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Doctor Strange (2015) (Collected Editions)
Doctor Strange, Vol. 2: The Last Days of Magic
They've crossed the dimensions, purging each of all sorcery. Now the Empirikul are here. And with Earth's Master of the Mystic Arts weakened beyond measure, is there any chance of stopping them? The Sorcerer is no longer Supreme, and he'll find himself at the mercy of the Imperator! With his magic destroyed and his world on the brink of disaster, are there any more tricks left up Strange's sleeves? Or failing that, how about some cool weapons? Plus: As the Empirikul wreak havoc on magic users across the Marvel Universe, discover Wong's ultimate sacrifice, watch Brother Voodoo make a stand, and meet a new player just as she's about to lose the game!
COLLECTING: DOCTOR STRANGE6-10 and DOCTOR STRANGE: LAST DAYS OF MAGIC #1
COLLECTING: DOCTOR STRANGE6-10 and DOCTOR STRANGE: LAST DAYS OF MAGIC #1
168 pages, Hardcover
First published October 25, 2016
59 people are currently reading
643 people want to read
About the author
Jason Aaron
2,360 books1,682 followersJason Aaron grew up in a small town in Alabama. His cousin, Gustav Hasford, who wrote the semi-autobiographical novel The Short-Timers, on which the feature film Full Metal Jacket was based, was a large influence on Aaron. Aaron decided he wanted to write comics as a child, and though his father was skeptical when Aaron informed him of this aspiration, his mother took Aaron to drug stores, where he would purchase books from spinner racks, some of which he still owns today.
Aaron's career in comics began in 2001 when he won a Marvel Comics talent search contest with an eight-page Wolverine back-up story script. The story, which was published in Wolverine #175 (June 2002), gave him the opportunity to pitch subsequent ideas to editors.
In 2006, Aaron made a blind submission to DC/Vertigo, who published his first major work, the Vietnam War story The Other Side which was nominated for an Eisner Award for Best Miniseries, and which Aaron regards as the "second time" he broke into the industry.
Following this, Vertigo asked him to pitch other ideas, which led to the series Scalped, a creator-owned series set on the fictional Prairie Rose Indian Reservation and published by DC/Vertigo.
In 2007, Aaron wrote Ripclaw: Pilot Season for Top Cow Productions. Later that year, Marvel editor Axel Alonso, who was impressed by The Other Side and Scalped, hired Aaron to write issues of Wolverine, Black Panther and eventually, an extended run on Ghost Rider that began in April 2008. His continued work on Black Panther also included a tie-in to the company-wide crossover storyline along with a "Secret Invasion" with David Lapham in 2009.
In January 2008, he signed an exclusive contract with Marvel, though it would not affect his work on Scalped. Later that July, he wrote the Penguin issue of The Joker's Asylum.
After a 4-issue stint on Wolverine in 2007, Aaron returned to the character with the ongoing series Wolverine: Weapon X, launched to coincide with the feature film X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Aaron commented, "With Wolverine: Weapon X we'll be trying to mix things up like that from arc to arc, so the first arc is a typical sort of black ops story but the second arc will jump right into the middle of a completely different genre," In 2010, the series was relaunched once again as simply Wolverine. He followed this with his current run on Thor: God of Thunder.
Aaron's career in comics began in 2001 when he won a Marvel Comics talent search contest with an eight-page Wolverine back-up story script. The story, which was published in Wolverine #175 (June 2002), gave him the opportunity to pitch subsequent ideas to editors.
In 2006, Aaron made a blind submission to DC/Vertigo, who published his first major work, the Vietnam War story The Other Side which was nominated for an Eisner Award for Best Miniseries, and which Aaron regards as the "second time" he broke into the industry.
Following this, Vertigo asked him to pitch other ideas, which led to the series Scalped, a creator-owned series set on the fictional Prairie Rose Indian Reservation and published by DC/Vertigo.
In 2007, Aaron wrote Ripclaw: Pilot Season for Top Cow Productions. Later that year, Marvel editor Axel Alonso, who was impressed by The Other Side and Scalped, hired Aaron to write issues of Wolverine, Black Panther and eventually, an extended run on Ghost Rider that began in April 2008. His continued work on Black Panther also included a tie-in to the company-wide crossover storyline along with a "Secret Invasion" with David Lapham in 2009.
In January 2008, he signed an exclusive contract with Marvel, though it would not affect his work on Scalped. Later that July, he wrote the Penguin issue of The Joker's Asylum.
After a 4-issue stint on Wolverine in 2007, Aaron returned to the character with the ongoing series Wolverine: Weapon X, launched to coincide with the feature film X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Aaron commented, "With Wolverine: Weapon X we'll be trying to mix things up like that from arc to arc, so the first arc is a typical sort of black ops story but the second arc will jump right into the middle of a completely different genre," In 2010, the series was relaunched once again as simply Wolverine. He followed this with his current run on Thor: God of Thunder.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 274 reviews
February 15, 2017
There's just something deeply disturbing to me about the whole magic has a price thing that's happening here. It grosses me out, if I'm being honest.
I mean, yeah...a price seems like an ok idea.
Ooooh! Make is so it's not just some cosmic freebie! Yeah!
But the reality of this version is just...ewwww.
When I think of Doctor Strange and the other mystics in the MU performing magic, my mind doesn't automatically jump to the sacrifice of bunnies.
Sure, magic could be presented as being more difficult to wield, or more taxing on their energy, but...actual sacrifice? No. Just...no.
Call me crazy, but it bothers me that something/someone has to suffer for magic to be used.
