Doctor Strange #21-24 Spider-Woman Centric Review (Spoilers)

These issues of Doctor Strange are really Spider-Woman’s tie-in to Secret Empire, as Jessica Drew and Ben Urich take over Doctor Strange’s title (Strange appears on 52 pages, Jessica appears on 46). So let us treat them as such and join me once more as I review the best book Marvel has put out during the Marvel Now/All New All Different era.

Doctor Strange #21-24: Secret Empire (Spider-Woman #18-21: A Strange Tale)

Writer: Dennis Hopeless

Artist: Niko Henrichon

Letterer: Cory Petit

Cover Artists: Chris Bachalo & Tim Townsend & Java Tartaglia (21) & Niko Henrichon (22-24)

Editors: Nick Lowe & Darren Shan & Allison Stock

Editor-In-Chief: Axel Alonso

Twenty sided words does not change the fact this plan failed, Doc: Our story opens with Manhattan enclosed in a Darkforce shroud. Magic has been weakened during Jason Aaron’s run on Doctor Strange, but this does not stop Strange from giving his all to defend the citizens from the demons that roam the dark streets of Manhattan. While Strange fights on the streets, Jessica Drew leads an assault to reclaim the Sanctum Sanctorum from Baron Mordo. By her side is Ben Urich and Daredevil, but Daredevil is quickly captured by Baron Mordo, who is given Manhattan by Hydra’s new leader, Steve Rogers. Mordo unleashes a demigod to attack Jessica Drew and Ben Urich, causing them to flee. Doctor Strange is able to brew up a spell to break the Darkforce but it is unable to reach its destination when it crashes into the demigod chasing Jessica and Ben. They team up with Strange to finish off the demigod, but it is Wilson Fisk who strikes the killing blow. Our heroes join up with Fisk, who leads them to a magical armoury. Strange warns against using the dark magic they find there, but Fisk ignores him and is possessed. Urich manages to find a pure suit of armour, while Jessica is paired with a sentient bi-plane that feeds off people’s fears. They manage to consult with the smoke demon possessing Fisk and it agrees to help them fight Mordo. They lead an assault against Mordo, alongside Luke Cage, Iron Fist, and Cloak. Strange uses the others to lure Mordo out of the Sanctum and then reclaims it. Mordo is ousted from control of Manhattan and the story ends with Strange and Ben Urich trying to find a spell to break the Darkforce.

The Best Laid Plans Of Mice And Mordo: Oh man, I missed Jessica Drew and Dennis Hopeless. I have been less than impressed with my current review crop, but this book felt like homecoming. And Jessica barely does that much here (it is more Ben Urich’s show), but her surly voice and ability to bounce off of any character for comedic effect is still one of the best things in comic books. This time around she butts heads with Doctor Strange and Wilson Fisk, while dropping Dungeon and Dragons jokes galore. Despite this being a tie-in to the very bleak Secret Empire, there is a lot more than doom and gloom in this comic.

I would not use the word dark or gritty to describe this comic. No, I think the right word is disturbing. Niko Henrichon’s work is masterful and unlike anything else you will see in a Marvel comic right now. The modern Marvel style seems to emphasis clean figures and a minimal amount of lines; it is about what you choose to detail not how much detail you put in. Henrichon goes against that, with an incredible sketchy art style that allows him to overload the page with details. Whether it is books on a shelf in a library, a character’s facial expression, the details of a magical spell, or a nightmarish monster design, his work is filled with thick lines and detail. And he is not simply happy with creating a detailed but mundane background or a single layered monster design; no, he’ll have a detailed New York skyscraper sticking out of the mouth of a furry creature that has suction cups on its appendages and eyes on its back. Even the teeth of his creatures are detailed, with ooze leaking out of the gums, chips forming as it chews on something, or boils forming on the tongue. His creature designs are based off the work Chris Bachalo did, but quickly become his own as layers of his monsters are peeled back. And make no mistake, there is viscera galore here. Skin is stripped off the flesh of monsters and when someone or something is injured, they bleed across the page in a way that conveys a sense of motion I had not thought pictures could.

