The Sorcerer Supreme of Earth’s dimension is launching an assault on the Blasphemy Cartel. She’s not alone. She’s brought her dead husband. It’s okay, though: her late husband is working for Death, so he’s got quite a bit of power to add to hers in Strange #9. Writer Jed MacKay brings his tale to the precipice of its climax with the aid of penciler Marcelo Ferreira and inker Roberto Poggi. The mood and magic of the action is expertly conjured into the visual by colorist Java Tartaglia. MacKay and company put together a fun husband and wife magic adventure with a tasteful dash of romantic flavor. 

The Blasphemy Cartel operates out of a flying castle at the heart of an artificial storm. They call it the Emerald City. Sorcerer Supreme Clea Strange and Harvestman Stephen Strange are launching a full-scale assault on it. There are plenty of agents there to try to defend it. Director None has some pretty serious defenses, but he’s going to have to send his defenses after husband and wife in waves. They’re not going to be easy to stop. Clea wants to kill Director None. Stephen refuses to allow that to happen. With the defenses None has lined up, they might not have the option.  

The script might lack some of the cute cleverness that MacKay summoned to page and panel in previous issues. The emotional end of the story rises to prominence as the plot reaches for its big climactic end. MacKay has spent quite some time setting up this big climactic assault. There hasn’t been enough time spent on the direct connection between Clea and Stephen in the course of the action to make the big assault feel quite as intense as it could be. The mystery of Director None isn’t nearly as cool as it could be. The Blasphemy Cartel deserves a more compelling leader. 

Director None does, however, make quite an impression on the page. A glowing white figure with an empty set symbol on his forehead? Really cool and mysterious. Much of the rest of what the art team is given to manifest on the page isn’t all that intriguing. The defenses at the Emerald City aren’t nearly as cool as they could be. All of the defenses that husband and wife are cutting through look more or less identical. The romance between Clea and Stephen feels warm enough, though. The radiance of Tartaglia’s color lends a lot of magic to the visuals.

Again--it really feels like MacKay is leaning in the direction of bringing Stephen back as Sorceror Supreme. Clea doesn’t seem nearly as fascinating in this issue as she has in previous issues. It begins to feel like MacKay might even be losing interest in her, which is really too bad as she’s been a hell of a lot more interesting than he’s been in quite some time. With any luck, MacKay or some other writer can take a closer look at Clea in the months to come before Stephen’s inevitable return to the center of Bleecker Street.

Grade: B