Doctor Strange #4: Secret Agent Wong

Alex Ross continues to deliver with his character depiction covers, this time with a focus on Wong. The characters look as vibrant as ever, with Ross’s style from Fantastic Four seeping through as well. This cover is a great mix between these two styles with realism working for the characters, while surrealism used to invoke mystery and wonder with the cosmic and magical backgrounds and effects. The cover also works thematically, as Wong gets to be in the forefront while Doctor Strange and others are pushed to the back corner. This is a reminder that while this is a Doctor Strange series, this issue in particular focuses on Wong and the greater magical world that he is defending.

MacKay is setting up the long game here, with the first three issues focusing on Doctor Strange’s world and now on the greater magical community. Wong has been turned into a secret agent over the last several issues and series and this world fits him wonderfully. With Clea at home with Strange, it makes sense to have Wong out doing his own thing so that he doesn’t get shoved on the back burner. Doctor Strange #4 builds on this in a great way, showing Wong’s care and skills have not gone away, and that he still very much cares about doing the right thing. Along with a fun cast of characters, Wong is fighting the good, secret, magical fight. 

Andy MacDonald takes over the art of this issue, delivering a great expose of the different kinds of missions that W.A.N.D. encounters. The settings vary from the ocean depths, and Hong Kong’s streets, all the way to abandoned mines. Everything is beautifully realized, with each setting getting its time to shine. MacDonald does a great job of highlighting the capabilities of this covert team. Kike J Diaz’s colors build on this, highlighting the magical craziness of this world via the ghosts and other magical incantations. This team also gets the chance to draw some guest stars like Ghost Rider who looks great in his brief appearance.

Speaking of Ghost Rider, MacKay seems to be having a blast interconnecting his various series, with brief cameos like this serving as a reminder that he has his section of the Marvel universe carved out. This cameo in particular shows the lightheartedness of his writing, allowing comedic moments like this to flourish in a way that breaks up the exposition and more serious elements of the issue.

Finally, Cory Petit’s letters bring the whole issue together. The different lettering styles and dialogue flair help bring all of these characters to life. The more expository elements are made more palatable by the way Petit structures the dialogue around the pages. This helps the entire issue read consistently, emphasizing the stellar art and story.