Anyway, besides that, I guess this was decent. Not spectacular like I was hoping, but...decent.
This Eradicator dude (who has a piss poor backstory, btw) is out to KILL MAGIC throughout the multiverse. And he's pretty much done it. Life goals, bitches!
He and his eyeball-bots kicks the shit out of every single mystic in the 616 universe using his patented science-rays (or whatever). Each one barely escapes with their lives, including our Sorcerer Supreme, Steve-O.
Bottom line: they gotta work together to not only save their own lives, but to save 616's magic!
I have to say, I'm still on the fence about the art. It is good? Is it bad? Is it just too crazy sometimes? Not sure.
Some panels look very cool, some are incredibly chaotic...even borderline ugly.
*teeters on the fence*
Not brilliant, but not bad, either. At the very least, I'm interested to see where it goes from here.
I've waited too long for a solo Doctor Strange title to come out to give up on it because of one iffy story arc, so you can bet your ass I'll be back for more.
I mean, yeah...a price seems like an ok idea.
Ooooh! Make is so it's not just some cosmic freebie! Yeah!
But the reality of this version is just...ewwww.
When I think of Doctor Strange and the other mystics in the MU performing magic, my mind doesn't automatically jump to the sacrifice of bunnies.
Sure, magic could be presented as being more difficult to wield, or more taxing on their energy, but...actual sacrifice? No. Just...no.
Call me crazy, but it bothers me that something/someone has to suffer for magic to be used.
Anyway, besides that, I guess this was decent. Not spectacular like I was hoping, but...decent.
This Eradicator dude (who has a piss poor backstory, btw) is out to KILL MAGIC throughout the multiverse. And he's pretty much done it. Life goals, bitches!
He and his eyeball-bots kicks the shit out of every single mystic in the 616 universe using his patented science-rays (or whatever). Each one barely escapes with their lives, including our Sorcerer Supreme, Steve-O.
Bottom line: they gotta work together to not only save their own lives, but to save 616's magic!
I have to say, I'm still on the fence about the art. It is good? Is it bad? Is it just too crazy sometimes? Not sure.
Some panels look very cool, some are incredibly chaotic...even borderline ugly.
*teeters on the fence*
Not brilliant, but not bad, either. At the very least, I'm interested to see where it goes from here.
I've waited too long for a solo Doctor Strange title to come out to give up on it because of one iffy story arc, so you can bet your ass I'll be back for more.
February 7, 2017
What side are you on?
If you’re like Superman, you hate pesky Magic and would prefer to fight anything else, short of a kryptonite enema administered by Lex Luthor.
If you’re Dr. Strange and the rest of the Magic-induced characters, then a raging science guy from another plane of reality bent on eliminating magic would make you think that science is evil, even after years of putting up with Tony Stark.
In this volume, the conclusion to the storyline started in the previous collection, we find Dr. Strange under siege but not giving up without a fight.
Beyond the obligatory and perfunctory explanation about why the bad guy hates magic , this one’s a decent wrap-up.
Basically, evil science guy gets the upper hand until magic-y deus-ex-machina heroes band together to save the day.
But at a price. There’s always a price.
The takeaway: Science sucks, but Magic is just okay…
There’s a companion issue about the last days of magic that highlights some of the magical B-listers as they go up against the Bad Science invaders. It’s not very good.
Dr. Voodoo getting ready to do the Voodoo that he does so well…
Bottom line: This shows a lot of parallels with some of Aaron’s other work (see Thor comment above). It starts off like gangbusters and has a tendency to peter out when crossing the finish line. The art: Sometimes Bachalo has Strange looking like Edgar Allen Poe for some odd reason.
Hi Trish!
April 6, 2017
I previously opined that, while I love ol’ Doc Strange, he’s a tough character to build an ongoing series around. Messrs. Aaron and Bachalo did an admirable job with the opening salvo of their attempt, but the continuation of that stellar start here in volume two leaves something to be desired. Is it a serviceably solid story of the Sorcerer Supreme’s scintillating struggle against admirably amoral adversaries? Sure. (Do I take entirely too much joy in parroting Stan Lee? Possibly.)
But, the revelation that and, that notwithstanding, this story just doesn’t hum along with the same energy as the first volume.
Still, there’s potential here, so well worth continuing on the journey for however long these two are on the book (which I don't think is too much longer).
(On a related note: if you’re looking for a stellar Strange story, look no further than Doctor Strange, Doctor Doom: Triumph and Torment and the sitcom based on that epic tale.)
But, the revelation that and, that notwithstanding, this story just doesn’t hum along with the same energy as the first volume.
Still, there’s potential here, so well worth continuing on the journey for however long these two are on the book (which I don't think is too much longer).
(On a related note: if you’re looking for a stellar Strange story, look no further than Doctor Strange, Doctor Doom: Triumph and Torment and the sitcom based on that epic tale.)
March 18, 2019
Now I rather enjoyed this "2nd" volume of Dr Strange but then my experience with comics is quite limited compared to some peoples. That said I didn't think it was as good as volume 1, it sort of got a little bogged down and I expected a little more to happen. However it was fun, well drawn and certainly kept me riveted, riveted enough that is to have already bought the next episode.
Now if any comic expert wants to recommend to me something that they really "rate" and that they think I'll enjoy then that'd be great, bear in mind I am a huge SF fan, and I do like Marvel films especially Guardians of the Galaxy, hey who doesn't love Groot.
