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| DOCTOR STRANGE No. 5, April 2016 |
It is evident from his narrative for Issue Five of
“Doctor Strange” that Jason Aaron has some very strong views as to the price
magic user’s must ordinarily pay for the use of their supernatural abilities
within the ‘Marvel Universe’. Indeed almost the entirety of this twenty-page
periodical’s opening half is dedicated to reinforcing the Sorcerer Supreme’s
realisation that “every punch comes with a cost” when he is forced to use
Atlantean Black Magic in order to stop the dread Dormammu “a few years ago” and
subsequently suffers the grisly ‘sight’ of having his eyes bleed; “Oh. Okay.
That’s new.”
However, the Alabama-born writer’s belief that this
mystical tab would eventually lead to the manservant of Steve Ditko’s
co-creation covertly setting up a Himalayan-based “Secret Disciples of Strange”
simply to spread the mutilating side-effects of the former surgeon’s conjuring
across more than “a dozen monks” must have baffled many of this comic book’s 47,933
readers, and is arguably taking the magic-users need to persistently barter
away his “soul and sanity”, a “price he can’t possibly pay on his own”, a step
too far. It’s certainly somewhat dispiriting to believe that without these
human “batteries to be used up and tossed away” the New Avenger would have died
from over-exerting his magical abilities many years ago…
Fortunately the American author does eventually follow up
this rather heavy-handed “Pound Of Flesh” sub-plot with a tense, if not
somewhat short, action sequence concerning a pack of Witchfinder Wolves
ambushing Strange in the Temple of Watoomb. Somewhat comical in its depiction
of the Doctor’s “dwindling number of [magical] tools”, and disorientating
failure to cast “the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak” and “Mystic Mists of Munnopor”.
The claustrophobic confrontation does at least allow the mighty magician to
once again demonstrate the power of his famous “Eye of Agamotto”.
Tasked with illustrating such an arguably lack-lustre
script, Chris Bachalo certainly produces plenty of well-detailed breakdowns
with which to catch any disillusioned bibliophile’s eyes. In particular the Canadian
artist seems to enjoy populating his panels with occasional nods to the New
York-based publisher’s rich history, such as his Jack Kirby-inspired Wundagore
architecture and his hidden glimpse of the red-eyed Man-Thing deep within the
Florida Everglades.
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| The variant cover art of "DOCTOR STRANGE" No. 5 by Michael Cho |
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