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Deadman
This was originally collected in a 1980s mini-series, and has only recently been released in a hard cover collection -- as such, because I'm too lazy to move it, my review is still in my great comic book sagas section.

The Death of Captain Marvel 1982 (SC GN) 64 pages

Written and illustrated by Jim Starlin.
Colours: Steve Oliff. Letters: James Novak. Editor: Al Milgrom.

Rating: * * * 1/2 (out of 5)

Number of readings: 1

Additional notes: Originally published as Marvel Graphic Novel #1, tabloid dimensions.

This was later included, along with the contents of the TPB The Life of Captain Marvel, in the TPB The Life and Death of Captain Marvel.

Published by Marvel Comics

The Death of Captain Marvel -- featuring Marvel Comics' alien hero, Mar-vell (as opposed to the Big Red Cheese) -- was Marvel's first official foray into the realm of the "graphic novel" (well, other than 1978's Lee & Kirby Silver Surfer opus) -- published in over-sized tabloid dimensions, with sturdier paper and richer colours than were (then) the norm in monthly comics. It begat what, for a time, was a regular series of "Marvel Graphic Novels" which encompassed projects featuring their regular heroes as well as independent tales.

It was also rather blatantly audacious -- or smugly self-indulgent depending on your point of view -- in that the title says it all. This wasn't a story where Captain Marvel has some grand adventure and then gets killed unexpectedly in the climax in a shocking twist. The title tells us this is the end of Marvel, and that's what the story is.

Furthermore, this isn't an adventure saga rife with twists and turns. There are a couple of minor fight scenes, but really this is a low-key drama as Mar-vell discovers he has terminal cancer -- no super villain to fight, no universe-shattering scheme to be thwarted. Just a wasting illness.

And the result is...mostly a success, without quite being the graphic classic one suspects writer/artist Jim Starlin (and Marvel Comics) was hoping for. (Starlin himself was recently quoted as citing this as among his most personal works).

After all, to take a super hero and tell this sort of a story smacks a little of pretention, of "hey, kids, this ain't your usual four colour fantasy fest". And some of that can be a little self-conscious, as the characters themselves remark how no one expects a super hero to die from something as mundane as disease. And Starlin even does it in a way that one could question whether it's true to the characters. After all, would Spider-Man (in a small appearance) -- surely the most "human" of super heroes -- need to be lectured about how super heroes are just people under their costumes?

Still, as a drama, Starlin succeeds in capturing the essence of the concept and dilemma, Mar-vell's mix of bitterness...and resignation, and the reaction of those around him, from former sidekick, Rick Jones, to other super heroes. There are moments of sensitivity, of realism, without straying too often into blatant manipulation or maudlinism as could so easily happen in such a story. And Starlin is a solid artist.

But, I suppose, the weakness with the tale, at least in execution, is that though Starlin has produced some great, even classic comics...he is not automatically, inherently, a flawless talent. And so for a tale that, somewhat pompously, wants to transcend its genre...it is still hamstrung by it. The dialogue, though sometimes very good, other times seems like "comic book" dialogue. And though Starlin is always a solid artist, his figures can be a bit stiff at times, and over-muscled, the faces a bit distorted. Though, curiously, I was going to remark that in storytelling and moody panel composition, this isn't maybe Starlin's best work (that would probably be his early Adam Warlock run). But flipping through the book again, I think I'm being overly judgemental, because there is some nice use of close ups and angles.

There are also a few (minor) narrative inconsistencies...like one scene having Mar-vell suggest his Kree race has no cure for his condition...then later suggesting they would refuse to help him.

And I suppose the other weakness is simply inherent in the conceit of the concept. Being simply a chronicle of Mar-vell's final days, as a "plot" there's not too much to it, no room for twists or turns (other characters work on developing a treatment but, of course, it's a forgone conclusion they'll fail). Starlin fills up some time with Mar-vell dictating his memoirs -- appropriate in a tale bringing an end to his saga to include a recap of that saga.

But The Death of Captain Marvel succeeds on the basic level of storytelling, or entertainment (if you'll excuse such a description in this context)...of holding your interest enough to get you turning the pages, and to let you close the book feeling emotionally bestirred. Which is why I say it is mostly a success.