Ok got a little sidetracked, but the upshot is, in my very limited opinion, this was fun
Now if any comic expert wants to recommend to me something that they really "rate" and that they think I'll enjoy then that'd be great, bear in mind I am a huge SF fan, and I do like Marvel films especially Guardians of the Galaxy, hey who doesn't love Groot.
Ok got a little sidetracked, but the upshot is, in my very limited opinion, this was fun
October 18, 2016
The Empirikul have purged the other dimensions of magic - now it’s the Marvel Universe’s turn! With the Sorcerer Supreme already weakened, Doctor Strange faces an uphill battle to save magic from dying - but he’s not alone. The final battle between magic and science is about to begin…
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!! After such a strong first volume, it’s so disappointing to see Jason Aaron and Chris Bachalo dropping the ball with Doctor Strange, Volume 2: The Last Days of Magic.
The concept of magic here is stupid. It’s a finite resource like oil apparently, and it’s being physically destroyed? Find a magic item or magician, destroy them, and that’s magic gone? That’s so dumb, Jason Aaron! And there’s really no clear difference between magic and science in this book anyway - the science appears to be just as fantastical as the magic!
Strange and the others spend most of the book gathering magical objects to launch an attack - but why does it have to be a magical attack? Why not just shoot the Empirikul with guns?! It doesn’t even feel very magical - Strange just ends up punching the bad guy over and over! It’s so generic and tedious. The structure is overly simplistic and cliched too with the villains predictably beating the heroes until the final act when the tide turns.
The Imperator’s story is dull (his motive, like every villain’s these days seems to be, is, yawn, vengeance) and the Empirikul as a whole seem to be quite unintelligent, uninquisitive and barbaric, clinging to dogmatic behaviours - hardly scientific! Also there weren’t nearly as many fun and clever Doctor Strange scenes in this book as there were in the first.
Chris Bachalo’s art is still great but Jason Aaron’s script is surprisingly flat and boring. If you haven’t already, check out their first Doctor Strange book but severely lower those expectations when you come to this second volume. The difference in quality between the first and second book is like David Blaine or Derren Brown opening for a kid who’s just learned the “pick a card” trick!
Well, given Marvel Studios’ track record, at least the Doctor Strange movie out later this month will probably be awesome!
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!! After such a strong first volume, it’s so disappointing to see Jason Aaron and Chris Bachalo dropping the ball with Doctor Strange, Volume 2: The Last Days of Magic.
The concept of magic here is stupid. It’s a finite resource like oil apparently, and it’s being physically destroyed? Find a magic item or magician, destroy them, and that’s magic gone? That’s so dumb, Jason Aaron! And there’s really no clear difference between magic and science in this book anyway - the science appears to be just as fantastical as the magic!
Strange and the others spend most of the book gathering magical objects to launch an attack - but why does it have to be a magical attack? Why not just shoot the Empirikul with guns?! It doesn’t even feel very magical - Strange just ends up punching the bad guy over and over! It’s so generic and tedious. The structure is overly simplistic and cliched too with the villains predictably beating the heroes until the final act when the tide turns.
The Imperator’s story is dull (his motive, like every villain’s these days seems to be, is, yawn, vengeance) and the Empirikul as a whole seem to be quite unintelligent, uninquisitive and barbaric, clinging to dogmatic behaviours - hardly scientific! Also there weren’t nearly as many fun and clever Doctor Strange scenes in this book as there were in the first.
Chris Bachalo’s art is still great but Jason Aaron’s script is surprisingly flat and boring. If you haven’t already, check out their first Doctor Strange book but severely lower those expectations when you come to this second volume. The difference in quality between the first and second book is like David Blaine or Derren Brown opening for a kid who’s just learned the “pick a card” trick!
Well, given Marvel Studios’ track record, at least the Doctor Strange movie out later this month will probably be awesome!
August 4, 2016
The first volume of Doctor Strange by Jason Aaron was brilliant. Sad to say, the second one is a dud.
First of all, the premise just doesn't work. There are the Empirikul, the evil guys that came to destroy magic... with science? Only their science is basically just magic, too, and Doc's magic is just punching? I mean, at more than one point he literally just punched the evil guy in the face with magic.
And the whole story is honestly just dull. It's your generic superhero comic, where the bad guy comes and gives a very long and boring speech about how he hates something or other and that's why he's going to destroy everything. And while the concept of magic being destroyed could be interesting, we only see a small glimpse of the actual consequences of this action. What we are subjected to is mostly just punching and monologuing.
The book also doesn't focus much on Doc, or Wong, or Zelma, like the first one did. They are present, of course, but there are like a dozen new characters who aren't properly introduced and whose only purpose in this book is to stall and draw attention to themselves, away from the lack of story.
How did Jason Aaron come up with such a boring and generic book? His stuff is usually fun to read, even if the plot is not too good. Was this whole Last Days Of Magic event a Marvel-imposed thing? That's still not the reason to write such a dull non-story, especially when the main idea is pretty interesting. All I can say is, this was a huge disappointment.
First of all, the premise just doesn't work. There are the Empirikul, the evil guys that came to destroy magic... with science? Only their science is basically just magic, too, and Doc's magic is just punching? I mean, at more than one point he literally just punched the evil guy in the face with magic.
And the whole story is honestly just dull. It's your generic superhero comic, where the bad guy comes and gives a very long and boring speech about how he hates something or other and that's why he's going to destroy everything. And while the concept of magic being destroyed could be interesting, we only see a small glimpse of the actual consequences of this action. What we are subjected to is mostly just punching and monologuing.
