Thoughts

While there’s huge amounts of visual and world building fun in this two-parter, there is a slight problem. The storytelling is a bit weak. Issue one has tons of exposition and issue two has a perplexing non-ending where everything gets reversed because Doctor Strange does A Thing.

While it’s a problem with the overall story though – the actual comic book is well scripted and cracks along at a fine pace. There’s action, scheming and a fair few twists that make it a great page turner.

Claremont’s take on Spider-man is also a curious one that i have a lot of time for. He’s perpetually doomed to just not quite know what’s going on, full of exasperated wisecracks. Not just here but in Claremont’s team-up too, Parker seems not quite of this world, someone too smart to really grab what’s going on when the world gets silly – but heroic enough to take a stand that’ll never get recognised. He’s not so much the awkward nerd or angst-ridden teen – but a teenagers ideal of themselves. Smart, brave, doomed to always be slightly out of synch with the world. This storyline is the most clear cut manifestation of that take.

Also while the ending is a little bit of a hand wave, it does nicely set up a new menace. Saving the day here seems to let in a new terrible threat to the X-characters. Like a dark little mid-credits scene at the very end.

Fun Panel

If we’re in a Conan-sequel Fantasy world, I wonder how they’re going to draw Storm?