After being first published in an over-sized tabloid format (and going through a few printings), I believe it was re-released in regular comic book dimensions...and then subsequently included in the TPB The Life and Death of Captain Marvel.

Original cover price: $6.95 CDN./$5.95 USA.

Written by Brian K. Vaughan. Pencils by Marcos Martin. Inks Alvaro Lopez.
Colours: Javier Rodriguez. Letters: Willie Schubert. Editor: Tom Brevoort.

Reprinting: the five issue mini-series (2006-2007)

Rating: * * * * 1/2 (out of 5)

Number of readings: 1

Published by Marvel Comics

Largely buried in the hype surrounding Marvel's Civil War company crossover, was this Doc Strange mini-series (the good doctor currently without a regular comic) that is completely isolated from all the Civil War hoohah.

On learning his faithful manservant, Wong, has an incurable brain tumor, Strange endeavors to secure a mystical elixir -- and ends up with a possible universal cure-all; a cure which is then stolen, leading Strange, Wong, and the Night Nurse (a character whose secret clinic ministers to the city's super heroes) to track it down and find the villain behind it all.

The Oath, to put it bluntly -- is very good.

Vaughan manages to tell a tale that is both entertaining for Strange fans -- and easily accessible for those who've never heard of him before (thanks in part to the Night Nurse acting as an outsider, unfamiliar with Strange and his world). Admitedly, it's not like Strange has a particularly complex or confused continuity that needs to be grappled with. But the villain and the plot are entirely original to this story, even as it ties into and arises from Strange's history. In fact, Vaughan ties it into Strange's pre-hero backstory (as an arrogant physician who lost his surgical skill after an accident), something which I'd never seen another Strange story do.

The story is well-paced with some twists and turns, lots of humourous quips, yet touching on some profond dilemmas, and where the villain is surprisingly complex and nuanced in his goals and motivations. There are clever ideas, and memorable scenes that really make this live as a story -- not just this month's adventure of a long standing character (the climax between Strange and the villain is cleverly unexpected). By cutting between past and present, the scenes adding to our understanding of each, it generates a certain sense of complexity. In this day and age, there are a lot of minor stories that are stretched out (or "decompressed") to fill out a series of issues, but this is a five issue series that truly seems to warrant five issues -- no more, no less. And though I picked it up all at once, there's enough going on per issue that, had I collected it monthly, I think I would've felt the chapters justified the purchase (unlike some stories which are so thin, they read best as a collected volume).

The story isn't without its flaws. For one thing, it's obviously a bit awkward setting up a story involving a universal cure all -- because the ending is sort of a foregone conclusion (unless Marvel wants to radically alter its reality -- which, I suppose it has more than once). But even if we suspect the cure won't, ultimately, save humanity, the how and why remains a question we need to read the story to discover. Not to mention "who" is the villain and "will Wong be saved?"

As mentioned, there's a lot of humour at work -- which is fine, making some scenes fun. But it's the kind of humour that can seem a bit too self-aware, undermining the sense of reality, or drama, as characters utter an ironic quip when faced with a monster. As such, the story lacks some of the sense of an ineffable universe or surreal realms and heady philopsophies, that some Strange stories evoke. Oh, there's adventure, and mystical battles, and occasional journies into strange dimensions, but it's more an adventure than a mystical odyssey. Yet, at the same time, by wrapping the story around Strange's past, and remembering his oath as a physician, and his loyalty to Wong, it's also much more concerned with Strange as a person than some Strange sagas.

So it may not be the definitive Strange-the-sorcerer saga, but it might be vieing for the the definitive Strange-the-man saga.

Or, at least, A man. After all, with, as noted, the penchant for witty banter and quips, as well as a slightly ruthless streak (Strange at one point commenting he has little patience for the law) one could quibble about whether this really reflects the Stephen Strange as written by, say, Englehart, or Stern, or others. Different writers always put their own spins on characters, so it's not that this isn't Dr. Strange...just maybe not the quintessential take on his personality.

As well, Wong is given a much more prominent, substantial role than he often gets in Strange stories (which is nice).