The book also doesn't focus much on Doc, or Wong, or Zelma, like the first one did. They are present, of course, but there are like a dozen new characters who aren't properly introduced and whose only purpose in this book is to stall and draw attention to themselves, away from the lack of story.
How did Jason Aaron come up with such a boring and generic book? His stuff is usually fun to read, even if the plot is not too good. Was this whole Last Days Of Magic event a Marvel-imposed thing? That's still not the reason to write such a dull non-story, especially when the main idea is pretty interesting. All I can say is, this was a huge disappointment.
October 22, 2017
All characterization from the book has now been dropped in favor of one big war with the Emperikul. The first volume had a great buildup. Now when the Emperikul show up magic and science are so generic, they are interchangeable. If the bad guys didn't have big eyeball heads I wouldn't even know who to root for. The bad guy's parents were sacrificed on a world full of magic so he uses "science" to destroy magic in every dimension. *Yawn* As it happens with a lot of Chris Bachalo's art nowadays, I don't know whether to love or hate it. Some panels look fantastic and others, I couldn't tell you what was in it.
November 26, 2017
The Empirikul have crossed dimensions to eliminate magic and all the magic users.
The Last Days of Magic is about the Empirikul. Their leader had his life and family destroyed by magic
and now he vows to eliminate all magic everywhere. With some better storytelling I could feel for the Empirikul, but it's near impossible to side with the aggressors as they torture long standing heroes like Doctor Strange, Scarlet Witch, and Magik. As is its just a fairly straightforward mission to defeat the enemy and restore what was destroyed.
The Last Days of Magic is about the Empirikul. Their leader had his life and family destroyed by magic
and now he vows to eliminate all magic everywhere. With some better storytelling I could feel for the Empirikul, but it's near impossible to side with the aggressors as they torture long standing heroes like Doctor Strange, Scarlet Witch, and Magik. As is its just a fairly straightforward mission to defeat the enemy and restore what was destroyed.
November 12, 2016
Not a huge fan of the death of magic storyline, but there's nothing actually wrong with it. I loved all of the snippets of random magic and short scenes with other MU magic users, though.
August 7, 2016
Really wish there was someone else in art for this. The story idea is kinda cool, almost makes the story arc into a mini event. But just Bachalo is...no.
March 7, 2018
Well the title does not lie...Magic is dead.
The story is very clearly shows magic is now gone from the world. After getting a little history on why these robot creatures are invading our world and taking away magic, we're shown how the rest of the world is effected. In just 6 pages they are able to display some horrible events including a child losing all her friends, people losing their powers, and another magician losing her powers and dying in a tank that she normally can escape quickly from. Then the rest is a fast paced volume of Strange trying his best to survive against these robot creatures with very little magic.
Good: I really love the art here. It's kind of messy but it fits the world so well. Everyone flows and moves so well it feels like a cartoon but grittier, and I love it. I also think the events leading up to all the magic gone was great and really horrifying at points. Strange using his survival skills was kickass too and something different.
Bad: The extra chapter at the end was boring. I didn't need to see what was happening to EVERY magic user the time magic was gone. It felt unneeded. Also, as much as sometimes I love Strange'd dialog, is massive talking monologue can drive me crazy. There's a point I want to be like "shut the fuck up".
I'ma go for a 3.5 out of 5. Very enjoyable and this series keeps getting better. Hope it ends on a high note!
The story is very clearly shows magic is now gone from the world. After getting a little history on why these robot creatures are invading our world and taking away magic, we're shown how the rest of the world is effected. In just 6 pages they are able to display some horrible events including a child losing all her friends, people losing their powers, and another magician losing her powers and dying in a tank that she normally can escape quickly from. Then the rest is a fast paced volume of Strange trying his best to survive against these robot creatures with very little magic.
Good: I really love the art here. It's kind of messy but it fits the world so well. Everyone flows and moves so well it feels like a cartoon but grittier, and I love it. I also think the events leading up to all the magic gone was great and really horrifying at points. Strange using his survival skills was kickass too and something different.
Bad: The extra chapter at the end was boring. I didn't need to see what was happening to EVERY magic user the time magic was gone. It felt unneeded. Also, as much as sometimes I love Strange'd dialog, is massive talking monologue can drive me crazy. There's a point I want to be like "shut the fuck up".
I'ma go for a 3.5 out of 5. Very enjoyable and this series keeps getting better. Hope it ends on a high note!
April 14, 2018
En este tomo se cierra en parte el arco que se inició en el anterior. Sigue siendo un cómic muy entretenido, aunque me ha gustado un poco menos porque incluye un gran interludio especial en el que se presentan otros magos (otros personajes clásicos de Marvel). Nunca he sido muy devota de estos especiales que cortan o interrumpen la trama principal, me ha pasado con otros cómics y no me gusta. El dibujante es el mismo que en el tomo anterior, pero en este me ha costado más "ver" algunos dibujos. Igualmente puedo asegurar que es un cómic que engancha y que deja cuestiones abiertas para el futuro, así que seguiré con el siguiente.
June 21, 2021
Dr. Stephen Strange has usually been portrayed as an upper-crust magician. The elite, high-paid surgeon transitioned into an elite mage above the need for money with his mansion and manservant and endless supply of tea sets. Writer Jason Aaron has now stripped away all those high class trappings. This series revels in manly magic with much use of magic guns and arrows and many references to punching people with magic. Grim and gritty Dr. Strange is fun, but I wonder, is sustainable? Guess I'll have to wait for the next book to see.
