Advance Review: The Death of Doctor Strange - Avengers #1

When a character dies, there is something of a void left. When it comes to the death of the Sorcerer Supreme, there is a void left for sure, a void filled with the horrors which Stephen Strange alone knew of and protected the world from. Now, the various monsters and demons that make up any number of Strange’s catchphrases roam free with the Avengers standing the line!

For those who are picking this book up off the rack because its got the word “Avengers” on it without checking out the mini-series from which this one-shot was spawned you are going to be lost and then some! For everyone else, it’s the next step to seeing who much the world relied on the good doctor. Of course, there is a flashback to an earlier meeting between to polar opposites of Strange and Stark (hey…… thats a great name for a detective style book featuring the polar opposite pair!); magic and tech were never the best of bedfellows. Throw in Thor having a bit of a crisis and a couple of Captains and Juggernauts and you get the idea of the sort of crazy that is featured.

Alex Paknadel seems to be the guy that Marvel turn to for off the wall tie-in books to their events. There is the Empyre book and the Darkhold Spider-Man book. Paknadel is possibly more know for his indie work such as the excellent Giga. You have to give Marvel some credit though; when they need a story that calls for kooky ideas with monsters included, they go to the source. Paknadel’s writing isn’t just about the erm…….strange going-ons. Paknadel also flexes his Marvel Universe muscles mixing continuity and dialogue well to form a cohesive whole, well at least cohesive for this mini-series and its impact on future elements of the story. Paknadel has the voices of the characters down well, which he does well especially considering how he isn’t a regular Marvel writer……yet!

The art is provided by Ryan Bodenheim, a Marvel veteran of sorts, who delivers a style that looks clean and smooth when there is a tighter focus on the character, but loses something when it comes to full body poses. Maybe a better camera angle would have eliminated this problem as it happens frequently. Things get better with the introduction of the various boogey men/ boogey monsters that the have it in for our little blue globe! To match the insane artistic nature, colorist Rachelle Rosenberg pulls out all the stops in the various battles. VC’s Cory Petit does what he does best; with a cast of Avengers he gets a chance to try out the usual fonts that go along with the Mightiest Heroes.

With the amount of books on the rack, which increases with every event and mini event, there is always a worry about a dip in quality, with the question “do I really need to spend more cash on a tie-in book?” I can’t say yes you should to every book, but when you see a book with Alex Paknadel’s name on it, PICK IT UP! You are guaranteed a book written by a guy who is on top of his writing game, be it indie or Marvel.

Writing – 5 Stars
Art – 3.5 Stars
Colors – 5 Stars

Overall – 4 Stars

Written by; Alex Paknadel
Art by; Ryan Bodenheim
Colors by; Rachelle Rosenberg
Letters by; VC’s Cory Petit
Published by; Marvel Worldwide Inc.

Author Profile

Johnny "The Machine" Hughes

I am a long time comic book fan, being first introduced to Batman in the mid to late 70's. This led to a appreciation of classic artists like Neal Adams and Jim Aparo. Moving through the decades that followed, I have a working knowledge of a huge raft of characters with a fondness for old school characters like JSA and The Shadow

Currently reading a slew of Bat Books, enjoying a mini Marvel revival, and the host of The Definative Crusade and Outside the Panels whilst also appearing on No-Prize Podcast on the Undercover Capes Podcast Network