The Super Powered Fancast

Doctor Strange #1

Marvel Comics

Written by Mark Waid

Art by Jesus Saiz

Letters by Cory Petit

Stephen Strange has had to deal with a lot of personal and professional demons recently and he has finally gotten back to a place professionally where he is back to form as the Sorcerer Supreme.

After taking down a pretty nasty demon and using his skills as both the Master of the Mystic Arts and a former surgeon to heal the damage caused by the demon invasion, Stephen returns to his Sanctum more confident in who he is than he has been in a long time. Seven years later, it all goes south on him. Strange is losing his ability to see the world beyond the surface. He can no longer see the magic around him and that is not good for the Sorcerer Supreme and protector of magic. It gets worse when he loses his ability to see the spells in his book and use the items he uses daily.

This is the start of another bad turn for Strange. As much as I want to see the drama play out, there is a part of my that thinks this is too much, too soon. Too soon after dealing with Loki’s schemes and the whole incident in Vegas with Mephisto, it seems like putting Strange through the ringer might be getting tiresome. Fortunately, Waid has a plan to expand the story and try something new with Stephen and it’s going to require Tony Stark and a spaceship. Strange’s desperation and loneliness are illustrated really well and I really enjoyed the narration in this issue.

What happens when Strange and Tony meet is great as well and they have a pretty well written conversation that serves to give Strange the motivation he needs to keep going and to try something new. It’s necessary and effective in driving the story and the visuals of Strange’s journey into space are awesome to look at. Saiz does some great work in these panels and they draw you in visually to every detail.

I really enjoyed this story. Even though I am a little weary of Strange being depowered because I just came out of the storyline with Cates, I am interested to see what kind of magic could be waiting for Dr. Strange beyond the stars.