Doctor Strange, Vol 1: The Way of the Weird

Doctor Strange, Vol. 1: The Way of the Weird by Jason Aaron
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Sorcerer Supremes are being killed across dimensions and magic itself seems to be dying. Can Doctor Strange get to the bottom of things?

The Way of the Weird collects issues 1-5 of the current run of Doctor Strange.

First off, I love the art. Since they couldn't get Steve Ditko from the late 1960's to illustrate, Chris Bachalo is the next best thing. I loved his run on Shade the Changing Man during the 1990's and he's a perfect fit for Doctor Strange's dimension-spanning adventures.

The story is pretty good as well. Magic is going haywire and someone is killing off the wizards across the multiverse one by one. The menace of the Emperikul has me jonesing for the next book. I love the Bar Without Doors and the addition of Zelma to the supporting cast. I also like what secret things Wong has been doing in the background.

However, I couldn't justifying giving this more than a 3.5. Structurally, the plot seems really similar to Aaron's plot in Thor: God of Thunder, Vol. 1: The God Butcher. Also, I didn't feel like a whole lot actually happened, mostly setup for future volumes. Some kind of payoff would have been nice.

3.5 out of 5. It was good and I'll read the next volume but I'm not looking forward to it as much as the next Vision trade.

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The Vision, Vol 1: Little Worse Than A Man

The Vision, Vol 1: Little Worse Than A Man by Tom King
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Vision builds himself a family and moves to the suburbs with them. Things are great until they aren't.

After reading the first issue of The Vision via Marvel Unlimited, I knew I wanted to read the rest. Little Worse than a Man collects the first six issues.

The Vision and his family experience prejudice from their human neighbors, Viv and Vin's classmates, and later, the cops. Virginia lies to the Vision once and it snowballs, sending their quiet suburban life out of control. I saw someone refer to The Vision as the Breaking Bad of the Marvel Universe and I can definitely see it heading in that direction.

The subdued art fits the story perfectly, and Tom King is going to be a big name in the future. The story's unknown (at first, anyway) narrator gives the book a tone not often seen in super hero comics. It raises questions about family and what it means to be human.

Tom King and Gabriel Hernandez Walta have produced one of those quirky, powerful books I can't imagine Marvel taking a chance on ten years ago. I can't wait to see what the next volume holds. 4.5 out of 5 stars.

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Ant-Man: Second-Chance Man

Ant-Man, Vol. 1: Second-Chance Man by Nick Spencer
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Ant-Man looks for gainful employment. Hilarity ensues.

Confession time: Most of my exposure to Scott Lang, prior to the Ant-Man movie, was in various issues of Fantastic Four and FF. For some reason, I had a craving for his newer solo adventures and picked this up.

Second-Chance Man gives Ant-Man the "Hawkeye by Matt Fraction" treatment to a degree. Instead of Ant-Man fighting crime, he's fighting to pay his bills, first with a shot at working for Tony Stark, then in Miami, running a security business.

Spencer knows his way around an Ant-Man story. Prior to his recent adventures, I thought Ant-Man was right up there with Hawkman and the Atom in terms of lameness. Spencer took the ant-covered ball and ran with it in this one, pitting Scott against menaces like Darren Cross, the Taskmaster, and, most fearsome of them all, his ex-wife.

Scott's relationship with his daughter Cassie is the heart of the book. He uproots his life and turns down a job with Tony Stark to be with her. When she gets into trouble, he assembles an ace team to help get her back, a team consisting of Grizzly and Machinesmith, whom I hope factor into future volumes.

Good stuff. Second-Chance Man was an entertaining way to spend an hour avoiding housework. Three out of five stars.

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Marvel Unlmited Find: Daredevil #1 (2015)

Daredevil (2015-) #1 by Charles Soule
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Daredevil is back in New York, this time working for the District Attorney's office. With Blindspot at his side, can he protect Billy Li from the Church of Tenfingers?