June 19, 2018
A really good Doctor Strange run continues with "The Last Days of Magic". Here are my notes:
Zelma is one of the few plucky sidekicks that I don't find annoying. In fact, I wish she was in this volume a little more.
There is a near perfect balance of humor and seriousness.
We get to see Scarlet Witch blasting away with a shotgun.
They really missed out by not including Doctor Doom on the team. Was he off playing Iron Man at this point?
Mahatma Doom, on the other hand, was awesome. He is the last surviving monk that nursed Dr. Doom back to health and taught him the mystic arts (Dr. Doom killed all the others. Mighty fine way of saying thanks!). He looks like Doom but his personality is totally opposite. He defeats an entire legion of bad guys by teaching them meditation. We need a Mahatma Doom book!
A lot of the Doctor Strange mythos starts to get changed and tore apart here (I assume setting up the events of the reboot with Loki). This might be a good or a bad thing, depending on how attached you are to the Doctor Strange status quo.
Over all, this was a lot of fun and I can't wait to see what the next volume has in store!
Zelma is one of the few plucky sidekicks that I don't find annoying. In fact, I wish she was in this volume a little more.
There is a near perfect balance of humor and seriousness.
We get to see Scarlet Witch blasting away with a shotgun.
They really missed out by not including Doctor Doom on the team. Was he off playing Iron Man at this point?
Mahatma Doom, on the other hand, was awesome. He is the last surviving monk that nursed Dr. Doom back to health and taught him the mystic arts (Dr. Doom killed all the others. Mighty fine way of saying thanks!). He looks like Doom but his personality is totally opposite. He defeats an entire legion of bad guys by teaching them meditation. We need a Mahatma Doom book!
A lot of the Doctor Strange mythos starts to get changed and tore apart here (I assume setting up the events of the reboot with Loki). This might be a good or a bad thing, depending on how attached you are to the Doctor Strange status quo.
Over all, this was a lot of fun and I can't wait to see what the next volume has in store!
February 7, 2017
Honestly had a strong dislike for the art. The story had potential but just strange.
February 19, 2021
This wonderous, ponderous review was originally published over at The Grimoire Reliquary.
I’ve always enjoyed Jason Aaron’s work. He’s a talented scribe and his Thor runs are some of my favourite Marvel works in the past decade–despite not having read that work’s conclusion in the face of War of the Realms. Catching up on his Doctor Strange run seemed a no-brainer after I spied a somewhat mangled copy of The Last Days of Magic at my local library. Since I never say no to a mangled copy of anything, I checked it out immediately, expecting nothing less than moderate amounts of entertainment.
If only it were so.
There is fun to be had, certainly, but it comes in the weirdest moments: Scarlet Witch with a shotgun (she is a mutant, and a mystic, but surely her magic operates by different rules than Stephen’s?), a creepy Lovecraftian agony monster that Stephen and Wang have been keeping in the dungeon; how quickly my excitement turned to bitter, bitter disappointment, the further I read into this.
I do not like Strange’s voice. That’s wholly subjective, a matter of preference–but I’ve grown fond of a wiser, more experienced Master of the Mystic Arts.
I do not like magic here. It’s boring and not magical, and I don’t care enough to get why mutants are affected by the lack of it, too.
I don’t like the art much, either. Chris Bachalo’s art is a massive hit or miss for me. Perhaps as long as a decade back he did a tremendous run on one of the flagship X-titles at the time (I want to say…X-Men Legacy?), which appealed to me; here, I am often lost and struggling to piece together what is going on. A lot of it has to do with colouring, I think–issues 6-9 are a clusterfuck but whoever coloured issue 10 gets Fil’s No-Prize of the Month.
I borrowed this one from the library; when I returned it, they had the third volume…I have shackled myself to this Strange, Strange man and freedom is little more than a delirious hope at the farthest edges of my mind.
Disappointing. If you see a ruffled copy at *your* local library, know that it is a trap.
But do support your libraries, they need it.
And here’s a terrible joke I came up with, to celebrate this comic book:
A wizard and a scientist dude walk into a bar.
Wanna see a magic trick, asks the wizard.
Haha, wizzerd go brrr, says the Empirikul scientist guy. Then he bashes the wizard’s brains in.
I have a YouTube channel where I talk about books an' stuff: https://www.youtube.com/c/FilipMagnus...
I’ve always enjoyed Jason Aaron’s work. He’s a talented scribe and his Thor runs are some of my favourite Marvel works in the past decade–despite not having read that work’s conclusion in the face of War of the Realms. Catching up on his Doctor Strange run seemed a no-brainer after I spied a somewhat mangled copy of The Last Days of Magic at my local library. Since I never say no to a mangled copy of anything, I checked it out immediately, expecting nothing less than moderate amounts of entertainment.
If only it were so.
There is fun to be had, certainly, but it comes in the weirdest moments: Scarlet Witch with a shotgun (she is a mutant, and a mystic, but surely her magic operates by different rules than Stephen’s?), a creepy Lovecraftian agony monster that Stephen and Wang have been keeping in the dungeon; how quickly my excitement turned to bitter, bitter disappointment, the further I read into this.
I do not like Strange’s voice. That’s wholly subjective, a matter of preference–but I’ve grown fond of a wiser, more experienced Master of the Mystic Arts.
I do not like magic here. It’s boring and not magical, and I don’t care enough to get why mutants are affected by the lack of it, too.
