Master of the Mystic Arts: Doctor Strange Appreciation 2019

[gerardoemt]

Hm, my reading of the situation is that galactus was not absorbing dimensions at all, but that the merging of science and magic is destroying some of them and causing the others to tether at edge of collapse

I really enjoyed this run. It is supposed to end in issue #20.

In the October solicitations there is an Annual #1.

What comes after? Anybody knows?

[Tulku]

I really enjoyed this run. It is supposed to end in issue #20.

In the October solicitations there is an Annual #1.

What comes after? Anybody knows?

I don't think any of us know, but the fact that they are willing to put out an Annual after ending the monthly suggests that they have not given up on the character. This suggests that Yet Another Relaunch will happen, possibly after whatever is the Next Big Event (and there is always a Big Event in the works--sigh). We all just hope and pray and call on the Vishanti for aid in the hope that the next relaunch will NOT feature another [expletive deleted] power loss storyline.

[mreddie]

My guess is that we're getting a relaunch in 2020 just as Doc 2 comes the following year after that.

[Rrobin]

My guess is that the teased “Long Live the King” thing has something to do with Dr Strange. Tom Breevolt did confirm it’s not exactly cancelled after all, a relaunch is inevitable

[Berry]

So I haven't managed to get a copy of Cate's volumes but I did manage to find most of Waid's run. I thought the first arc with the space stuff was not my cup of tea, but the oneshots were fun and the current Galactus run I quite liked, it had a back to the basics vibe to it I felt.

Back in July Brevoort vaguely said the thing wasn't ending with #20, but he might mean the annual

[mrswing]

So Doctor Strange just led the most powerful coalition of superbeings ever against Galactormammu, destroyed the universe, rebuilt it with his bare hands and got bit in his backside in a BIG way by Mephisto, reinforcing the 'magic has a price' theme that Waid has used to power this run.

And no one is talking about it??? This isn't the event to end all events??? Heck, Marvel could have used this to reboot their entire line. It's huge, it's smart, it's exciting and it doesn't need a bunch of new Mary Sue characters taking away the spotlight from the central characters of the book. Granted, it's not my favorite Barry Kitson Art ever, but it does the job in selling the cosmic awesomeness of it all. And somehow these wonderful comics get buried under all the crappy events and pointless high-profile franchise relaunches that clutter up the Marvel release schedule. Not that I'm saying these shouldn't get good numbers - but what Mark Waid has been doing for the last 17 months should get far, far more attention, love, and marketing pushes.

[Rrobin]

So Doctor Strange just led the most powerful coalition of superbeings ever against Galactormammu, destroyed the universe, rebuilt it with his bare hands and got bit in his backside in a BIG way by Mephisto, reinforcing the 'magic has a price' theme that Waid has used to power this run.

And no one is talking about it??? This isn't the event to end all events??? Heck, Marvel could have used this to reboot their entire line. It's huge, it's smart, it's exciting and it doesn't need a bunch of new Mary Sue characters taking away the spotlight from the central characters of the book. Granted, it's not my favorite Barry Kitson Art ever, but it does the job in selling the cosmic awesomeness of it all. And somehow these wonderful comics get buried under all the crappy events and pointless high-profile franchise relaunches that clutter up the Marvel release schedule. Not that I'm saying these shouldn't get good numbers - but what Mark Waid has been doing for the last 17 months should get far, far more attention, love, and marketing pushes.

Strange recreating the universe used to be his Tuesdays

Honestly I am glad this arc has been self contained, the last thing I want is it to be stretched out to a full event with numerous tie-ins. I do agree this run deserves more love though, the ending of the Galactus arc is a very effective wrap-up to a great arc in my opinion

[DigiCom]

So Doctor Strange just led the most powerful coalition of superbeings ever against Galactormammu, destroyed the universe, rebuilt it with his bare hands and got bit in his backside in a BIG way by Mephisto, reinforcing the 'magic has a price' theme that Waid has used to power this run.

I have to disagree. The whole "magic has a price" thing grew tiresome after Aaron milked it dry.

("Strange can't eat real food! Wong tortures people in secret to ease his burden!")

It's not new territory. And while the coalition was intriguing (even though Waid went through the ENTIRE arc without even a mention of the fact that Umar is Clea's MOTHER), the payoff was lame, and turned Mephisto into spoilers:

a one-trick pony who is only interested in taking people's marriages.

end of spoilers

Or maybe he only does that with spoilers:

Ditko characters.

end of spoilers

I also didn't care for the premise... that science & magic must somehow be separate, when he literally just had an adventure with someone (Kanna) who mixed them together as a matter of course.

[Doombot]

So Doctor Strange just led the most powerful coalition of superbeings ever against Galactormammu, destroyed the universe, rebuilt it with his bare hands and got bit in his backside in a BIG way by Mephisto, reinforcing the 'magic has a price' theme that Waid has used to power this run.

And no one is talking about it??? This isn't the event to end all events??? Heck, Marvel could have used this to reboot their entire line. It's huge, it's smart, it's exciting and it doesn't need a bunch of new Mary Sue characters taking away the spotlight from the central characters of the book. Granted, it's not my favorite Barry Kitson Art ever, but it does the job in selling the cosmic awesomeness of it all. And somehow these wonderful comics get buried under all the crappy events and pointless high-profile franchise relaunches that clutter up the Marvel release schedule. Not that I'm saying these shouldn't get good numbers - but what Mark Waid has been doing for the last 17 months should get far, far more attention, love, and marketing pushes.

I agree that this is a big story, involving powerful entities, and should have been noticed by someone outside this book. Especially considering Galactus had been captured by Dr Doom in Latveria in a book released during the same time as this arc...

I think the problem might be, that as much as I liked this concept and love all the characters involved, the arc itself felt small and rushed and the artwork did let it down as well. There's something I can't quite put my finger on, as all the pieces seem to be in place, but something about this arc just felt flat and I don't think it's going to be one of those memorable Dr Strange stories unfortunately. The story didn't at all feel as big or epic as the events happening should have warranted.

[matt levin]

Agreeing with Doombot, I think that for me, it was that nothing, actually, eventually mattered. The world, restored, oblivious, and Doc, perhaps he'll brood for an issue or two to the end of the series. But in the special, or annual, whatever, things'll be looking up.

[Clea]

Man. Marvel hates having Strange and Clea together so much they just had the devil OMD their relationship right out of existence.

[Frontier]

Man. Marvel hates having Strange and Clea together so much they just had the devil OMD their relationship right out of existence.

In comes the irony when the movies eventually hook them up (hopefully) .

I kind of wonder if this was mandated to write Clea out again. I don't get why Marvel is so self-conscious about her.

[Celgress]

Man. Marvel hates having Strange and Clea together so much they just had the devil OMD their relationship right out of existence.

I have a saying I think is germane - OMD ruins everything.

[MaximoffTrash]

Man. Marvel hates having Strange and Clea together so much they just had the devil OMD their relationship right out of existence.

It looks more like a memory wipe than a Reality wipe though.
Also it seems weird that he only did this to Clea, would others remember his history with Clea?

[DavidRA]

I was really hoping they'd get back together.