Yeah, it didn't take long for Marvel to toss out all of Mark Waid's changes on Daredevil. No one remembers Matt Murdock is Daredevil, Foggy is cancer free, and Daredevil's wearing his black costume again. Blindspot makes an interesting sidekick for Daredevil. At least they haven't gone completely back to the Frank Miller formula of Daredevil misery. I'll skip the rant I have brewing about Marvel's "Illusion of Change" policy this time.

Matt Murdock working for the DA is a new wrinkle but it may be a case of to-may-to/to-mah-to when all is said and done.

This new beginning for Daredevil feels about 90% status quo but it was good for what it is. We'll see how things shake out in subsequent issues. Three out of five stars.

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The Back Issue Bin - Quasar #1

Quasar (1989) #1
writer: Mark Gruenwald
artists: Paul Ryan, Danny Bulanadi
rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

I have a slew of Quasar comics in the long boxes in my nerd cave.  I first learned about Quasar in an issue of Marvel Comics Presents where he met Man-Thing and Quagmire.  I collected the title sporadically for a few years until I dropped out of comics.


Quasar is similar to DC's Green Lantern at first glance.  The Quantum Bands do pretty much everything Green Lantern's power ring can do.  I knew some of Quasar's origin but this was the first time I read it.

The Quantum Bands originally belonged to the Marvel Boy of the 1950's, who was disintegrated by them in battle with the Fantastic Four.  The bands fell into SHIELD's hands around the time Wendell Vaughn washed out of the SHIELD field agent training program.  Wendell was on security detail while his father was working with Stark Industries to study the bands.  The original candidate for the bands panicked and disintegrated himself when he found he couldn't remove the bands.

AIM attacks, gunning for the bands.  In order to save everyone, Wendell puts on the bands and uses them to repel an AIM task force single-handedly.  Not bad for a guy who SHIELD said had no killer instinct.

For the late 1980's, this was a exceptional origin issue.  It pales toward what comes later, when Quasar finds the origins of the bands, dies, gets resurrected, and becomes the Protector of the Universe before traveling across realities...  I get ahead of myself.

3.5 out of 5 stars.

Thor: God of Thunder, Vol. 2: Godbomb

Thor: God of Thunder, Vol. 2: Godbomb by Jason Aaron
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Gorr, the God Butcher, builds a bomb designed to travel back in time and kill all gods. The present day Thor and the All-Father Thor united to stop him. But can two, or even three, thunder gods be enough?

Wow. The three Thors vs. the Butcher of Gods. It reminded me quite a bit of the Elric tales when multiple versions of the Eternal Champion would team up against some huge menace. Whereas the first volume was mostly setup, this one was all payoff, like a porno that's entirely money shots.

Aaron brought forth his A-game in this one. It was everything a cosmic fantasy tale should be. The three Thors kicked serious ass and ended the menace of the God Butcher. The carnage level was pretty huge but it seems to me that a story headlined by so many gods should feature wholesale destruction.

The interplay between the three Thor incarnations was worth the read alone. I like that this tale is how the young Thor finally become worthy to wield Mjolnir. Old Thor drops some tantalizing hints of things to come, hopefully during Jason Aaron's run.

Four out of five hammers.

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Thor: God of Thunder, Vol. 1: The God Butcher

Thor: God of Thunder, Vol. 1: The God Butcher by Jason Aaron
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Gods of Indigarr are dead and all signs point to Gorr, the God-Butcher, a being Thor knows all too well. Can the Thunder god defeat the God-Butcher once and for all?

Most of the Thor comics I've read over the years were pretty forgettable unless Walter Simonson was involved. The God Butcher was an eye-catching title so I decided to give this a shot and I'm very glad I did.

The God Butcher tells the tale of Gorr, the Butcher of Gods, and his conflicts with Thor over the years. Aaron weaves a tale in three timelines. One of a young Thor in the age of the Vikings, before he earned the right to wield Mjolnir, one of present-day Thor, and one of old King Thor, a one-eyed, one-armed god, the last god of Asgard. Pretty cool, huh?

