Strange Academy #5 - Marvel Comics

STRANGE ACADEMY No. 5, January 2021

Ultimately concentrating upon the students’ seemingly unsuccessful rescue of Calvin Morse from the mysterious Hollow cultists located in “the bayous outside New Orleans”, this twenty-page periodical’s plot probably generated a fair amount of annoyance in its audience beforehand, thanks largely to Skottie Young’s wonderful ability to pen Miss Hazel playing the innocent victim to Jericho Drumm, and Iric Brorson’s ‘holier than thou’ attitude towards some of his class-mates. Indeed, the frosty interplay between some of this comic’s considerably large cast contrasts quite wonderfully with the sudden team-bonding which subsequently takes place as the bickering children unwisely organise themselves into an ill-conceived search party.

Foremost of these ‘frustrations’ has to firmly sit with the aforementioned elderly fortune teller, who despite having purposely exposed Doyle Dormammu to some truly terrifying visions of his fiery future for her own perverted pleasure, has apparently complained to Doctor Voodoo about the consequences of her own utterly unfriendly actions. Now persistently plagued by the reoccurring prophecy herself, Miss Hazel wastes little time in lying about how she just innocently gave the Faltinian youth “a peek” at his fate and that she needs Drumm to ‘send over one of his staff to help untangle this.’

Equally as objectionable is the behaviour of the ever-condescending Iric, who has clearly already obtained a major chip on his shoulder over the success of Emily Bright with her classes. Irritated by “little miss perfect” being upset that none of the adults noticed Calvin’s disappearance, the Asgardian immediately tries to make the object of his jealously feel bad by publically highlighting that she didn’t observe her friend’s absence either, and satisfyingly gets a tremendous sock in his sanctimonious jaw for his trouble.

However, perhaps Young’s best writing comes towards the end of this comic following the students’ decision to ‘go it alone’ without their teachers, and discover the whereabouts of Morse. Literally crammed into a small rowing boat and being lead by the missing magician’s animated jacket, the increasing tension of this sinister sequence is truly palpable, and only escalates as artist Humberto Ramos pencils the party being ‘picked off’ one by one; “It took her! Something took Dessy! She was here, and there was a branch or vine or something. It just --”

The regular cover art of "STRANGE ACADEMY" #5 by Humberto Ramos & Edgar Delgado