Neilalien : A Doctor Strange Fansite : A Comic Book Weblog  

Here is the cover of Marvel Knights #8, out in December. Me like a lot! [Comics Continuum]

Posted 26 September 02000 - Permalink

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I have no idea how I missed this 19 August 02000 entry on the Comics2Film Doctor Strange page. Yes, Mr. David Goyer, all things are possible.

Epilogue: Ah, I see how I "missed" it- someone has since corrected the date to 19 September 02000.

Posted 26 September 02000 - Permalink

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Wow. When I was enjoying Babylon 5, I never imagined that J. Michael Straczynski would ever write for my beloved comic book artform. Now, as I enjoy his Rising Stars comic, it is announced that JMS will be writing Spider-Man for Marvel. I am now convinced that the franchise will turn around. And where Marvel goes, so does Doctor Strange. Excelsior!

I wish a writer of JMS' caliber would write some Doc stories.

By the way, our good Doctor is mentioned in this piece:

"...say for example if we have Doctor Strange appearing in an issue and he's supposed to be on the moon or something - so he's [Ralph Macchio] going to be helping me [Joe Quesada] out as a story content editor."

Yep. Doc on the moon. That's where he's been, all right. In the Watcher's outhouse, doing zilch. sigh

Posted 26 September 02000 - Permalink

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Dr. Strange Sighting: The Sentry #3

Could it be? Is that our good Doctor once again, in another banal, gratuitous appearance at the end of a comic book, warning or shepherding someone or otherwise being the detached useless Watcher of things magical in the Marvel Universe? sigh Can someone do something interesting with this character, please!?

Posted 20 September 02000 - Permalink

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CGC Comic Book Grading Revolutionizes Collector Market

Overheard at my local comic book convention this weekend and confirmed by an e-mail to a big dealer in the business:

So, I'm just going to assume that my sweet Doctor Strange collection in Near Mint is really in Very Fine, no matter how anal I've been. The only thing that softens the blow is that this is going to be happening to almost everybody else's comic book collection! I don't care about any corresponding decrease in value: investor-valuation in any way is not my source of collecting joy. Anyway, my focus has already changed over the past year to acquiring low grade, cheap reading copies and reprints of Doc's Strange Tales and his appearances outside his own titles, so that I can be a complete Doc encyclopedia.

Posted 17 September 02000 - Permalink

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The transcript of Joe Quesada's online chat this week is here.

Posted 15 September 02000 - Permalink

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Attention All Doctor Strange Fans

The September 02000 (No. 81) issue of Comic Book Marketplace has Doc on the cover, and two stories within! The first part is a commentary on the definitive Lee/Ditko run. I think there was a full search-and-replace spell-check error though- Dormammu is "Dormammes" throughout this article? The second part is a commentary on the rest of the Strange Tales run, #147-168. Definitely go check it out!

Posted 13 September 02000 - Permalink

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Chuck Dixon tells Comics Continuum about Doc's upcoming three-issue story arc in Marvel Knights (#7-9). Cloak plays a prominent role, his powers are explored. This is just old news getting repeated, but maybe it's creating a buzz.

Posted 13 September 02000 - Permalink

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Updated Review of the Hellcat Mini-Series (Spoilers)

I bought this mini-series because Dormammu was a major player, and it definitely was a story up the good Doctor's alley. I don't really know or care a lot about Hellcat, so that affects both my enjoyment and my qualifications for judging her characterization, so I won't get into a big review. I liked that Hellcat stayed within her power level, which is way way lower than Dormammu and Mephisto's. She used her brain instead, she prowled past detection spells and the big war, she was a monkey wrench. I also liked the overall bright coloration. Reminded me of the Ditko days, when the Dark Dimension wasn't actually dark.

Although the concept of Dormammu in need of heat and fire or even actually being fire is not foreign (see the also Englehart-written Dr. Strange #7 from 1975 for example), and he is a Faltinian after all, I never much cared for it, and the end of this mini highlighted that for me. A giant fire extinguisher shouldn't beat this guy. The Flames are the symbol of his rulership over the Dark Dimension, and should have no combat effect. Well, considering the pathetic ways that he's been defeated over the years, at least it took something as grand as five combined demonic powers and "Hell freezing over" to beat him this time.

Actually, I don't really know or care a lot about Satannish or Daimon Hellstrom either- but as I understand it, a lot of their continuity went out the window for no good reason in this mini-series.

And of course, it totally disgusted me that Dr. Strange was nowhere to be found!

Posted 11 September 02000 - Permalink

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Joe Quesada will be doing his first online chat since becoming Marvel's Editor-in-Chief. It's scheduled for this Wednesday the 13th at 9 pm EST- sign up here. I wish I could particpate and ask about Doc's near future. Hopefully a full transcript will be made available.

Posted 11 September 02000 - Permalink

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Marvel Editor Tom Brevoort informs us that Defenders #1 will be double-sized.

Posted 11 September 02000 - Permalink

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Acquisition: Marvel Fanfare #5 (11/82) (Spoilers)

Doctor Strange graces the cover and first story of this issue. Nicodemus is back, with his diabolical mix of sorcery and science. Using an endangered-child ruse as a Trojan Horse, he enters the Sanctum Sanctorum and steals half of Doc's power before Doc can even start protecting himself. As Doc stalls for time by traveling across dimensions, he and Clea conspire to give Nicodemus exactly what he wants: the other half of Doc's power and the mantle of Sorcerer Supreme. But when Nico gets it, he doesn't have the required wisdom and maturity to handle the expanded perception, majesty and horror of what being Sorcerer Supreme is all about, and his mind and body shut down. A slightly hokey morality play, but good. Written by Chris Claremont, drawn by Marshall Rogers and Craig Russell.

Posted 10 September 02000 - Permalink

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Thanks to the Readers!

When you lurch towards the micro-niche for your website (and there is no more micro of a niche than a Dr. Strange weblog), you do it out of love, not out of hits. Narrowly specialized content and solutions are the beauty of the Web and should be preserved. -Jakob Nielsen. And hey, it's just a fun little weblog, no big deal. Well, last week was the first week that Neilalien averaged 25 hits per day. And it would have been even higher without the Labor Day holiday. Thank you for your e-mails, links and readership. Together, we shall rise up and generate so much demand for new and better Doc stories that Marvel cannot deny us! Excelsior! :)

Posted 10 September 02000 - Permalink

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This nice Aquaman site has detailed info on his sales history. I would like to do that for Doctor Strange on this site. Anyone know where I could get the numbers?

Posted 10 September 02000 - Permalink

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I had an opportunity to see The Specials at a science fiction movie festival here in NYC a few weeks back. I recommend it to all comic book fans!

Posted 7 September 02000 - Permalink

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John Romita, Jr. interviewed (Part 2) at Hero Realm. Pretty grim for us true believers.

Posted 5 September 02000 - Permalink

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