Doctor Strange 11

Alternating Currents: Doctor Strange 11, Taylor and Drew

Today, Taylor and Drew are discussing Doctor Strange 11, originally released September 7th, 2016. As always, this article containers SPOILERS.

Taylor: To say that modern movie making has changed the course of comic books would be an understatement. Once wrongfully believed to be the bastion of solely nerds and misfits, the world of comics has now opened up to broader audiences with the wide appeal and easy entry point movies have offer. It’s easy to assume that the scripts for these movies are plundered from the rich depths of over a half a century of serial publication, but that assumption wouldn’t be entirely accurate. As the Civil War movie shows, movies frequently influence their panelled brethren. The Civil War II comic event, while totally independent from the movie, certainly has been influenced by the film, and that comes as no surprise. Marvel has money to make. And though it’s true that the Civil War movie was based on an earlier comic, it’s clear to see that movies, for better or worse, are influencing comics. There is no better example of this than Doctor Strange 11.

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Doctor Strange 6

doctor strange 6

Today, Spencer and Drew are discussing Doctor Strange 6, originally released March 9th, 2016.

Spencer: I’ve never really been able to get into stories about magic. Part of that is just my upbringing — they were strictly forbidden in my household growing up — but I also have trouble getting invested in the stakes. So many characters who use magic are capable of doing anything, of solving any problem effortlessly, and so many stories about magic are obsessed with defining the rules of magic while never establishing why those rules are worth caring about in the first place. Thankfully, Doctor Strange has managed to avoid both of these problems, and issue 6 especially stands out in this regard. Jason Aaron and Chris Bachalo have crafted a story about the “End of Magic” that actually shows us why the loss of magic would be a tragic blow to the Marvel Universe. Continue reading