Doctor Strange is back as the Sorcerer Supreme but oh no - he’s used up all of Earth’s magic, or something, and, on the advice of Iron Man, decides to seek out new sources of magic… across the universe! Jai guru Tony, om?
Doctor Strange and Mark Waid are both hit and miss with me and unfortunately Doctor Strange, Volume 1: Across the Universe was mostly a miss. Jesus Saiz makes the comic look very pretty and I appreciated his expert artwork the most, but I found Waid’s story unremarkable.
Stephen gets into scrapes with some aliens, then gets himself out of them just as easily - it’s very pointless stuff. Moments like when his Cloak of Levitation returns to him are so wholly underwhelming because I was never convinced that he had really lost the ability to use magic at any point.
The new character, Kanna, is your generic sidekick, and of course the Infinity Gems make an appearance because what else does Marvel have to offer these days besides references to their way-more-popular movies?
I suppose it’s an interesting idea to give Stephen the ability to craft his own magical objects but also doesn’t that make them less special and more convenient if he can just rustle up a solution to whatever problem he encounters with his own hands? That’s why I don’t really like magic characters - everything’s so contrived with them.
It’s ironic that, for a story ostensibly about rejuvenation, all I got out of it was the feeling of stagnation, that it’s just more of the same old, same old, with the superficial veneer of setting it in space for a character who rarely ventures out there. Doctor Strange, Volume 1: Across the Universe is skilfully illustrated but Waid’s story is largely unentertaining guff and very forgettable.
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