Doctor Strange, Vol. 5: Secret Empire

Doctor Strange (2015) (Collected Editions)

by Dennis Hopeless, Niko Henrichon (Illustrations), John Barber (Text)

The Sorcerer Supreme suffers Secret Empire! New York City is under attack by dark forces, and only Doctor Strange has a shot at saving it - but it's quite a long shot! And to have any hope, Strange must ally himself with some unsavory people. No, not Spider-Woman - though the Doctor is recruiting her, too. We're talking about Wilson Fisk, A.K.A. the Kingpin. Together, they'll take the fight to the person running New York City...Baron Mordo! But even if they win, are they ready for the Hydra-occupied America waiting outside of the dark-domed Manhattan?

COLLECTING: DOCTOR STRANGE 21-26

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Marvel, Fantasy, Superheroes, Fiction, Comic Book

144 pages, Paperback

First published January 23, 2018

About the author

Dennis "Hopeless" Hallum is an American comics writer from Kansas City, Missouri who has written for Marvel Comics, Image Comics, Dark Horse Comics, Boom! Studios, Arcana Studio, and Oni Press.

See also under Dennis Hallum

Reviews

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Did you ever wonder what Doctor Strange was doing during the worst Marvel Event in recent history?



Well, wonder no more.
New York (or Hell's Kitchen?) has been pulled into some magical pocket dimension (or something?) by Baron Mordo (or someone?) and he has to team up with an unlikely group of blah, blah blah...



I only read it on the off chance there was something in there I would need to know so that I could move on to God of Magic.



To be honest, it's not bad. In fact, I thought it was better than the last bit of Aaron's run. Still, it was Secret Empire and mostly disposable.
Read it or don't.

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dennis Hopeless turns the Secret Empire crossover into a night of Dungeons & Dragons. If you like his run on Spider-Woman you'll enjoy this too. It's full of pop culture references and quips. Dr. Strange teams up with Spider-Woman, Kingpin and Ben Urich to take on Baron Mordo. I'm not a fan of Niko Henrichon's art. It was all swirly and smoky with too much black. The last 2 issues are 2 fill in issues by John Barber while waiting for Donny Cates run to start. Anytime you can get Kevin Nowlan to guest on an issue you should. Issue #25 is a flashback issue and Nowlan draws a mean Dr. Strange.

[Malum · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars.
With more black word bubbles than a Venom comic, more comedy than a night at the Apollo, and more D&D references than you can shake a Vorpal Sword +5 at, we have Doctor Strange's Super Secret Empire Crossover Spectacular!!!!!


Ok, so I haven't read Secret Empire yet (although I hear that I would have more fun by smearing my balls in peanut butter and jumping crotch-first into a pack of wild dogs) but I didn't have too much trouble following this book...mostly because it is ridiculous nonsense that, I imagine, isn't very important to the overall Secret Empire plot.

How you feel about that is going to greatly affect your rating for this book. I give it a tentative 2.5 stars, but I had to remind myself to not take this book seriously at all to get there.

So, my notes:

This is basically a comedy book, and everyone is trying to be hilarious (yes, trying...). Even dour heroes like Daredevil are suddenly Lenny Bruce. The funniest part about this book, however, is that a guy named "Hopeless" is one of the writers and it's not that good. Maybe he should change his name to Dennis Awesome Sauce.

In a related note, almost everyone is completely out of character. At one point, Wilson Fisk (the freaking Kingpin) says "She went full Gandalf!". Now, I'm no Marvel expert, but this is so out of character that I had to re-read it two or three times to make sure I was seeing what I thought I saw, and then I physically cringed.

Get ready for a lot of stupid pop-culture references. Lord of the Rings, Star Wars and a whoooole lot of Dungeons and Dragons jokes are to be found within. Also, apparently the rules for magic work the same way in the Marvel Universe as they do in D&D now. Go figure (except they don't though, because the reference they make stating that doesn't make sense in the context in which they say it...Yeah, I stopped trying to figure it out a long time ago).

Lots of "The cost of magic is too high!" nonsense that I am REALLY tired of in this Dr. Strange run. Can't we just go back to the days of heroes just blasting monsters with super powers with wild abandon? I want escapism, dammit!

