 |
| DOCTOR STRANGE No. 3, February 2016 |
Initially penned as a seemingly fun, light-hearted romp
which goes quite a way to illustrate just how “super thrilled” Jason Aaron was
to be writing the series, Issue Three of “Doctor Strange” increasingly turns more serious with each passing scene until it almost inevitably ends with the titular
character travelling to Fandazar Foo and
discovering that the world and its entire magical population are dead. Indeed, not even the Magister Miracle from the Eighteenth Dimension, Zelatrix Lavey of the Lower
Aether or the Lords of Wyrd from Beyond the Purple Veil, “sorcerers
supreme” all, have managed to survive whatever mysterious disaster has befallen the "nexus point between dimensions.”
Such an incredible transition from the farce of an
entirely naked Master of the Mystic Arts running through Central Park to a
sad-faced Stephen mourning beside the remains of his former supernatural friends
as they dangle speared to a group of trees, is tremendously well-written by the
Alabama-born author, and few of this book’s 57,135 fans would have perceived
the subtle darkening in tone as the twenty-page periodical progressed until it’s
depressingly bleak conclusion; “What in all the Cosmos has the power to execute
the most powerful sorcerers known to man?” Certainly none would have
anticipated such a chilling climax to “Eaters Of Magic” when they first
encounter the former “preeminent surgeon” enthusiastically slicing his way through hungry Een’Gawori
slugs with the Axe of Angarruumus before both his physical
body and Wong have been consumed by the “creatures that aren’t native to
this dimension.”
Indeed, apart from “an increasing number of incidents
involving rare mystical creatures crossing dimensional borders and an enigmatic
interference with his magical abilities”, there’s little suggestion that such a
calamitous event has befallen Fandazar Foo until Doctor Strange and his valet (once
again) open the door to supposedly “a world overflowing with magic” and instead
find it desolately lifeless and looking remarkably similar in appearance to when
C.S. Lewis’ Jadis, the White Witch, “froze Narnia in the Hundred Years Winter”.
Just as masterful as Aaron’s script are Chris Bachalo’s wonderful colourful pencils, which stunningly support and dramatically emphasise this storyline’s de-evolution into a somewhat morosely macabre tale. Bright
and bouncy despite the primary protector of Earth’s “full front nudity”, the
Canadian illustrator’s vibrantly warm palette turns increasingly cold as the comic’s
plot thickens until its bold blues and pulsating purples are unreservedly replaced
with inert whites and gloomy greys.
 |
| The variant cover art of "DOCTOR STRANGE" No. 3 by Tim Sale |
No comments:
Post a Comment