working sometimes when it should, however, he has bigger problems on his hand for a while. The colors are very interesting. Of course, the sanctum santorum is done up in dark colors because it is a dark place. But there is a scene where Doctor Strange's astral self wakes up in another dimension and the people are done in just black ink with no colors and the flora and fauna are done up in riotous colors with a beautiful rainbow in the background. The drawings are very Asian in orientation and the story is first rate. I highly recommend this book. ( )

Magic has a cost, the cloak is very good at hiding in plain sight and there are some dimensional beings trying to eradicate magic. Dr Strange has his work cut out for him. ( )

This is a new series (2015) on Doctor Strange and while I am always a fan, I was not thrilled with this particular series. The story was just okay and I didn't really care for the artwork. This is just a personal taste thing - the artist is good, but I didn't like his approach. I am a lifelong Doctor Strange fan, but this one just didn't do it for me. ( )