Magic is under assault. Magic is dying.

Doctor Strange : The Last Days of Magic (Issues #6-#10)
Jason Aaron | 2016 | 168 Pages

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The Plotlastdaysofmagic

Doctor Strange, Earth’s Sorcerer Supreme is at the center of an attack staged by the science-obsessed Empirikul. Magic is disappearing from all planes, and only one man can keep it from disappearing forever. Three guesses on who.

Highlights

Doctor Strange is a great character- a magical dude with a sense of humor who is slapped into the middle of a world filled with mutants, superheroes, and whatever else Marvel concocts. He has a crazy house, some weird buddies, and a mission to serve as Earth’s magical defense. So just starting out with that protagonist is always a plus.

Another plus? The art. The contrasts between worlds is well felt and the magical occurrences are appropriately vibrant and bizarre. It added to the story that was itself a little lacking, highlighting visually the differences between the various settings and dimensions and promoting the action and carnage that eventually results.

Downsides

I missed Zelma, and several other members from volume 1. The new characters are barely introduced. Furthermore, the plot seemed a bit bland compared to the previous adventure, and perhaps not as world-affecting as it should have been. With the magic literally gone the story just wasn’t as exciting, and the reveals about the Empirikul were just very…. huh? The whole thing boils down to science vs. magic, but it didn’t make a whole ton of sense from a motivation standpoint. Also, I know that all comics can’t be goofy and fun non-stop, but after a more light-hearted turn in Volume 1, this arc just seemed grim.

Should You Read This?

If you enjoyed Volume 1 then this might be worth your reading time. It wasn’t as fun as the opening arc, but I still plan to continue with the series.

If you haven’t read anything on Doctor Strange yet and want to, go back and pick up the first volume of this series. (And I would recommend other, classic Strange if I had ever read any… I’m a newb myself when it comes to that character, so this is what you get!).