Comics Day, March 2007 - Dr. Strange, The Oath

Gots my comics today. I won't list them all because I plan to review them as I read them, but I'm taking it easy because I only got a few of them. I got as many as I subscribe to, mind you, just that - with cover prices averaging between $2.99-3.99 - I can't afford too many, so I'm not going to burn through them all in one day. Sad, isn't it? And I get a pretty good discount for advance ordering...

Nevertheless, let's discuss Dr. Strange: The Oath, which wrapped up its 5-issue limited run in a pretty darned heroic fashion. I don't want to give anything away, but it's definitely a new chapter in the Sorcerer Supreme's ongoing life and I really enjoyed this series. Granted, I only got the last two issues, but they were well worth it and I highly recommend this one!

While it did hold true to the overall story and related legends, it didn't go overboard with all the sorcerous bits and pieces the way a lot of the earlier incarnations have. In case you didn't know, Strange often calls out his spells and items' names and they're always things like "The Eye of Amagotto" and "The Sinking Sands of Nishlghjtouwk" and shit like that. It's a comic book concept and is no different from other characters' catch-phrases ("Talk is cheap bub, prove it!," "By the Goddess!," "Hulk SMASH!," "It's clobberin' time!"), it's just kind of cheeseball and corny. Luckily, they kept it to a minimum and the few times they did do it, it was actually important to the story. It's one of the things about Dr. Strange which have made him so hard to get into over the years.

Again, while this issue was largely serious and action-packed, the writing is really crisp and segues nicely from the dramatic to the light-hearted. It's rated T+ (meaning for teens and above), but this is largely for the "Dark Arts" angle; Strange said "hell" in this issue, but there is no nudity, no real cursing, no real Satanic elements - it's certainly no worse than your average episode of Charmed, for instance, and quite a bit tamer than Hex.

Again, highly recommended.