Review – Doctor Strange #6 (Marvel)

Publisher: Marvel Comics
Writer: Mark Waid
Artwork: Javier Pina
Lettering: VC’s Joe Sabino
Release Date: 3rd October 2018

Doctor Strange has returned home to find… another Doctor Strange?

Following his exploits in space, Stephen Strange has returned to Earth, completely re-powered and stronger than ever before. But why is there another Doctor Strange in the Sanctum Santorum, what does all this have to do with an old friend that Strange failed in their time of need, and will this past mistake lead to the death of Strange’s future?

Okay then… the kid gloves are off. The first arc of Waid’s Strange run is in the books and now it’s time to get into the real meat of this series. I’m happy to report that this is a solid issue, providing a promising start to a very interesting new arc.

Reviewing this book is a surprising challenge because Mark Waid has done something I really didn’t expect. He’s actually brought back old continuity. Eight years ago, Waid did a four-issue miniseries called Strange: The Doctor is Out! It was a pretty good read, but the series ended with a lingering plot point… until now.

After eight years in the real world and Strange’s life the book finally answers the miniseries’ long-standing question and provides Strange with a new threat which is powerful, dangerous and extremely personal. In the end if you’ve been following Strange since the turn of century then you’re about to be rewarded tenfold

But while Waid crafts himself a high stakes personal epic, art duties this issue are being covered by Javier Pina and he does a great job. After Jesus Saiz’s extra-terrestrial adventure, the art here feel more down to Earth, and while the colours don’t pop quite as well Saiz’s work the book still looks really good. This is never more apparent than in a sequence near the end of the issue where we see some other dimensions which push the scope of what Pina can convey.

This issue to me feels like a mission statement, with a battle between Waid’s new Strange and the Strange of the Aaron/Cates run. What you knew before was great but it’s time to move on. Waid kills the old with the new in a way that solves longstanding questions from years ago and brings old characters back in new and very interesting ways. This arc is going to be good, so I’d highly recommend picking it up.

Rating: 4/5.

The writer of this piece was: Jonathan Mullen
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