The tie-in is just about 4 issues long or so. The last two issues are one shots. In the first one, we get a flashback of Strange when he was the Strange we know and love. It just made me want to read those comics instead of this one. The next tie-in is, again, one giant D&D reference, with Strange and Zelma fighting undead in an ancient temple.

This Dr. Strange run started great, but ended up being kind of terrible. Here is to hoping the new Strange run will be at least a little better.

[johnny ♡ · Rating 2 out of 5]

secret empire is mid

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 3 out of 5]

[Read as single issues]
Secret Empire comes to town, and Doctor Strange finds himself trapped in the Darkforce Dimension-infested New York. But don't worry, he has help in the form of Spider-Woman, the Kingpin, and...Ben Urich? Okay, maybe this isn't going to go quite as well.

This volume is kind of a placeholder for the series between larger creative teams. Jason Aaron's run just finished, and Donny Cates' doesn't start until volume 6, so we get the obligatory event tie-in in the meantime. It's...okay. If you're a fan of Dennis Hopeless's Spider-Woman (as I am), add an extra star to the rating because it's so much fun seeing these characters again, especially in this super-weird story that has the Kingpin possessed by demons, Ben Urich swordfighting Baron Mordo, and Daredevil sitting crosslegged and wondering what went wrong with his life. Yeah, it's kooky.

Also included are some one-and-done stories from issues #25 and #26 (again, placeholder stuff), that are...okay. It just smacks of 'here are some issues so that Doctor Strange is out every month', instead of 'here are some stories we absolutely had to tell'.

The art on the Secret Empire issues by Nico Henrichon is drop dead gorgeous. It has a very European feel to it, full of detail and motion, and it is coloured to the high heavens by Henrichon as well. He knows his own style, and it's seriously impressive stuff.

If it looks like filler, smells like filler, and reads like filler, it's probably filler. But that doesn't mean it can't be good fun anyway.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent filler, nothing mind blowing but reasonable short stories like we don’t get enough of these days.

[Aldo Haegemans · Rating 2 out of 5]

2,5/5

[Carol Rodríguez · Rating 2 out of 5]

2,5

Un tomo algo más flojillo que los anteriores. Se nota el cambio de guionista, no hay tanta chispa ni tanto humor como en los tiempos de Jason Aaron. Los cuatro primeros capítulos son un crossover con el Imperio Secreto y, bueno, un poco ni fú ni fá. Y los otros dos capítulos siguen casi directamente donde lo dejó Jason Aaron, pero ya digo, con menos gracia. Un tomo un poco decepcionante, sintiéndolo mucho.

[Benji Glaab · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5🌟

I would rate the 4 issue Dennis Hopeless arc somewhere in the 3-3.5 range but it was followed up with 2 meandering one shots that I was uninspired to read therefore I gave them a quick skim. It's understandable since volume 5 is just killing time until Danny Coates can man the ship.

Let's see how the sorcerer supreme can deal with the Secret Empire tie in. I think this is my first read in the marvel event. Anyways Captain America, and Hydra hook none other than Baron Mordo up with some OP magic to attack New York city with. Strange team's up with Spider Woman, and King Pin. What follows is a fun filled romp, a familiar script, and loads of bad jokes.

The dark gritty art style doesn't really jive with me, and doesn't really embody the typical Doctor Strange look. But was still creative enough, and the pages were loaded with details.

I'm hoping Danny Coates can sell me on a good volume 6. I would love to see this title recapture a sense of purpose.

[Rick · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rather disappointing. I really wish writers who work in a shared universe like Marvel would stop writing absurd pop-culture references for dialogue that's totally out-of-character and think that this passes somehow as characterization. This new series of Doctor Strange was off to a good start but has really just degenerated into the same mindless stuff that has plagued the Sorcerer Supreme for far too many years.

[Frédéric · Rating 2 out of 5]

Locked up in Manhattan during Secret Empire Doc Strange teams up with an improbable bunch (Spider-Woman? Wilson Fisk?? Ben Urich???) to defeat Mordo, appointed warden of the island by Hydra.

On this feeble premise Hopeless weaves a loose AD&D thread resolved with a mere sleight of hand. Disappointing.

