Strange Academy: Year One

Strange Academy #1-2

by Skottie Young (Writer), Humberto Ramos (Illustrator)

The Marvel Universe’s first school for sorcerers throws open its doors! Doctor Strange has finally established an academy for the mystic arts, bringing together young people from across the cosmos with an aptitude for magic to study under tutors including Brother Voodoo, the Ancient One, the Scarlet Witch, Magik, Daimon Hellstrom and all your favorite Marvel mages! From mindful Mindless Ones to pan-dimensional games of tag, the Strange Academy definitely lives up to its name — but the students’ first field trip lights a fuse that will blow up in a big way! Tragedy strikes, hearts are broken, uncanny new abilities manifest and a huge secret is revealed! The Academy’s extraordinary curriculum will take the class from outer space to Asgard — and if a shocking murder mystery isn’t traumatic enough, Parents’ Day sure will be!

COLLECTING: Strange Academy (2020) 1-12

Genres: Comics, Marvel, Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Graphic Novels Comics, Superheroes, Science Fiction

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 24, 2023

About the author

Skottie Young has been an illustrator and cartoonist for over ten years working for entertainment and publishing companies such Marvel, Warner Bros., Image, Upper Deck, Mattel, and many more.

He is currently illustrating the New York Times Best Selling and Eisner Award Nominated adaptions of L. Frank Baum's OZ novels with writer Eric Shanower. The series has gained acclaim from both fans and critics.

Skottie currently lives in Illinois with his family, Casey, Baxter and their Saint Bernard, Emma.

Reviews

[Rahul Nadella · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had some high expectations going into Strange Academy, it met some of those but also fell flat in some areas. It felt a little too jammed packed and didn't make as a solid of a character connection as I wanted. I believe I know where Young is aiming but I think he's trying to live in two genres which may drag this comic down fast. He needs to plant himself in a more young audience outlook and stick with that tone or go with the more youthful adult perspective. Had Skottie Young given his characters a more clear narrative function or maybe spaced out the first day of school a bit more, this debut could have stood out all the better. That said, Strange Academy: Year One has plenty of flash. By the end it finally feels like we're starting to get a good grasp on the characters and their chemistry. This series has so much potential with the concept as well as being written & drawn by two of Marvels top creators but so far hasn't reached what it could be but it's starting to feel like it's getting there. Really hoping they found that magic and run with it. Though I’m not sure it will be enough to distract from the lack of substance and breakneck pacing.

[Jonathan Ammon · Rating 4 out of 5]

The stories here are a little too harry-potter-after-harry-potter and clearly written for teenagers. Dr. Strange is just as arrogant and self-centered as if he never had a car accident and a monastic, transformational stay in the himalayas. I like my Stephen Strange driven, full of guilt, in over his head, and pursuing absolution in the supernatural. But. The art is fantastic. Really wonderful stuff. I see some Sam Keith inspiration, but its hard for me to think of a recent comic with art I liked more, so 3.5 rounded up to 4.

[Andrei · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun book about various magically-gifted kids joining up Doctor Strange's academy. This volume doesn't really have an overarching plot, but instead focuses more on the kids' adventures at the school. Whether it's learning a new spell, exploring New Orleans on a free weekend, playing a game of inter-dimensional tag or going on a field trip to Asgard, there's lot of fun to be had reading this.

When it comes to the kids, their characterization becomes a bit uneven, because some like German, Gus or Toth have limited to no screen time as opposed to the others. The highlight is definitely Doyle Dormammu who's the most interesting by far. Shaylee is silly fun, the Asgard twins are very stereotypical, Zoe is interesting but underutilized, Emily is mostly ok but can be annoying at times, Dessy is mostly annoying but can be ok at times, and Calvin is obnoxious most of the times. The adults are there but mostly take a back seat, with only Strange, Voodoo and Zelma being actually involved in the story.

The art is spot on for this type of book - colourful and quirky.

[Jeremy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fantastic read. I picked it up because I'm a huge fan of Ramos' artwork and Skottie Young is a fun writer and artist. I loved this collection! It reminded me of the series I read as a teen, like Generation X, New Mutants, or Fallen Angels.

I loved the new student characters that were introduced, and the existing characters showing up as teachers. The various story arcs covered in the collected volume had some great stakes as well as some fun humor.

This book was exactly what I was looking for as someone lightly dipping their toe back into Marvel books after a few years out. A wonderful job by Young and Ramos!

[Crazed8J8 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this run. It introduces several new and very fun characters. It has the vibe of X-Men or Ms. Marvel as students/teens that are just learning about their powers and are taxed to try to use them to save their friends... stumbling, struggling, and even dying along the way. The artwork is a little odd, as is the style for Ramos, however, it fits perfectly for these characters. I would have loved to see Skottie draw it instead, however, as storyteller, he did an amazing job!
Cameos by Spider-Man, Thor, Loki, and Enchantress only add to the fun.
The pacing and overall story are just great!
A fun read that is highly recommended!

[Brad Parsons · Rating 4 out of 5]

Welcome to Marvel's school of magic. If you've read the Harry Potter series, this will be very similar. Magical kids go to school and fight magical bad to things. The art is good and the writing is good too. The school teachers are magic users from other Marvel comics and some other fun characters make an appearance.
There is some gutter loss with this edition. I don't like breaking the spine of my books, but I was able to gentle spread the pages enough to read to words and see the panels.

[curtis · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the interest of full disclosure, I’m inclined to think that Humberto Ramos’s artwork has always been able to make up for even the silliest stories….so it was an absolute pleasure to see some of his very best work on a book that’s just so thoroughly fun and enjoyable and light-hearted, yet capable of dialing up serious dramatic stakes when necessary. Strange Academy is what X-Men could be, if the latter weren’t so consumed with pretentious melodrama and a perennially-short attention span.

[Stephanie Ramirez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Class has begun for a new generation of sorcerers at Strange Academy. From Frost Giants to beings from other worlds, the students are set to learn and taught about the mystic arts with the help of recognizable characters, such as Scarlet Witch, Agatha Harkness, Doctor Voodoo and Strange himself. I loved getting to meet these new characters. If you are a Doctor Strange, you should definitely check out this comic.

[Erik J · Rating 2 out of 5]

First off, the art was absolutely gorgeous!

That being said ... the cast was (by far) way too large so we got very little time with each. And those that we did, I did not find interesting at all.

Also, the plot being non-existent made this a real slog to get through.

Overall - 2/5

[monte taft · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this

I'm a ducks for magical books about kids, minus Harry potter books, and I loved this one. How they cared for each other, how they worked as a team, and how the bonded with each other made for a great read for me!!!

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty fun volume. I liked the characters and the story was fun.

[John Pempek · Rating 5 out of 5]

So… much…. Fun… Harry Potter meets Marvel written by Skottie Young. What more could you ask for? The artwork and cameos are phenomenal… on the Year Two!!

[Grace]

Read volume 1 in November 2020, 4 stars.

Currently reading: Volume 2

[Lukasz · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5

Quick to read and mostly fun.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun book. I love the surrealism psychedelic stuff surrounding Marvel magic stuff and this doesn't disappoint.

[ℒ · Rating 4 out of 5]

lovely beings

[JM · Rating 3 out of 5]

Excellent art.