Strange #2 // Review
Clea is Sorcerer Supreme of two dimensions. This makes her powerful. It also makes things tremendously complicated...a situation which she becomes even more familiar with in Strange #2. Writer Jed MacKay continues to delve into the life and struggles of the niece of Dormammu with the aid of artist Marcelo Ferreira, inker Don Ho, and colorist Java Tartaglia. Action comes front-loaded in an issue that feels a bit imbalanced with a casual conversation stringing out to several pages to the end of the chapter. The magical combat that dominates the installment is great fun. Still, the script doesn’t seem to be framing an introduction to this particular sorcerer supreme in a way that feels satisfying.
Clea really wants to bring her lover back from the dead. It’s not going to be easy. Dr. Strange was a rather powerful person tied in with many powerful forces. It’s not like he could be casually taken back into the realm of the living without powerful entities finding out. A new adversary known as The Harvestman is going to give her hell...and then there’s some question of the Blasphemy Cartel, which is still looking to play havoc in a transitional time for magic in the Marvel Universe.
MacKay knows exactly how to frame a magical combat scene. He does so with total respect for the artist to deliver overwhelming power to the page. Still, the framing of the action feels more than a bit off as 15 pages of action lead to 5 pages of sitting around with Wong in the Sanctum Sanctorum on Bleecker Street. All of the action pounds its way through the bulk of the issue, but there are WAY too many pages at the end that could have easily been edited down.
Ferreira, Ho, and Tartaglia hit the power of the action with impressive force. The magical combat between Clea, The Harvestman, and Thunderstrike in the rain hits the page at powerful angles. Tartaglia radiates the magic on the page in the midst of a hazy gray downpour. Clea appears as a combination of hero and villain with a strong sense of power, suggesting that she might have been the Sorcerer Supreme for the last 60 years. It’s awe-inspiring power. The more laid-back drama on Bleecker Street at issue’s end isn’t nearly as interesting. The art team nails the casual, restful feel of the scene, but they don’t manage to find a way to make it anywhere near as enjoyable as the combat that opens the issue.
For all its inconsistency, MacKay’s script DOES further explore a really cool idea with Clea as the ultimate authority of magic in the Marvel Universe. It’s got a substantial foundation, but MacKay seems to be moving ahead with it in a way that feels uneven. It feels lopsided with no lead-in to the attack that opens the issue and a long rest scene at the end.
