Doctor Strange (Folio Society Edition)

The Folio Society, the upscale publisher of limited editions, has released a fifth book in their Marvel Heroes series. (I previously talked about the Folio Society when I covered their Black Panther collection.) This time, it’s one of my favorite Marvel characters: Doctor Strange! As with the other books, Roy Thomas has selected the 13 stories reprinted here and written an introduction, explaining his choices. The hardcover is brilliantly colored, representing the psychedelic peak period of the Sorcerer Supreme. It […]

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Black Panther: A Nation Under Our Feet (Folio Society Edition)

The Folio Society is a London publisher of upscale books that’s celebrating its 75th anniversary this year. (I found out about them because they put out a slipcased set of very attractive hardcovers for Dorothy L. Sayers’ Lord Peter Wimsey mysteries.) They aim to release beautiful collector’s editions of classics; they succeed, based on the ones I’ve seen, although their books are limited, can be tricky to find if you don’t buy them when they’re released, and expensive. But that […]

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Marvel Super Heroes: The Ultimate Pop-Up Book

Know a Marvel fan? Want something unusual to impress them? Marvel Super Heroes: The Ultimate Pop-Up Book is exactly what you need. There are six spreads, one each for Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, and cosmic characters, and two for the Avengers. They are full of information boxes and “interactive elements”, as the promo has it. That means doors with character profiles or mini-pop-ups with changes. Just about any character you know from the movies has a short background […]

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Captain Carter #1

It’s always a pleasant surprise when I find a superhero comic I enjoy these days. It’s mostly my fault — I’ve read so many of them, and I find many of the expectations of the genre (mostly the idea that anything can be solved by punching) no longer to my taste. But Captain Carter #1 does many things I like. It stars a woman, for one thing, and one who’s allowed to be physical, instead of having vague point and […]

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The Death of Doctor Strange #1

I’m not crazy about the concept behind The Death of Doctor Strange #1, a five-issue miniseries written by Jed MacKay and illustrated by Lee Garbett. The more events promote a morbid ending that readers already know won’t stick, the less it means, and the cheaper the gimmick becomes. Admittedly, this is one of the characters, given all the magic, that is more reasonable to take the approach with. (With the slim possibility that Disney, Marvel’s owners, won’t pay off Steve […]

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Doctor Strange: Surgeon Supreme #1

Marvel has relaunched Doctor Strange with a new #1 subtitled Surgeon Supreme. After events of the previous series, and a deal with a demon, Dr. Strange has the use of his hands back, so that he can resume his previous life as “the world’s greatest neurosurgeon”. He clarifies, early on, that he won’t combine his magic and his medicine, as “spellcraft requires total concentration” and he can’t multitask while operating. (Although his unique vision does allow for some impressively gnarly […]

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The Unstoppable Wasp #5

The Unstoppable Wasp #5 is a Very Special issue that explores bipolar disorder. Nadia, the new Wasp, in a manic episode, doesn’t realize that her compulsion to protect her friends is actually hurting them. It’s written by Jeremy Whitley with art by Gurihiru. I’ve been fascinated by a similar idea since Hal Jordan became Parallax in Zero Hour. Superheroes are vigilantes, which means by definition, they rely on their own judgement of what’s right and wrong without an established structure […]

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Captain Marvel #1

It is so great to have a new series launching in connection with a big-screen movie that is so very readable and approachable! I knew that would be the case, though, since it’s written by Kelly Thompson (Jem and the Holograms, Nancy Drew, A-Force), who does a wonderful job modernizing concepts, particularly those revolving around female friendship. And that’s what won me over here, that the opening fight, against a sea monster, teams up Captain Marvel with Jessica Drew, Spider-Woman. […]

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