First Dr Strange I think I actually liked. Art wasn't for me though. ( )

My review of this book can be found on my YouTube at:

https://youtu.be/1NGac2tk8Fs

Enjoy! ( )

Dr Strange: The Way of the Weird
Author: Aaron & Bachalo
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Publishing Date: 2016
Pgs: 136
Dewey: 741.5973 DOC
Disposition: Irving Public Library - South Campus - Irving, TX
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REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS
Summary:
Only Doctor Strange can protect our world from the darkness beyond - now, witness the full toll that constant struggle takes on Earth's Sorcerer Supreme! Every spell cast comes at a cost, but what happens when Strange falls behind on his tab? Find out as the good doctor wakes up somewhere very odd, nearly naked - with no spell books, no weapons and no memory of how he got there...or why all the monsters are chasing him! And as a new visitor to Strange's Sanctum Sanctorum learns one wrong door can lead to oblivion, a magic circle of Strange's friends and allies are about to face their greatest threat. Dark forces are destroying everything mystical in the multiverse, and their sights are set on this dimension. Magic's days are numbered, and Doctor Strange is not ready!
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Genre:
Marvel Comics
Graphic Novels
Superhero
Occult

Why this book:
Always loved Dr Strange, both on his own and as part of The Defenders.
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Cover and Interior Art:
"I mean you no harm" and he conjures a giant teddy bear to block the path of the thing trying to eat him. I love Dr Strange when the writer and artist go for it.

Plot Holes/Out of Character:
Wouldn't it be OOC for the Doctor not to be able to sense a Sorcerer Supreme from a different dimension opening a door inside the Sanctum Sanctorum?

Favorite Scene:
Love the exchange, are those snakes on your coffee table, do not talk to the snakes, and the snakes respond by hitting on her and trying to get her to stop and talk to them.

Favorite Concept:
So...Stephen has Boxers of Levitation? I'm sure they are just made to look like the sentient Cloak of Levitation. ... ...course, it has shown a propensity to alter its shape and fit when it wants to. :/ And now I'm left wondering why the Cloak would choose to morph itself into a pair of boxer shorts on Strange's body... :/ ...course if he was naked and running for his life from a mystical entity, maybe it would be protecting his dignity...IDK. It's an interesting conundrum. And I can tell you when I picked up this book, I didn't expect to be typing about Stephen Strange's boxer shorts. But here we are.

Hmm Moments:
Sending the soul eaters to feed on the child molesters in Rikers Island after he got them out of the possessed child is more vigilante justice than what I’d usually expect from Doctor Strange.

Using her as bait for the psychic energy-eating mind maggots. Uhm, what about the Hippocratic oath, or does that not apply to the Sorcerer Supreme?

WTF Moments:
The way Strange sees the world would drive most people mad. The idea of there being spiritual mites and parasites is icky, to say the least.
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Last Page Sound:
I hate TPBs and Graphic Novels that end in cliffhangers with the story unfinished. I hate novels that do the same thing. This was awesome…right up until they did that. Sigh.
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I've always loved Dr. Strange, and maybe some of that's because he's such a different animal from most of the Marvel superheroes. Very often, reading Dr Strange comics is an exercise in frustration, because either the author just doesn't have the imagination to come up with a wild enough storyline to engage me, or the artist can't produce the visuals needed to get that otherworldlyness across.

Jason Aaron has come up with an interesting story. I'm not sure I exactly like the way he actually voices the good doctor, as he's a bit too flippant for my tastes, but Aaron digs into some wonderfully weird stuff, and has a great sense of showing how the magic sits alongside our own, more mundane world.

And Chris Bachalo's art just completes it wonderfully. Again, not sure I'm a fan of the Frank Zappa facial hair, but I can live with it. But aside from that, the art is...well...strange. And exactly what the doctor ordered.

Yeah, sorry, couldn't help myself on either of those last two pathetic jokes.

Anyway, overall, I think these two make a great team, and I'm anxious to read the next volume. ( )

Okay I'll bite.
Still... I have minor petty complaints:
1. Why is Strange wearing rugged work boots?
2. Why does Strange look... weird?
I don't know, maybe I've been reading too much gritty Vertigo Constantine and Swamp Thing from the 90s, and it's making Marvels magical and supernatural realms a bit cartoony? Maybe that's what they're going for? Nonetheless looking forward to reading more Strange. ( )