[Mitchell Friedman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Confused barely related stories. Including a partial retelling of a past story - which was at least better than reprinting it at the end. They were all okay and all hinted that Dr. Strange could be a better book. But this book wasn't that better book. Art is still a little wonky but maybe fine.

[Quentin Wallace · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wasn't too bad but not quite as good as earlier volumes of the series. We get a Secret Empire tie in where Dr. Strange teams up with..the Kingpin? There are also a couple of one shot tales as well. Nothing extraordinary but overall this Dr. Strange series has been entertaining and this volume at least held its own.

[James · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. Not that good. 6 issues here where the first 4 issues tie in to Secret Empire. There, Doctor Strange and a few others got trapped in a bubble covering Manhattan. These 4 issues show what was happening in there. Pretty basic scene. Strange teams up with Spider-Woman, Ben Urich and Kingpin. The three people with Strange conveniently get magical things to power them up and they go at Mordo to stop him and try to get the dome removed. Real simple story that wasn’t all the exciting. The last two issues were both self contained stories that weren’t all that interesting either.

[Art the Turtle of Amazing Girth · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.05

This was strictly middle on everything

The artwork switched a few times and it was slightly jarring when it did

I'm not super into Strange anyway, but this was the opener in a new project I'm doing where I read the graphic novels released after the 2017 magazine I own

This was #1 for 2018

[Rick Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read these individually as they were coming out.

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bring on the bad guys.

[Tracey · Rating 2 out of 5]

Secret Empire shows us NYC under the rule of Hydra. Doctor Strange teams up with ...some people to take down Mordo, Captain America's lackey. I have nothing to really say about this volume. It was sloppily done and hard to follow. After the events of Mr. Misery, I was expecting a followup to that story-line. Instead, I get a pieced together plot about Hydra taking over NYC.

The art was harsh and wasn't clean. The "conflict" was resolved with no real consequences. And honestly, I skipped the last two chapters. So I don't even know what happened with Zelma getting possessed and the new big bad. I'm just gonna wait for the next volume to be published and find out then.

[Guilherme Smee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gostei bastante deste encadernado, que traz histórias tão boas ou melhores do que as da fase de Jason Aaron no personagem. Aaron havia iniciado uma nova era para as publicações do Mago Supremo, em vista do filme para o Marvel Studios. Dennis Hopeless é o roteirista desta edição que se dá melhor. Trabalha bem o universo místico de Estranho dentro do crossover Império Secreto, quando a cidade de Nova York está envolta em trevas. Ele também deu um jeito de inserir a Mulher-Aranha Jessica Drew e o jornalista Ben Urich, personagens que vinha trabalhando (muito bem) na série solo de Jessica que foi cancelada. Além disso, trabalha o Rei do Crime como uma espécie de salvador da Nova York sitiada pelas forças das trevas, abrindo espaço para o novo status do personagem como prefeito da cidade que nunca dorme nas histórias vindouras do Demolidor. O encadernado acaba com duas histórias soltas de John Barber, descompromissadas. Vale dizer que os desenhos de Nico Henrichon, famoso por sua parceria com Brian K. Vaughan em Os Leões de Bagdá, estão incríveis, assumindo uma aura pesada e sombria. Essa é uma atmosfera perfeita para as histórias de Stephen Strange, dando um belo tom nas suas aventuras místicas. Um ótimo encadernado!

[Will Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

A grab-bag of stories by various authors. Some are written as tie-in stories to Secret Empire, the others are short stories by different authors that almost read like auditions to see who takes over the series (Surprise! None of them get the job. Donny Cates takes over next volume).

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the Secret Empire tie-in. It’s loaded with nerdy pop culture jokes that are pretty cringy, but if you can work past that there’s a fun, campy, D&D themed adventure to enjoy.

The other stories have interesting plot ideas, but none of them go on long enough to fully explore their premises. A real shame, because I like the idea of a former “patient” seeking revenge on Strange and an Indiana Jones style jaunt through an ancient crypt.