The God Butcher is essentially a murder mystery with Thor piecing together the God Butcher's motives and whereabouts. Gorr, for all intents and purposes, is a serial killer gods. Aside from his great power, the scariest thing about him is that he thinks his cause is just. The way Aaron weaves the three Thor tales together is pretty skillful and present-day Thor joining forces with old Thor to save what was left of Asgard was bad ass.

That's about all I have to say. The only mark against this volume would be that it doesn't tell the full story but I'll be glad to read the second volume. Thor is one of those characters that's so powerful it's hard for me to care about his exploits. Jason Aaron has made me care. Four out of five stars.

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Ultimate Comics Spider-Man, Vol. 5

Ultimate Comics Spider-Man, Vol. 5 by Brian Michael Bendis
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Miles Morales has been out of the super hero game for a year when Spider-Woman shows up, trying to bring him back in. Meanwhile, teen heroes Cloak and Dagger are after Roxxon oil in a big way...

I enjoyed the super hero action in this book, even if I didn't care for Cloak and Dagger that much. The Ultimate version of Taskmaster was much more fearsome than the main universe's version. Bombshell was more interesting than either Cloak or Dagger to me.

The partnership between Miles and Spider-Woman was my favorite part of the book. The super hero action was pretty spectacular. Miles continues to prove himself worthy of the Spider-mantle.

My only gripe with this series is the pace. It's agonizingly slow and there's way too much talking. Bendis writes good dialogue but he doesn't have to write so much of it. After more minimalist comics like Hawkeye, Vol. 1: My Life as a Weapon and Moon Knight, Vol. 1: From the Dead, I feel like I'm working my ass off. I respect what Bendis has done but I'd prefer someone not as long-winded to chronicle Miles' adventures at some point. Three out of five stars.

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Ultimate Comics Spider-Man, Vol. 4

Ultimate Comics Spider-Man, Vol. 4 by Brian Michael Bendis
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The Venom is in town looking for Spider-Man. And thanks to the late Betty Brant, he thinks Spider-Man is Jefferson Davis, Miles Morales' father...

The Ultimate Version of Venom arrives and turns Miles' life upside down. Being Spider-Man has its drawbacks. Your family members wind up getting killed. It's not as if his family was in good shape before that. His dad was already shell-shocked after fighting HYDRA agents.

The action was great, the art was fantastic, but I still felt the writing dragged. How much talking can Brian Bendis fit into five issues of a super hero comic book? Quite a bit, it seems.

The collection ends with Miles having his "Spider-Man No More!" moment ala Lee and Ditko, which was a nice touch considering what happened. 3.5 out of 5 stars.

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Ultimate Comics Spider-Man, Vol.3

Ultimate Comics Spider-Man, Vol.3 by Brian Michael Bendis
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Miles Morales deals with his uncle, the Prowler, meets Gwen Stacy, Aunt May, and MJ, and goes to war with the Ultimates against HYDRA.

One chapter of the new Spider-Man's life ends as a new one begins. I thought the Prowler storyline was resolved abruptly, which is weird in this day and age when every story is stretched out for 4-6 issues. It was a good resolution, however, that will probably have lasting consequences.

Miles gets webshooters from Aunt May, passing the torch from the old Spider-Man to the new. He saves Captain America's life and joins the Ultimates against HYDRA, which he probably regretted.

It was a pretty enjoyable tale but wasn't nearly as fun to read as the previous two volumes. The Ultimate Universe sure was a much grimmer place, wasn't it? I reiterate that Marvel should have used Miles instead of Peter in the MCU. Miles winding up in the main universe after Secret Wars is a step in the right direction, though.

3.5 out of 5 stars. I'm hoping the next volume is better.

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Ultimate Comics Spider-Man, Vol.2

Ultimate Comics Spider-Man, Vol.2 by Brian Michael Bendis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

While Miles Morales is adjusting to his new identity as Spider-Man, his Uncle Aaron has some ideas of his own...

