REVIEW: New Avengers Annual, #1

[CBR News]

In "New Avengers Annual" #1, Frank Barbiere and Marco Rudy reveal just how much Stephen Strange's recent transactions have affected the Sorcerer Supreme.


Full review here.

[Clea]

I agree that this is a 'must read' story for long time and new Dr. Strange fans. It captures the arrogance and hubris of his days as a surgeon, the guilt he feels when he is unable to save someone, and the extreme measures he will go to save someone now, even to the point of damaging (and possibly losing) his own soul in the process. We've seen Strange be willing to destroy himself before in order to stop a great evil and save the world (when he fought Shuma Gorath for example) and he seems to be following down that same path again now in the New Avengers. I thought the artwork in this issue perfectly suited the story. I especially like how the color drains out of the flashback scenes until we're seemingly seeing into the darkest, bleakest recesses of his skull. Very well done. I'd love to see this creative team do more stories with Doctor Strange in the future.

[Ravin' Ray]

I would put this up here with Stern and Mignola's Doctor Strange & Doctor Doom: Triumph and Torment as a showcase story for Strange. And speaking of Doom, I wonder if the monks were in anyway inspired by Doom's melding of science and sorcery? Could they have met him in the past, as I'm not sure they're the same monks that gave him refuge and taught him after leaving college.

[jphamlore]

The irony of Dr. Strange not having his own book is that EVERYONE goes off and turns their own books into Dr. Strange books. Bendis's own New Avengers eventually ends up being a Dr. Strange story. Matt Fraction's Defenders was more about Dr. Strange. JMS wrote Dr. Strange into his Spider-Man stories and also wrote another origin story. And now Hickman writes his own complete Dr. Strange story.

I think the only major recent Marvel writer who did not have much use for Dr. Strange was Mark Millar. I'm not sure that would have been a good fit anyways. A little further back, did Grant Morrison ever do a Dr. Strange story? Now that would have been a natural fit.

[Rheged]

This isn't written by Hickman.

[jphamlore]

This isn't written by Hickman.

You're right, but New Avengers is. And this story basically explains what is going on in New Avengers at the moment with Dr. Strange and the Great Society?

[Strangefan]

I'll admit that I don't read a lot of other characters with the frequency that I read Doctor Strange, but one thing I appreciate is that he is consistent as to why he does things the way he does. Writers may change his power levels, or his relationships, or how he behaves, but no one touches on his past. This story occurs when he still has tons of hubris in the past, but before he got money grubbing. If he has one compulsion, it is trying to fix things. Only now, instead of the "patient" paying, Stephen foots the bill, no matter what it takes. This story showed that in spades. He is willing to give literally everything of himself for another person.

It was well paced, and an excellent stand alone story for those unfamiliar with the Doctor. And for someone like me, who has waited a long time for a Strange-focused tale, it was welcome.

[Joe Acro]

My inherent problem with this story is that the Strange of the past and the Strange of the present are very similar. Oddly enough, I'd argue the man he was is a better man in this story. He's willing to use the method he thinks is best to save someone's life. He fails and he suffers for it and his reputation suffers, especially, but he seems like a good man. The current sorcerer however, does not seem like a good man. He's very troubled, very resolute, and willing to do anything to satisfy his own ends. It's the same pattern as the medical doctor, but in this case, he's twisted himself to find success, if it can be called that. He's sacrificed his own moral fiber, parts of his very soul, to defeat a demon. He became a demon to fight one. Current Strange seems dark and unlikable as a result, at least to me. He ignores the lesson of the past. He's learned nothing about death and nothing about his own limits. I don't like this man.

[Zawisza]

My inherent problem with this story is that the Strange of the past and the Strange of the present are very similar. Oddly enough, I'd argue the man he was is a better man in this story. He's willing to use the method he thinks is best to save someone's life. He fails and he suffers for it and his reputation suffers, especially, but he seems like a good man. The current sorcerer however, does not seem like a good man. He's very troubled, very resolute, and willing to do anything to satisfy his own ends. It's the same pattern as the medical doctor, but in this case, he's twisted himself to find success, if it can be called that. He's sacrificed his own moral fiber, parts of his very soul, to defeat a demon. He became a demon to fight one. Current Strange seems dark and unlikable as a result, at least to me. He ignores the lesson of the past. He's learned nothing about death and nothing about his own limits. I don't like this man.