All in all, it’s a fun volume, but not a must read. It’s nice if you’re a collector but there are better Doctor Strange books than this.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 ½ stars.
Several different artists working on the various parts of this, but I liked all the art.
In the “Secret Empire” part, the team-ups are a lot of fun. Jessica’s WTF?! attitude is a fun contrast to Stephen Strange’s. The messed-up version of reality fits in with previous Strange stories, though I’m not a fan of evil Captain America (but at least he did tell those he’s working with not to kill anyone). I am not reading the Secret Empire collected volume.
The story about the haunted girl is interesting in that Stephen actually admits he was wrong in the past. But I wasn’t crazy about the rather stiff, pretentious tone of the flashback portion of the story.
The last bit is basically a ghost story and a setup (I presume) for future adventures, and it was okay. It has Zelma in it, being useful, so that’s a plus.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

New York is under a very scar, dark magic bubble, and Doctor Strange has a lot less magic than he's used to not having as Baron Mordo has taken over his house. Most of the volume is a blast following Strange, Spiderwoman, and Wilson Fisk working together. Fun overall as usual but there's a wider thing happening that I'm not familiar with so that puts a damper on things. Also the other two stories are a bit blah.

[Renata · Rating 3 out of 5]

I haven't read the main Secret Empire book (and lbr probably never will) but I really enjoyed this nonsense (I think largely because Hydra Steve was in this for like, 2 panels and seemed extremely tangential to the magical happenings at hand). I'd read another entire volume of just Dr. Strange, Ben Urich, and Jessica Drew making D&D jokes. Please give that to me, Marvel.

Also, let Jess be a werebear!

[Andrew · Rating 1 out of 5]

The only thing that saves this book is the art isn't too murky
The plotting and writing is hopeless (heh): what should have wrapped up in 2 issues is spread over five, the characters act out of character, and all of the dialogue is hip/cool speech and completely interchangeable, including Dr Strange and Mordo..! Because of this I had no idea who a couple of characters were in situation.
I will actively avoid comics written by Hopeless from now on.

[Meagan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a bad read, just wish there was a bit more between the actual story and the one with Strange and Zelma. I was like wait what's happening?

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

#25 & #26 were definitively not my favourite, but I really loved #21-#24.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this volume. While I fundamentally don't like the whole "Captain America, Sleeper Hydra Agent" story line, that particular plot point wasn't the focus of this book. Sure, Cap was there, but this was really Doctor Strange v. Baron Mordo. And that conflict was perfectly done. Mordo was a great villain: arrogant and calm with even a few witty quips... that is until it came down the fight he'd been waiting for. Then he was the epitome of serious. But then, of course, Doctor Strange to pulls the ole' illusion play and ultimately wins? And, honestly, that just made the victory against someone so cocky all the more enjoyable. In many ways, it was like the face-off between Kylo Ren and Luke Skywalker in "The Last Jedi," but I honestly enjoyed this one more. The TLJ fight left some plot-holes, but since this story is based in magic and used previously established rules... it just seemed to work better. Plus this fight also had Spider-Woman (who I haven't read much about, but who, after this story, I am now interested in) and an unlikely alliance with Kingpin. In short, this was a conflict between two years-long foes, with the hero capitalizing on the slimmest of hope with the raggiest of ragtag supporters behind him. That kind of victory is what makes comic books so much fun. And, in short, it was just plain cool. The last two stories, that focused on Doctor Strange teaching his apprentice Zelma were also surprisingly enjoyable. I miss Wong, but seeing this mentoring side of Doctor Strange is a nice change of pace for the character. The writers seem to be breathing new life into him without totally usurping what's been previously established. I'm excited to read more, and I was definitely bummed when I found out the next volume isn't even published yet. So, until then.... *sighs*

[Sesana · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Secret Empire issues are, unsurprisingly, not great, and don't make a great deal of sense if you've been avoiding Secret Empire like the plague. Fortunately, the book closes out with two issues of one-off stories that are actually quite good. Maybe read those and skip the first four issues if you couldn't give a flying about Secret Empire.

[Nicole Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

A stunning new comic that takes Doctor Strange in a new direction fighting Mordor for the Sanctum Sanctorum with the help of Jess, Ulrich, and Kingpin.

http://nicolewbrown.blogspot.com/2018...

[Lucille · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bah j'ai pas trop aimé ce tome là, je l'ai surtout survolé :( du coup je retiens surtout les tomes 1 et 4 pour cette série là. Déçue en plus car Jessica/Spider-Woman en guest m'enthousiasmais beaucoup mais c'était très anecdotique