#5 Thing that made me smile- Doctor Strange: The Oath
Y’know, Dr. Strange is a really cool character. Unlike the DC Universe, there aren’t a gazillion magic-type guys to fight back the forces of all the dark dimensions surrounding our own. It’s pretty much all on Dr. Strange. And he must be really, really good at it, or else we wouldn’t exist. Or he’s just lies about it all, which is cool in another way.
But Dr. Strange hasn’t been really cool for a while. He was in Avengers: Disassembled for about two seconds and stole what little glory there was from the Avengers, who deserved any glory there might have been after what they went through. Not cool. He’s in the Illuminati. Not cool. He was in a stupid Matrix rip-off mini-series which should have been Ultimate Strange but was supposed to replace the 616 origin (but thankfully didn’t) drawn by Jim Doom’s favorite artist. Definitely not cool.
But the Oath is cool. Very cool. But what else do you expect from Brian K. Vaughn, the best writer working in comics today that isn’t really considered a “superstar” (and a better writer than a lot of those that are).
I think Vaughn’s in the middle of becoming considered a superstar, and this series may go a long way in solidifying that.
What’s so impressive about him is he creates so many amazing original series and sticks with them, getting issues out on time that are really, really strong.
Plus, Pride of Baghdad is awesome.
Man, you guys need to remind me to share that theory I received in the mail that explains how Doctor Strange is like the little clue of Stan Lee’s involvement in the occult and stuff. And ever since I got the letter, I keep seeing Doctor Strange popping up more and more…