Miles continues to try to fill Peter Parker's shoes. While the Ringer and Omega Red were good tests for his abilities, his uncle Aaron, aka The Prowler, is a much worse threat. I don't see anything good coming from Aaron knowing Miles is Spider-Man.

The story moved things along but focused more on Miles' inner turmoil than it did punching super villains, probably a good thing at this stage in the game. The art was well suited to a Spider-Man story and made Miles look like a young teenager rather than a small adult. It's hard for me not to feel somewhat paternal toward Miles since the kid is only 13.

Side note: Does anyone else feel like Marvel missed the bus by not featuring Miles instead of Peter Parker in the Marvel Cinematic Universe? The way to get people behind Miles in the long run is to feature him in other media and the movies would go a long way toward that.

I'm in it for the long haul with this kid. Four out of five stars.

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Ultimate Comics Spider-Man, Vol.1

Ultimate Comics Spider-Man, Vol.1 by Brian Michael Bendis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Months before Peter Parker's death, Miles Morales is bitten by a spider with a number 42 on its back. Suddenly, he has the abilities of a spider! But with great power comes great responsibility...

Legend has it that Miles Morales came to be when Donald Glover was campaigning to play the Amazing Spider-Man. So far, I'm digging it.

Miles Morales is a 13 year old mixed race teenager, suddenly selected to go to a charter school and get out of his neighborhood. While visiting his uncle, secretly The Prowler, he gets bitten by a spider that hitched a ride when his uncle plundered Norman Osborne's lab.

These first six issues tell Miles' origin, his first few outings as Spider-Man, and his encounters with Nick Fury and some other super heroes. All the pieces are in place and I'm more interested in Miles than I have been in Peter Parker in the main Marvel Universe in years. Gone is all the baggage but all the Spidey themes are still here.

I also like that his power set isn't an exact copy of Peter's. He's got some kind of sting and can turn invisible. The costume is also bad ass.

Instead of constantly hitting the reset button and rehashing the same stories over and over, Marvel should chances and make more comics like this. 4.5 out of 5 stars.

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Doctor Strange (1974) #13

Doctor Strange (1974) #13
date: April 1976
writer: Steve Englehart
artists: Gene Colan, Tom Palmer
rating: 5 out of 5 stars.

Baron Mordo's madness has destroyed the world and Doctor Strange floats in the void that was formerly earth.  Doctor Strange enters the dream realm to set things right, battling Nightmare and freeing Eternity. Eternity won't undo what has been done but helps Doctor Strange build a new earth.

Holy shit.  That was huge.  The earth is rebuilt from the beginning of time and the only person aware anything is different is Doctor Strange.  Stories don't get much bigger than that.  Marvel might have missed the boat with this.  If they wanted to de-age everyone, this would have been the perfect reboot point.

Nightmare tampering with Eternity's dreams and Mordo destroying the earth were pretty crazy.  I wonder how the hell any future Doctor Strange stories could top this.  Five out of five stars.

Doctor Strange (1974) #12

Doctor Strange (1974) #12
date: February 1976
writer: Steve Englehart
artists: Gene Colan, Tom Palmer
rating: 4 out of 5

Eternity's game continues as Doctor Strange meets the Ancient One in battle once again.  Meanwhile, Baron Mordo has something in mind involving the Ancient Genghis.  Strange conquers his super hero self and he and Clea take on Baron Mordo.

This Doctor Strange vs. Eternity storyline is hard to contain.  It appears the world is going to end after all.  Englehart sure didn't shy away from big stories, did he?  I have to wonder what he'd do today if given the opportunity.  Four out of five stars.

Doctor Strange (1974) #11

Doctor Strange (1974) #11
date: December 1975
writer: Steve Englehart
artists: Gene Colan, Tom Palmer
rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Humanity's time is running out and in order to save them, Doctor Strange must conquer his four selves: the surgeon, the drunk, the super hero, and the sorcerer supreme! As Doctor Strange fights for his life in Eternity's psychodrama, Baron Mordo is on the loose.

