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?

[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.