Henrichon inks and colors his own work and it is stronger for it. He uses a lot of thick shadows and inks to create the dark world our heroes find themselves in. His palette is muted but eerie, full of greys, unnatural greens and viscera. This makes natural effects in the world, like light or shattering glass stand out against the chaos. And despite taking place in the dark, Hopeless gives Henrichon several in-story reasons to cast the action in a lighter tone (Strange’s spells in the background and Fisk Tower illuminates the darkness.) And when there is no story reason for light, the action scenes become darker but never hard to follow. Then there is the unnatural effects like: electricity, dark magic, pure magic, and Daredevil’s radar sense. Each has its own colour palette and a power that leaps off the page. This keeps the world Henrichon creates visually diverse and exciting.

Henrichon’s character work is also superb. He fills this book with stoic superhero poses for nearly every hero featured, even if they appear for little more than a couple pages. His characters move in static ways, their bodies turned on angles towards the camera to keep things from looking flat on the page. He also puts his own touch on Jessica’s venom blast (a recurring trait for Spider-Woman artists) and presents it as more of a mist than an energy blast. His body language is strong and conveys the unwritten intent of Hopeless’ script, whether that is struggle or relaxation or something else entirely. In fact, Henrichon adds a lot to the story visually like creating an unnatural looking version of Strange that turns out to be an illusion, or putting in a simple detail that explains how Cloak got from trapped in a book to trapped in a supernatural bubble. There is always something going on in the background of his pages, such as Wilson Fisk’s limo moving through the pages as Jessica/Ben/Strange are thrown through the panels by an elder god.

Cory Petit does an excellent job of adding to the world that Henrichon creates. Through colouring and design, his sound effects add to the scenes. Whether it is a transparent but massive KABOOM rippling through the page, or the squeaky black of a SQUIRT as Strange exits a creature’s colon, or the light glug glug or someone drinking some water in a moment of relaxation, or the eerie blue SQUOOSH as a car embeds itself in the eerie blue brain of an elder god, it all works.

As far as the story goes, it is fairly simple; heroes team up to take down Baron Mordo and use an assortment of bizarre magic to do so. Just because the story is simple though does not mean it is not epic. This book starts off huge, with Strange fighting to free a section of Manhattan from within a monster’s stomach, where its sentient stomach acid tries to kill him. From there we have: an elder god, a sentient biplane fuelled by the souls of the people it kills, a shadow demon that possesses Wilson Fisk, Ben Urich suiting up in an armour of purity, an alliteration loving witch, Mindless ones turned into monstrous monitors, several superheroes, a laser breathing sphincter crab, and a truly epic clash between Strange and Mordo. This is a war between Marvel’s street level heroes and magic, with a depowered Strange leading the good guys. The final fight between Strange and Mordo has enough reversal of fortunes for each side that it remains exciting until the final salvo.

There is plenty of humour to keep the book from becoming too disturbing or repetitive in its endless onslaught of creatures though. Hopeless and Henrichon work in tandem to keep this bizarre mash up of disturbing and humor working. There is a scene that introduces a hilariously tacky gold plated Fisk mobile and the hilarity is only amplified by the carnage going on in the streets above them. There is perhaps an overabundance of funny characters, but Hopeless uses foils to keep the scenes from becoming too much. A stern Fisk is paired with lippy Jessica Drew and Ben Urich, and in fact the tension between Urich and Fisk is one of the best recurring plots in the story, as they go from attacking one another to defending each other. A silent Daredevil is used for a comedically cocky Mordo to sound off of and it is Mordo’s comedy that is most effective in keeping this story lighthearted. It is not until the final issue where everyone is together in the same area that the jokes becomes a bit too much (something Jessica makes note of). Another thing that helps the humour is Hopeless creates recurring jokes in the first issue that the story continually comes back to for strong punchlines. He also fills the story with Strange alluding to magic being like several things, ranging from taking a bath to boxing to music to poker. Not all of the analogies work, but the ones that do are funny.

Verdict: This is a book that is both disturbing to take in and laugh out loud hilarious. It is a bizarre mix of tones that only works because Dennis Hopeless and Niko Henrichon work together to make something unlike anything else out there. Strange’s book is overflowing with superheroes and supervillains, but Hopeless never loses sight of Strange as he leads Marvel’s street level heroes into a magical battle. Jessica Drew and Ben Urich shine as brightly as they ever did during Spider-Woman. Although the humour constantly threatens to be just a bit too much, Hopeless uses foils to keep everyone in check. If you were a fan of his Spider-Woman, or a fan of the disturbing, you have to check out this story.

Pros: