Tag Archives: Dr. Strange

Marvel Comics July 2023: Great, Good, Decent

Introduction

I wrote in my independent comics article on Sunday that this month (and maybe next month) comic reviews will look different. DC released their Knight Terrors 2-month event. I ordered all of the books for July, but forgot to order them for August. So, if I want to review all of the books, I need to go to an LCS to pick them up. Additionally, they sent almost 50 DC titles this month. With school starting soon, I don’t know if I’ll have the time to review them all. But, for now, I have Marvel Comics July 2023.

I think I wrote about last month’s books that I like the place that comics are in right now. Other than the Spider-Man “Paul” story, I enjoyed all of the books since starting reviews again a couple of months ago. I hope that momentum continues. Mind you, I hold no delusions that comics ever again reach the heights of the 1990s. Especially since my wife and I went into a comic store the other day and she recoiled in horror at the state of cleanliness. But, at least, those of us who never let go can still enjoy the art form.

Decent

Amazing Spider Man 29 and 30: Writer: Zeb Wells, Artist: Ed McGuinness. Someone at Marvel realized what a mistake the “Paul” story was. Either that, or this story is a complete coincidence. However, I give them the benefit of the doubt. Because, this return to a simpler time when Doc Ock kidnaps Norman Osborne to try to release the goblin administers the perfect antidote to whatever that mess was. If they keep this up, Wells may yet find himself in Good or even Great territory.

Black Panther 2: Writer: Eve L. Ewing, Artist: Chris Allen. I wrote in the previous Marvel article that I understand that some things aren’t for me and maybe Black Panther just isn’t for me. I like this issue better than the last and, again, I hope they continue this trend forward.

The Avengers #3: Writer: Jed McKay. Artist: C. F. Villa. On the other hand, The Avengers trend is definitely down. The cover evokes the big fight from Age of Ultron. And, that’s kind of how I feel about this book right now. Full of promise that it’s not quite reaching just yet. However, in my short time reading Jed McKay, I am confident that he can turn it around and build this into a good story and book.

Good

Dr. Strange 5: Writer: Jed MacKay, Artist: Pasqual Ferry. Speaking of MacKay, he handles Dr. Strange and company quite well. This issue steps back a bit from the action of the last few for the wedding of the century of the year. I still liked reading the book and watching the story advance even if it feels less exciting than recent issues.

Venom 22 and 23: Writers: Al Ewing and Torunn GrØnbekk, Artists: Ramón F. Bachs and Ken Lashley. I made no secret about not liking GrØnbekk’s Thor. But, I think Al Ewing left Lethal Protector in a good place and the subject matter might fit GrØnbekk’s writing style more. With Ewing taking over Thor, I think that might be a good switch.

Great

Fantastic Four 9: Writer: Ryan North, Artist: Ivan Fiorelli. Along with She Hulk and Guardians of the Galaxy, this is my favorite comic on the market right now. They found writers for all three books who understand the characters on a fundamental level and write stories geared to the overall style of the book. This one weaves two stories together, one about the blind history of comics and the fight with the monster that took over a town. Both classic FF stories well told.

Guardians of the Galaxy 4: Writers: Collin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing, Artist: Kev Walker. As they reintroduce the Guardians after Grootfall, it took until this issue to finally tell some of Rocket’s story. Poor Rocket. This guy constantly gets the shaft and watches his loved ones ripped from his life time and time again. He is not adjusting well to losing the one constant companion ever since striking out on his own. But, still, a great GotG story and hits all the notes.

She-Hulk 15: Writer: Rainbow Rowell, Artist: Andrés Genolet. I’ve run out of words of praise for this book. It’s fun. It’s light hearted. It’s serious. irreverant. It tells a great story. Okay, so I haven’t run out of words just yet. But, none of the words I use give justice to how great She-Hulk is right now. If you like the character, read this book. If you don’t, read the book to see why people do.

The Verdict (Marvel Comics July 2023)

Many of the Marvel books I read are on an upward trajectory. I wrote earlier that I like the place that comics are right now. Marvel Comics July 2023 brings everything that I enjoy about comic books. Some of the temas change, but like I said with Venom, I think they can be good changes.

Note: All images taken from Marvel.com

Dr. Strange Love

(Editor’s Note: This was supposed to be a review of Logan. However, as is becoming an all too familiar theme in my life, being an adult stinks. So, instead of using my break to do things I wanted to do, I spent it doing things I have to do.)

All things considered, I suppose that I should consider myself lucky that I had 99% of this vacation to do with as I please. I used it to rearrange my new Magic cards. I applied my time and energy to make 2 Generations gaming into a functioning entity again. My wife and I even got to have a date night.

Still, I’m a bit bummed to realize that today is already Sunday and I was not able to see Logan or join a Modern Masters draft. Truth be told (and why would I lie?), I’m actually more upset about the draft. I mean, I’ve had a week or so to hype myself about Logan. However, talking to Chris, taking out my cards, and remembering the fun times I had with previous drafts on xMage have me wanting to try the real thing. Then again, and this might just be me out of practice, I tried a draft on xMage for this set and it did not feel like a good draft set to me. Maybe it is better as sealed. Maybe it is just a “draft a bomb and profit” set. Who knows? All I know is that I was having a difficult time finding the synergies in the cards. Perhaps more testing is needed.

I felt like I was being pushed into 3 colors. Maybe, from the above card, that’s intended. Maybe it’s a trap!

But, this article isn’t about Magic. I know that it won’t be the latest and greatest, but perhaps I can revisit this in May when we do our show on Magic. Now, I want to talk about Dr. Strange. Naturally, this may lead to side conversations about other movies this year. However, as this seems to be the year of DC with regards to movies, I will most likely be able to stay on target. Also, I really liked this movie.

I get the feeling that was not a common assessment. I have not heard overwhelming hate against it like I did Batman vs. Superman, but it was a quirky movie. As a kid, I always liked the lesser celebrated heroes. Sure, I collected Spidey and Hulk, but I also had Guardians, Luke Cage, Iron Fist and Dr. Strange in my collection. This has followed me into adulthood in two ways. First, I’m infinitely more excited about those franchises coming out this year than Spidey. Some of that might be Spidey fatigue. The second aspect of my legacy of obscure super heroes lives on in Aiden. He loves Iron Fish and Flash is his absolute favorite book. But, there will be time to talk about that in November.

Now is the time for Dr. Strange and one of my main man crushes.

The movie hooked me with the casting of Sherlock heartthrob Benedict Cumberbatch. One of my favorite actors playing one of my favorite characters? Sign me up! I never got to see it in the theater for the same reason that I wasn’t able to see Logan. Okay, that’s not entirely true. I could have taken the boys to see this one. Maybe it was just a lack of time and money that kept me from this one.

Whatever the case, I wish that I had seen this one on the big screen. It’s rare that I say that about a movie these days. With HD wide screen TVs and surround sound, the theater experience is relicated quite easily with only 1.50 from RedBox. But, the special effects are the best that I’ve seen from a Marvel movie. I never saw inception. I know. accuse me of yet another geek crime and bring me before the tribunal already. However, from what I’ve seen of the Inception trailer, the visual style of Dr. Strange is very similar. Maybe I will finally see the movie and strike one of my crimes from the record.

There was only one part where the effects took me out of the fantasy of the movie. When the ancient one takes Strange on his tour of the multiverse, some of the efffects looked wonky. But, it was brief and the rest of the movie was so entertaining that I put the minor glitch behind me.

This is the part that looked most fake to me. Right after this when he went flying off into the distance. It wasn’t terrible, but it definitely looked like it was at the end of the production schedule and they rushed it.

That was the other thing that stood out to me about Dr. Strange. It was funny. I mentioned Batman vs. Superman earlier and the hate that it received. I didn’t agree with much of it, but DC is definitely missing the point by making their movies so dark. They got too much into the *Batman voice* “dark and gritty realism” that they forgot how much fun these stories can be. Like all of the Marvel movies, Dr. Strange made me chuckle several times and laugh out loud more than once. I have always been a Marvel zombie, but that added humor is why I prefer the Marvel movies to DC. They have gotten better. Aiden has been watching the Flash TV show. Between that and some of the trailers that I’ve seen, DC is slowly bringing more humor into their franchises. One big complaint about Batman vs. Superman was Batfleck, but perhaps his introduction into the universe will end up being a net positive. We shall see.

Before you think this is universal praise, there was one aspect of the movie that worried me and it wasn’t necessarily a fault of the movie. How’s that for some double speak? Comic book audiences have been trained for the big action and explosions. I know that Dr. Strange exists in that world, but he’s not so much about the punchy/kicky as he is about the hocus pocus. Would people think the movie is boring? Again, I can’t speak for anyone else, but I was very entertained by the action present. There was plenty of punchy/kicky in the form of martial arts and there was even some explosions during the finale.

Heck, the punchy/kicky even added hocus pocus to the mix.

Above all of this, though, my favorite part of the movie did not involve punchy/kicky. Instead, Dr. Strange used some major hocus/pocus to defeat Dormammu and save the world. For those of you even lamer than I am, I won’t give away any more than that, but it is definitely worth the wait and does the character justice. If you’re a fan of Dr. Strange, you won’t be disappointed.

This movie didn’t surpass the first Avengers as my favorite Marvel movie. I’m not even sure if it cracks the top 5. However, it is probably the most entertaining comic book movie I’ve watched in the past year. If you are in the mood for a good time with great effects and more or less faithful to the source material (if that’s your thing), then you definitely want to see this movie.