I don’t like the art much, either. Chris Bachalo’s art is a massive hit or miss for me. Perhaps as long as a decade back he did a tremendous run on one of the flagship X-titles at the time (I want to say…X-Men Legacy?), which appealed to me; here, I am often lost and struggling to piece together what is going on. A lot of it has to do with colouring, I think–issues 6-9 are a clusterfuck but whoever coloured issue 10 gets Fil’s No-Prize of the Month.
I borrowed this one from the library; when I returned it, they had the third volume…I have shackled myself to this Strange, Strange man and freedom is little more than a delirious hope at the farthest edges of my mind.
Disappointing. If you see a ruffled copy at *your* local library, know that it is a trap.
But do support your libraries, they need it.
And here’s a terrible joke I came up with, to celebrate this comic book:
A wizard and a scientist dude walk into a bar.
Wanna see a magic trick, asks the wizard.
Haha, wizzerd go brrr, says the Empirikul scientist guy. Then he bashes the wizard’s brains in.
I have a YouTube channel where I talk about books an' stuff: https://www.youtube.com/c/FilipMagnus...
July 19, 2017
How does that Kevin Sorbo gif go again? Oh, yeah...
DISAPPOINTED.
Once again I'm confronted with a Marvel title replete with good ideas, but stumbling horrendously in execution.
Aaron frankly seems to try to be recycling the plot of Thor: The God Butcher but what worked there thanks to the high-flying hero and amazing Esad Ribic art falls desperately flat in this overcrowded volume. I never bought "Empirikul" as a Big Bad, and the Deus Ex Basementica ending was lame as (insert expletive of your choice).
Only read if you really have to scratch the curiosity itch leftover from the considerably better The Way of the Weird.
DISAPPOINTED.
Once again I'm confronted with a Marvel title replete with good ideas, but stumbling horrendously in execution.
Aaron frankly seems to try to be recycling the plot of Thor: The God Butcher but what worked there thanks to the high-flying hero and amazing Esad Ribic art falls desperately flat in this overcrowded volume. I never bought "Empirikul" as a Big Bad, and the Deus Ex Basementica ending was lame as (insert expletive of your choice).
Only read if you really have to scratch the curiosity itch leftover from the considerably better The Way of the Weird.
April 3, 2017
They've crossed the dimensions, purging each of all sorcery. Now the Empirikul are here. They are killing magic. They are unstoppable. What is our weakened Sorcerer Supreme to do?
The only person more magical than Stephen Strange might be Jason Aaron. The dude can flat out write. While I think this is a minor step down from Volume 1, I don't think that's much of a slight considering that Vol. 1 is one of the better arcs I've read from Marvel in years.
The supporting cast in this is great, there are great moments of levity and there is just some pretty dang good dialogue.
I will admit that I am not the biggest fan of the art. And the final confrontation is a little unsatisfying. Those are my minor knocks, worth a half star each. This volume is definitely worth checking out.
The only person more magical than Stephen Strange might be Jason Aaron. The dude can flat out write. While I think this is a minor step down from Volume 1, I don't think that's much of a slight considering that Vol. 1 is one of the better arcs I've read from Marvel in years.
The supporting cast in this is great, there are great moments of levity and there is just some pretty dang good dialogue.
I will admit that I am not the biggest fan of the art. And the final confrontation is a little unsatisfying. Those are my minor knocks, worth a half star each. This volume is definitely worth checking out.
March 11, 2017
Pure awesome.
Enough said.
5 out of 5 stars.
Enough said.
5 out of 5 stars.
March 24, 2018
The conclusion to the fight against the Empirikul has its moments, it just didnt hit the highs like Vol 1 did. The story telling in parts didnt seem as together.
March 16, 2019
Like sex, even mediocre Jason Aaron is still pretty good...
Most of my Goodreads friends mentioned how much worse this book was than the preceding volume - I can't disagree, on the grounds that this is more weighty and dystopian than the fun, flighty, silly first collection. And yet I feel it in my bones, the two were constructed precisely together like this - the weight of the losses and irrevocable changes wouldn't be felt as hard, or mean as much, if we hadn't started out this Strange run as light and airy as when Mark Waid kicked off his run on DD, or the silliness of Aaron's run on Wolverine & the X-men.
I have a strong feeling that this is but the momentary low on the path to a triumphant rebirth for Stephen Strange - Aaron has rarely shown he wasn't in complete control of his meta storylines, whether it be his legendary work in Scalped, the short-but-meaty Punisher mind-fuck, or his more-metal-than-heavy-metal Thor books.
So if you're feeling blue after reading this tome, good. So do I. I worry that there's just not enough ways to bring back the "old 616's magical powers", and that we've written ourselves into a corner. Can Doctor Voodoo ever do more voodoo magic? Will Colossus' sister Magik ever trip through Limbo again? What is a world of heroes and villains without the mystic arts to keep us on our toes?
Hell, what do we do when Doom needs to REALLY fuck with some capes - shoot lightning from his armored fingers? Glower at us? Threaten to insult us with $10 words?
And if the story didn't get this depressing, would there be nearly the stakes for Strange to fight for? I think I've just convinced myself I *like* this book, not because of how it played out, but because it's going to make for some killer journeys for our master back from a level playing field and not "the dude who has no threats because he's got it all mastered".
Most of my Goodreads friends mentioned how much worse this book was than the preceding volume - I can't disagree, on the grounds that this is more weighty and dystopian than the fun, flighty, silly first collection. And yet I feel it in my bones, the two were constructed precisely together like this - the weight of the losses and irrevocable changes wouldn't be felt as hard, or mean as much, if we hadn't started out this Strange run as light and airy as when Mark Waid kicked off his run on DD, or the silliness of Aaron's run on Wolverine & the X-men.