The art by Marcos Martin is also quite effective and appealing. He maybe doesn't quite conjure a dreamlike world of magic and mystery, but he tells the tale well, with a nice eye for story telling. His style is somewhat simple, or maybe spartan is a better description, reminding me a bit of Steve Rude, though a bit rougher. But as I say, it's lively and effective.

The introduction of the Night Nurse character is an interesting addition to the Marvel "reality" -- and presumably a joke on the fact that Marvel once published a romance comic called Night Nurse.

There are a lot of fans in comicdom who seem to value continuity above all else. A "great" story is one that has a significant impact on the characters' reality, a "must read" is one that has repercussions for many stories to come. But to me -- too often -- such stories tend to be weak as stories, too concerned with the big picture, the writer too interested in making his "mark" on a character, and leaving the fundamentals of storytelling forgotten. The Oath takes a character that isn't currently starring in a monthly title...and leaves him petty much as it found him (well, there is one "significant" thing). And that's partly why I regard it as a good -- nay, a great -- tale. Because it's a story in and of itself, and a well plotted story that unfolds and develops before you, offering a few surprise twists, jumping between past and present, with a few philosophical ruminations, some witty quips and adventure, a story about a big idea filtered through the humanity of its protagonists -- or is that vice versa? It exists for its own sake -- not to sell the next company crossover, or to advertise the next mini-series. As mentioned, it is simultaneously aimed at Doc Strange fans -- and acts as a perfectly accessible introduction for those unfamiliar with him.

In short, it's a true graphic novel. And I like that.

This is a review of the story as it was originally serialized in the mini-series.

Cover price: ___

Written by Steve Englehart. Pencils by Frank Brunner. Inks by Dick Giordano, others.
Colours: various: Letters: John Costanza, Tom Orzechowski. Editor: Roy Thomas.

Reprinting: Marvel Premiere #9, 10, 12-14, Doctor Strange (2nd series) #1, 2, 4, 5 (1973-1974)

Rating: * * * * (out of 5)

Number of readings: 2

Additional notes: intro by Peter Sanderson; cover gallery.

Published by Marvel Comics

A Separate Reality collects a nine issue run (skipping a couple of reprint filler issues) that marked the beginning of writer Steve Englehart's tenure telling tales of comicdoms most successful sorcerer, Dr. Strange, and reprinting the entirety of artist Frank Brunner's run on the character. The two took up the reins in mid-story, meaning the collection begins toward the end of a multi-issue arc as Strange searches for his missing mentor, the Ancient One. After that it surges into two separate story arcs that take the good doctor into realms head trippy and, even, provocative.

Doctor Strange had always been a character with one foot in psychedelia. So much so that some hippy era fans of the original stories by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko couldn't believe the stories were churned out by two middle-aged guys whose idea of "hard drugs" was probably extra-strength Tylenol. But those stories, and subsequent ones by Roy Thomas and others, never really married the weirdness with any deeper sensibilities.

By the 1970s, comic creators -- particularly at Marvel -- like Steve Gerber and Jim Starlin were moving mainstream heroes into decidedly more abstract directions, and Englehart and Brunner were doing the same with Dr. Strange. The first couple of issues, concluding the quest for the Ancient One, toy around with some weird ideas and images, but the storytelling itself is a bit cluttered. By the end of the story, Strange has been promoted from simply Master of the Mystic Arts to full fledge Sorcerer Supreme, a change that promised adventures to come of a more cosmic scale.

Englehart's writing can seem a bit too, well, comicbooky at first, while Brunner's art is uneven. Though Brunner has become something of a legend, perhaps because his work in the field was so fleeting, I wasn't as fully impressed. Oh, there's still good work, but I wouldn't say it was on the same level of realism as, say, Neal Adams, or of cosmic grandeur as, say, Jim Starlin -- Brunner's contemporaries. In fact, Brunner's successor on Dr. Strange, Gene Colan, easily did as good if not better work.

