Strange Academy #7 - Marvel Comics

STRANGE ACADEMY No. 7, March 2021

As tragic teenage love stories go, Issue Seven of “Strange Academy” arguably has it all, from Emily Bright’s initial sense of almost overwhelming loss at the demise of her classmate, through to her understandable adolescent anger at both the hopelessness of the situation and the role which she actually played in poor Doyle Dormammu’s death. True, Skottie Young’s storyline equally does a stellar job of disconcertingly depicting Doctor Stephen Strange as the ‘villain of the piece’ by portraying the so-called Sorcerer Supreme as a somewhat callous benefactor who verbally abuses his friends and pours much of the tragedy’s blame upon the trembling shoulders of the grieving pupil. But ultimately, even the Master of the Mystic Arts is shown to have a softer side, when he marvels at Bright’s determination to penetrate the Dark Dimension so as to save her friend’s life; “He would have loved that you tried.”

Equally as well penned is the American author’s ability to successfully weave one of the educational institution’s biggest secrets into the twenty page periodical’s plot, with his revelation that Hoggoth, must “alone feast on the cost” of the students’ use of magic just so the college can exist. This enormous “favour” to one who dwells upon the Plane of the Old One is evidently not going to end well for Strange at all, especially when the arrogant magic user effectively demands that the Tiger God eats more of the Defender’s debt by ridding Emily of the dark power which is slowly consuming her failing body.

Helping this comic’s ‘tear-jerker’ genuinely tug at the heartstrings are Humberto Ramos’ sumptuous layouts and Edgar Delgado’s gorgeous colours. The Mexican penciller really does do a first class job of sketching the emotional trauma poor Bright is experiencing when she first realises that she didn’t dream ‘the swamp, Calvin’s coat, and the Hollow’, and then later viciously verbally reprimands Zelma Stanton for fooling her into thinking she was already an invincible sorcerer, who conceitedly talked “everyone into running off and trying to save the day.” In addition, the former “Kaboom Cómics” illustrator provides Hoggoth with all the spectral majesty a reader might expect from an enormous cat-like deity, most notably when the ferocious divinity lets its full fiery temper be known to Stephen mid-way through the book.

The regular cover art of "STRANGE ACADEMY" #7 by Humberto Ramos & Edgar Delgado