Strange Academy #10 - Marvel Comics

STRANGE ACADEMY No. 10, July 2021

As far as school field trips to Asgard go, Skottie Young’s sedentary sojourn to “the land in which the Aesir reside” probably didn’t land all that well with any readers half-expecting the title’s “best and brightest young sorcerers” to at least encounter a minor threat to their well-being during such an important visit. But whilst Volstagg’s decision to take the students to the Ram’s Den for an unofficial nosh-up does eventually lead to “a good, old-fashioned brawl” between Shaylee and some grumpy elves, this enormous punch-up is disappointingly, completely confined to a single splash page of artwork by Humberto Ramos.

Instead, the American author fills Issue Ten of “Strange Academy” with Doyle Dormammu’s sickly sweet “high school love story” and the long, drawn-out revelation that Alvi and Iric’s mother is actually the super-villainess known as the Enchantress. Both of these sub-plots are undoubtedly important for future storylines, and add plenty of extra depth to the personalities of those characters involved. However, combining the two slow-paced scenarios together to form the basis of this book’s central narrative arguably negates any energy or excitement generated by the prospect of Zelma Stanton’s pupils encountering problematic fire demons and equally as irascible Frost Giants within a confined space.

This sense of lethargy debatably starts to take its toll upon any unsuspecting bibliophile just as soon as Thor’s overweight stand-in settles down to gorge himself on one of “the finest feasts in the Ten Realms”, and despairingly doesn’t end until the comic’s incredibly rushed conclusion when Emily Bright is whisked back inside the Academy’s magical flying bus, along with her new-found boyfriend, as the vehicle hurriedly departs along the Rainbow Bridge; “We have been asked to leave Asgard immediately die to a multi-realm battle royal set off by one hot-tempered fairy.”

Fortunately, there is some comfort to be taken from the aforementioned Ramos and his marvellous layouts. The Mexican illustrator manages to incorporate all the lavish Medieval-era grandeur expected of a sight-seeing tour of “one of the God Realms”, and also imbues the Enchantress with all the loving, gentle touches of a mother who is genuinely “concerned when a prophecy surfaces possibly involving one of my sons.”

The regular cover art of "STRANGE ACADEMY" #10 by Humberto Ramos & Edgar Delgado