The tripped out odyssey continues as Doctor Strange attends a masquerade where everyone else is a version of himself.  What the hell is Baron Mordo up to?  It's easy to see why people sent the Doctor Strange crew drugs in the mail during the 1970s.  3.5 out of 5 stars.

Doctor Strange (1974) #10

Doctor Strange (1974) #10
date: October 1975
writer: Steve Englehart
artists: Gene Colan, Frank Chiaramonte
rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Doctor Strange looks for the root of Baron Mordo's madness and is confronted by Eternity!  In order to save the world, Doctor Strange must conquer his four selves!

This was one of the most cosmic issues yet, much like a Michael Moorcock story.  I have to wonder if Steve Englehart was influenced by Michael Moorcock to any degree.  Anyway, the issue was mostly setup but has be intrigued by the coming storyline.  Three out of five stars.

Doctor Strange (1974) #9

Doctor Strange (1974) #9
date: August 1975
writer: Steve Englehart
artists: Gene Colan, Frank Chiaramonte
rating: 4 out of 5 stars.

A colossal Dormammu goes on the rampage and Doctor Strange and Clea prepare to confront him! Dormammu and Umar turn on one another.  Umar takes his power for herself and Orini reveals that Umar is Clea's mother, just in time for Doctor Strange and Clea to show up! Clea frees the Earth Mother and she helps them against Umar and Dormammu.

Doctor Strange and Clea triumph once again.  I like how Strange and Clea's relationship is evolving over the course of the series.  I already knew who Clea's parents are due to reading Doctor Strange in a haphazard fashion over the years but it was still a powerful revelation.  I've accepted Gene Colan as Frank Brunner's replacement.  The man could sure draw monsters.  4 out of 5 stars.

Doctor Strange (1974) #8

Doctor Strange (1974) #8
date: June 1975
writer: Steve Englehart
artists: Gene Colan, Tom Palmer
rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Clea saves the weakened Doctor Strange's bacon and appeals to her father for help. He refuses and Clea and Strange perform a pagan ritual in an attempt to restore Stephen's power. Clea winds up with the power and goes toe to toe with her father. Strange's power is restored and the story ends with Dormammu crawling out of a crack in the earth.

Englehart's depiction of drug culture and his portrayal of Clea as a competent woman were years ahead of their time.  I'm warming up to Gene Colan's art.  His depiction of the Mindless Ones and Dormammu's demons were very good.  I'm pretty excited about seeing how all this shakes out.  3.5 out of 5 stars.

Doctor Strange (1974) #7

Doctor Strange (1974) #7
date: March 1975
writer: Steve Englehart
artists: Gene Colan, John Romita
rating: 3.5 out of 5

Clea escapes the reborn Dormammu and Doctor Strange is in Umar's clutches. Clea whoops ass on Umar's disciples and Doctor Strange overcomes the G'Uranthic Guardian.  Clea's father is revealed to be Orini, Umar's chief henchman.

Things are heating up.  It seems Umar is playing Dormammu for a sap.  Clea is showing herself to be quite capable.  She and Doctor Strange are shaping up to be a great team.  I'm still not sold on Gene Colan on art, even though I thought he was fantastic on Daredevil.  It doesn't have the cosmic feel I think Doctor Strange needs.

Doctor Strange (1974) #6

Doctor Strange (1974) #6
date: April 1975
writer: Steve Englehart
artists: Gene Colan, Klaus Janson
rating: 4 out of 5 stars.

Doctor Strange and Clea find themselves the target of Umar the Unrelenting, sister of the dread Dormammu!  Strange goes to the Dark Dimension to find Umar while Clea stays behind at the Sanctum Sanctorum. Clea leaves her physical body behind and finds Dormammu, back from the dead.

This issue kicked off a new saga and a new creative team.  Umar and Dormammu vs. Strange and Clea should be a good one.  I'm not sold on Gene Colan and Klaus Janson just yet.  Frank Brunner left some King Kong sized shoes to fill.  Four out of five stars.