I have a strong feeling that this is but the momentary low on the path to a triumphant rebirth for Stephen Strange - Aaron has rarely shown he wasn't in complete control of his meta storylines, whether it be his legendary work in Scalped, the short-but-meaty Punisher mind-fuck, or his more-metal-than-heavy-metal Thor books.
So if you're feeling blue after reading this tome, good. So do I. I worry that there's just not enough ways to bring back the "old 616's magical powers", and that we've written ourselves into a corner. Can Doctor Voodoo ever do more voodoo magic? Will Colossus' sister Magik ever trip through Limbo again? What is a world of heroes and villains without the mystic arts to keep us on our toes?
Hell, what do we do when Doom needs to REALLY fuck with some capes - shoot lightning from his armored fingers? Glower at us? Threaten to insult us with $10 words?
And if the story didn't get this depressing, would there be nearly the stakes for Strange to fight for? I think I've just convinced myself I *like* this book, not because of how it played out, but because it's going to make for some killer journeys for our master back from a level playing field and not "the dude who has no threats because he's got it all mastered".
November 22, 2016
Why does Bachalo do his own color? he is terrible at is.... its lazy and sloppy. It sucks because I really like his pencil/ink work but he ruins his own panels with crap coloring. Anyways I liked the story of the last days of magic, Aaron does a good job. Empirikul is some magic hating science alien(?) that vows to destroy all magic and pretty much succeeds and also kicks the doctor's ass. Strange has to go and dig up old artifacts to drain the magic and that doesn't really cut the mustard really. The pain in the cellar that has been used a battery for all the pain the doctor has been soaking up comes into play. The cameos of Magik and the rest of the crew are throw aways which sucked. I thought overall the book was fine but it could have been better.
September 17, 2017
The first volume of Aaron's Doctor Strange was amazing. This one is just ... OK. What the heck?!
Humor. Gone. Characterization. Gone. Romantic subplots. Gone. Interesting narrative structure. Gone. We still get the epic story, but what was previously an ominous buildup is now just a big, long fight against an omnipotent being. And, it's got all the usual problems with that plot — meaning that the adversary is unstoppable until the plot calls for him not to be anymore. (We also get the overused heroes-on-the-run-fighting-against-a-villain-who's-taken-over-everything plot, but if you blink, you'll miss it.)
There's a nice usage of Marvel's mystical heroes, except they're even more poorly characterized than Strange and crew. Heck, given the usual muddiness of the art, I couldn't even tell you most of who was there.
Overall, this was a perfectly adequate epic plotline, but it managed to short circuit everything that was great about Aaron's Strange, squandered its use of lots of interesting mystic heroes, and instead just told an OK story.
Humor. Gone. Characterization. Gone. Romantic subplots. Gone. Interesting narrative structure. Gone. We still get the epic story, but what was previously an ominous buildup is now just a big, long fight against an omnipotent being. And, it's got all the usual problems with that plot — meaning that the adversary is unstoppable until the plot calls for him not to be anymore. (We also get the overused heroes-on-the-run-fighting-against-a-villain-who's-taken-over-everything plot, but if you blink, you'll miss it.)
There's a nice usage of Marvel's mystical heroes, except they're even more poorly characterized than Strange and crew. Heck, given the usual muddiness of the art, I couldn't even tell you most of who was there.
Overall, this was a perfectly adequate epic plotline, but it managed to short circuit everything that was great about Aaron's Strange, squandered its use of lots of interesting mystic heroes, and instead just told an OK story.
March 26, 2017
The conclusion to the fight against the Empirikul was every bit as epic as expected. And now that that's over, everything should be normal again, right?
I like Aaron's version of Dr. Strange. His Sorceror Supreme lives a decidedly different life from the rest of humanity. Magic skews the vision and claims a high price. In Aaron's version, the magicians all know each other, so we get folks like Brother Voodoo and Shaman dropping by, or hanging out at the bar together. The supporting cast is interesting in its own right. I, for one, would love to see a Count Kaoz miniseries, or even a one shot.
Looking forward to Volume 3!
I like Aaron's version of Dr. Strange. His Sorceror Supreme lives a decidedly different life from the rest of humanity. Magic skews the vision and claims a high price. In Aaron's version, the magicians all know each other, so we get folks like Brother Voodoo and Shaman dropping by, or hanging out at the bar together. The supporting cast is interesting in its own right. I, for one, would love to see a Count Kaoz miniseries, or even a one shot.
Looking forward to Volume 3!
May 15, 2019
O fous lepší než předchozí volume ale pořád dost nuda.. Už to vzdávám, chtěl jsem si přečíst Aaronův run než budu číst Catese ale tohle mě fakt nebaví.. Další volume ani zkoušet nebudu..
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May 23, 2022👁🪄🐺🔮
March 18, 2018
Gorgeous and dense. 3.5
World: The art is absolutely gorgeous. It's stylish with beautifully creative and riveting panels. The colors we also muted and flat which gives a very distinct feel to it in modern comics. The world building is massive and dense. I'm a DC reader so my knowledge of Strange was limited and more so the Marvel mystic universe, this book was like a crash course. There is a lot of magical gobbledy gook but it's handled well. The added side stories with all the magical users and their story was also quite interesting and a good education. This series us a great jumping on point for new readers.