The next three issues, however, begin to deliver. The story starts out, as before, a bit clunky, though entertaining, but gets better as it goes along, as Strange and one of his arch-foes, Baron Mordo, become caught up in the scheme of Sise-neg, a time traveller from the distant future who is travelling backward through time, absorbing all magic as he goes, hoping to achieve godhood by the time he reaches the end of his trip -- the origin of the universe! Strange and Mordo become advocates, both trying to exert influence over Sise-neg, his power increasing exponentially as he travels backward through human history -- Strange to persuade him towards benevolence, Mordo toward malevolence.

The final, four issue saga (from Dr. Strange #1, 2, 4, 5) is the best, definitely weird and head trippy, as Strange is attacked by a religious fanatic convinced sorcerers are evil, their initial conflict leaving Strange hovering near death. He sinks into a nightmare realm of Unreality and eventually confronts Death itself.

By this point Brunner's art is much more accomplished (perhaps benefitting from Dick Giordano's inks) and the cosmic/psychedelic scenes more awesome. And Englehart's writing seems more sure as well. Though there was at least one vague bit. In Unreality, Strange concludes the people he sees are products of his subconscious, yet there's a (unsettling) nightmarish sequence where he encounters people unable to die that seems almost as though we are meant to take them as literal. Reflecting on it, I think not, I think they are still products of Strange's sub-conscious, their significance -- and what they reflect of Strange's psyche -- made clearer in the next reprinted issue. But it's never fully articulated, which is awkward.

In addition to the mood, adventure, and weirdness, there are underlying attempts to tackle deeper concepts of life, death, destiny. Though Englehart doesn't always follow through effectively. Strange achieves a higher level of consciousness and ruminates on the inter-connectedness of, and sacredness, of all life (in a nicely written passage) -- yet later zaps offending monsters fairly indiscriminantly. When Jim Starlin put Captain Marvel through a similar perception-altering experience around the same time, he did a better job of conveying a sense that the good Captain's subsequent actions were being influenced by his new philosophy. One also begins to realize why Strange was occasionally a favourite target of the religious right when decrying the corrupting influence of comics. In the early stories, Englehart throws in a villainous figure called the Living Buddha -- an oddly named character that seemed likely to strike Buddhists as just slightly sacrilegious. But that's O.K., because before he's done, Englehart will probably have offended everyone. The Sise-neg story reveals an interpretation of God that will doubtless not sit well with many hardline religious thinkers, while in the final story arc, the villain is a Christian fanatic determined that all magic users are evil -- a not unobvious comment on the very critics the comic has had over the years. Though, despite playing around with religious icons, the stories are, at the same time, suffused with ideas freely borrowed from religious thought, particularly Eastern religions.

I've long felt that Doctor Strange should be a weird, abstract comic, as much about philosophy as battles with super-villains. But though I've long enjoyed the character, I've felt the stories rarely fulfilled that image I had -- one of the closest was Doctor Strange (1970s series) #34 and perhaps #54. But these vintage stories come closer to that vision. They start out a bit uneven, with big ideas, but lacking discipline, but get better as they go, tackling grandiose and audacious concepts and ruminating on reality itself...all within the confines of 30 year old, Comics Code Approved stories. And that's all I have to say to the modern-is-better/Vertigo crowd.

Cover price: $28.75 CDN./ 17.95 USA

Doctor Strange: What is it That Disturbs You, Stephen?1997 (SC GN) 48 pages

Written by Marc Andreyko. Plot and Art by P. Craig Russell.
Colours: Lovern Kindzierski. Letters: Galen Showman.

Rating: * * 1/2 (out of 5)

Number of readings: 1 (sort of)

Additional notes: afterward by Russell

Published by Marvel Comics

What is it That Disturbs You, Stephen? (or Mourning Becomes Electra) has Marvel's sorcerer supreme, Doctor Stephen Strange, lured to another dimension by the kidnapping of his manservant, Wong. Once there, an evil sorceress attempts to acquire his aide in battling her benign sister for a deserted city, Ditkopolis.

The background for this graphic novel is important to note. Back in the 1970s, young artist P. Craig Russell conceived a Dr. Strange story which saw life as Dr. Strange Annual #1 (1975) -- a thirty five page story drawn by Russell and written by Marv Wolfman, based on Russell's plot. Russell was unsatisfied by the finished product which had left out some scenes he had envisioned. Eventually he persuaded Marvel to let him take another whack at it, this time with writer Marc Andreyko, and the result was this 48 page graphic novel.