That is EXACTLY it, Joe! Strange has tumbled or reverted in the pages of NEW AVENGERS as he has decided that if he sacrifices nothing then he has attempted nothing. This story shows how close he is to the self-centered neurosurgeon. What it doesn't show is the actual journey in between. Like I said in the review, this is a few images shy of being one of the greatest, most complete Doctor Strange stories. Those images? The change in attitude and the perversion of it.

Barbiere gives us a TOTALLY unlikeable Stephen Strange, but a powerful one. With great power. . .

[coby]

OUTSTANDING issue. I'm glad Marvel's continuing to use the Annuals to showcase the Supernatural (see recent Thunderbolts and Uncanny Avengers, also).
I was worried it'd be another origin story (which I got from the Animated film), but it wasn't, and it was awesome.
The art reminded me of Prometheus, only grittier and more watercolored. Brilliant. I loved it. This one will probably be in my Top 5 Comics of the Week.

[Clea]

My inherent problem with this story is that the Strange of the past and the Strange of the present are very similar. Oddly enough, I'd argue the man he was is a better man in this story. He's willing to use the method he thinks is best to save someone's life. He fails and he suffers for it and his reputation suffers, especially, but he seems like a good man. The current sorcerer however, does not seem like a good man. He's very troubled, very resolute, and willing to do anything to satisfy his own ends. It's the same pattern as the medical doctor, but in this case, he's twisted himself to find success, if it can be called that. He's sacrificed his own moral fiber, parts of his very soul, to defeat a demon. He became a demon to fight one. Current Strange seems dark and unlikable as a result, at least to me. He ignores the lesson of the past. He's learned nothing about death and nothing about his own limits. I don't like this man.

I admit to being dismayed at the amount of dark magic that Strange has been wielding of late. He's used dark magic in the past in his own series, but it has inevitably hurt him. There's nothing specific to prevent a Sorcerer Supreme from using dark magic, but going this route takes a terrible toll on the soul and nature of the magic user. I was not pleased when Strange was restored to his role as Sorcerer Supreme in New Avengers with the caveat that now it was okay for him to use dark magic. It's always technically been okay for him to use it if he needed to, but it's always been at an awful cost to his soul. Is there some sort of perception that having Strange use dark magic somehow makes him cooler or more of a badass character? I would hope not. I also hope that as Marvel ramps up towards releasing the Doctor Strange movie and his own title, that the writers will back off from this dark magic stuff. As we can see in this annual and in the pages of New Avengers, Strange is quite literally destroying his soul by following this path.

[Stormcrow]

Finally got to read this, and it was well worth the wait. This issue was absolutely amazing, Hannibal Tabu knows nothing!

It's the best Doctor Strange showcase in ages, the last time I enjoyed a story like this was Brian K. Vaughan and Marcos Martin The Oath mini series.

An extraordinary character exploration. But at the same time, it's building on the darker edge he's had recently. And the art from Marco Rudy... I'm just speechless.

I don't know who Axel Alonso has the upcoming ongoing pinned on, but if this creative team took on the good doctor on a monthly basis it'd be great.

[DIVINITY]

The reviewer owe's this creative team another half star, this Annual was amazing, definitely worth, 5 Stars...

[Zagreus]

Strange has gone to the dark side before, it makes for dramatic stories, it's a common trope- the magician's struggle to avoid corruption. So it was a good Strange story. Sometimes Strange does better than others- I prefer him being wise and zen, but that doesn't make for good drama I'm sure.

[Link]

This was an amazing issue. I read this then I read the latest New Avengers issue. It's really crazy to think about, how does Strange get out of this? After loosing his soul what is waiting for him after he dies? How could he redeem himself? Its not like being polite to his neighbor and treating them to a coffee will help haha. I must say now is seeming like a great time to be a strange fan.