Story: A action packed but loosey goosey story that tightens up in the end. It's a but fracture and the jump in locations and characters make for a choppy read but overall it's a satisfying story in the last couple of issues (the world building and sense of wonder holds this story together). I do not like the fact that magic did nothing in the start of the arc and was also the thing that won the day in the arc, I felt it was a but of a cheat but oh well. As I said, the world building really carried this arc.
Characters: Those little stories of all the magical users in the MU was great as it allowed for readers to reintroduce themselves to all the cast of characters and places of the mystic MU. The story does move fast but there are still some great little moments for Stephen giving readers more idea and knowledge of what he goes through. Not character moments per say but moments. Zelma is a great perspective for readers and thus story lost her in the beginning but in the end it was good, wanna see more of her...and Wong.
A sloppy choppy arc that his held together but the dense world building.
Onward to the next book!
World: The art is absolutely gorgeous. It's stylish with beautifully creative and riveting panels. The colors we also muted and flat which gives a very distinct feel to it in modern comics. The world building is massive and dense. I'm a DC reader so my knowledge of Strange was limited and more so the Marvel mystic universe, this book was like a crash course. There is a lot of magical gobbledy gook but it's handled well. The added side stories with all the magical users and their story was also quite interesting and a good education. This series us a great jumping on point for new readers.
Story: A action packed but loosey goosey story that tightens up in the end. It's a but fracture and the jump in locations and characters make for a choppy read but overall it's a satisfying story in the last couple of issues (the world building and sense of wonder holds this story together). I do not like the fact that magic did nothing in the start of the arc and was also the thing that won the day in the arc, I felt it was a but of a cheat but oh well. As I said, the world building really carried this arc.
Characters: Those little stories of all the magical users in the MU was great as it allowed for readers to reintroduce themselves to all the cast of characters and places of the mystic MU. The story does move fast but there are still some great little moments for Stephen giving readers more idea and knowledge of what he goes through. Not character moments per say but moments. Zelma is a great perspective for readers and thus story lost her in the beginning but in the end it was good, wanna see more of her...and Wong.
A sloppy choppy arc that his held together but the dense world building.
Onward to the next book!
June 23, 2017
[Read as single issues]
Doctor Strange kicks it into high gear as the Empirikul descend on our dimension intent on destroying all magic, starting with the Sorcerer Supreme.
The fact that the Empirikul aren't even the biggest threat here says something about Jason Aaron's ambition for this series, using one long-form story to instead unleash another menace that will continue to threaten Strange for the rest of the series, while still having a satisfying conclusion to the Empirikul story and upsetting the balance of Doctor Strange's world for the foreseeable future along the way.
Chris Bachalo is the best partner for Jason Aaron on this book - his insane layouts, thick inks (thank you to the 30 odd inkers he has on one issue (this may be a slight exaggeration)), and character designs for the Empirikul and the demons etc. that Strange faces along the way are so well-suited to the story that you'd think it was all written and drawn by the same person. Perfect synergy in a creative team.
Doctor Strange kicks it into high gear as the Empirikul descend on our dimension intent on destroying all magic, starting with the Sorcerer Supreme.
The fact that the Empirikul aren't even the biggest threat here says something about Jason Aaron's ambition for this series, using one long-form story to instead unleash another menace that will continue to threaten Strange for the rest of the series, while still having a satisfying conclusion to the Empirikul story and upsetting the balance of Doctor Strange's world for the foreseeable future along the way.
Chris Bachalo is the best partner for Jason Aaron on this book - his insane layouts, thick inks (thank you to the 30 odd inkers he has on one issue (this may be a slight exaggeration)), and character designs for the Empirikul and the demons etc. that Strange faces along the way are so well-suited to the story that you'd think it was all written and drawn by the same person. Perfect synergy in a creative team.
February 22, 2022
Updated review:
“You want a monster? Come on then, you bastard, I’ll be your monster.”
Damn, I was harsh the first time round?! This is such a good story arc don’t listen to my past self lol. I remember not really gelling with the science part or even some of the other magicians but rereading it now, it comes together so well! It’s also a LOT darker than you expect it to be, but good lord, if we ever got a grungy, desperate, axe and arrow wielding Benedict Cumberbatch version of Strange, with the monster in the cellar to boot, (that morphing scene??!!? 💯) I think I may actually scream 👌🏻
Original review:
3.5 stars. I feel like the first 2 chapters are always a little goofy and then the “real” story kicks in after that - overall still a cool story line for Stephen Strange.
“You want a monster? Come on then, you bastard, I’ll be your monster.”
Damn, I was harsh the first time round?! This is such a good story arc don’t listen to my past self lol. I remember not really gelling with the science part or even some of the other magicians but rereading it now, it comes together so well! It’s also a LOT darker than you expect it to be, but good lord, if we ever got a grungy, desperate, axe and arrow wielding Benedict Cumberbatch version of Strange, with the monster in the cellar to boot, (that morphing scene??!!? 💯) I think I may actually scream 👌🏻
Original review:
3.5 stars. I feel like the first 2 chapters are always a little goofy and then the “real” story kicks in after that - overall still a cool story line for Stephen Strange.
March 19, 2018
I had high hopes after reading Volume 1 of this new Doctor Strange series, but this storyline just didn't make much sense. It's an interesting premise that a force or power might have a genuine desire to extinguish magic in the Marvel multiverse, and would have been a great set-up for a recurring villian or threat; but instead, here it's an implausible set-up for a five-issue (and special bonus issue) arc that resolves without any real sense of victory. The amazing art of the first five issues is here much more raw and stylized and lacks the spark of the beginning of the series. I'll probably keep reading just to see how they fix the nonsensical mess left by the end of this story arc.
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