I had read the original comic, having tracked it down because I wanted to see Russell draw a Doc Strange story -- because I thought if ever there was an artist born to drawn Dr. Strange, it was Russell (having seen his stylish and surreal art on a comicbook adaptation of Michael Moorcock's sword & sorcery hero, Elric).

The story, as originally told in the Doctor Strange Annual, was intriguing, but flawed, and I could well imagine why Russell would want to try and get it right. But here's where I misunderstood. I assumed Russell meant to re-imagine the story, to tell a tale like that long ago annual, but not really. Instead, this is the same story: same scenes, same plot progression. Reading the afterward by Russell, he makes no bones about the fact that he had originally intended to just get Marvel to reprint the original story, but with a few new scenes added. He only decided to re-do the whole story after feeling (one infers) his style had sufficiently changed in the last twenty years that it would look awkward to try and mix and match old pages with new.

As such, this graphic novel is a bit of a disappointment in that it's basically a story I've already read. The only major change is that in the original comic, Strange is dragged into the story by the kidnapping of his apprentice and lover, Clea. But since Clea is no longer a part of Dr. Strange's stories, manservant Wong is the kidnappee this time. As well, Russell and Andreyko have added a little more background, explaining some things that were left ambiguous in the original.

To be fair, my review is somewhat skewed. Most people who might buy What is is That Disturbs You, Stephen? are unlikely to have read the original, so the complaint that it's just a rehash of an old story is less of a valid criticism.

But my other complaints are valid. They haven't really improved on the original. The first had flaws: a kind of straightforward story, a basically one-dimensional villainess, an extended, page-consuming fight scene that could have been better turned over to adding more twists or turns to the plot, insufficient detail to explain the dimension in which the action transpires. But this has all those same flaws. Worse, it actually seems shallower, glibber than the original in which Marv Wolfman injected a little poetry to the writing, a sense of brooding. At the time of the original story, Strange was going through a bit of soul searching, and the story picked up on that. This time around, Strange seems to be pretty contented (his biggest concern is that he's lacking sufficient excitement to his life). With a weird and catchy title like "What is it that Disturbs You, Stephen?", you can be forgiven for expecting something profound and heady, a deep, philosophical odyssey, laying bare the soul of Marvel Comics' resident mystic. If that happened in this graphic novel, I must've missed it.

As an example, there's a scene in both versions in which Strange and the Sorceress are best by a sea monster. In the first, Strange reacts impulsively, and erroneously, providing an opportunity for him to reflect on his actions; in the graphic novel, the scene is just another opportunity to portray the sorceress' villainy.

Andreyko's writing is positively spartan when compared to Wolfman's. Comparing the same scenes, often utilizing similar panels, he probably employs half as much text -- less even. To some, that will be a plus, but to me, it just adds to the sense that you're getting a thinner, less involved, less mystical tale.

The plot, as noted, is straightforward. We're in no doubt who the villain is, or whether Strange should side with her. At one point he contemplates "this missing piece to the puzzle"...but the story is hardly complex enough to be considered a puzzle.

Russell's art is lovely and stylish, though even here I have mixed reactions. He's definitely more accomplished than in the original story, more sure, every line seeming to be where he intends it to go. But his current style is more stylized, and a little more stripped down in spots than it used to be. When Strange first views the mystical city of Ditkopolis (a kind of distracting gag name, derived as it is from original Dr. Strange artist Steve Ditko) it's not actually as grand and awe-inspiring as it should be. Russell renders the thing as more an outline than a detailed city of spires and weird buildings.

Despite the roughness of the earlier art, the original story seemed more sumptuous, more dreamlike.

All and all, this isn't a bad read, per se. If you're looking for a self-contained Dr. Strange story, of weird dimensions and arcane magicks, you could do worse. But like its original incarnation, it's a story that leaves you thinking how much better it could have been. And, in fact, that it was (slightly) better the first time around. Frankly, if you have the choice, pick up the original instead.

Cover price: $8.40 CDN./ $5.99 USA. 

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