Doctor Strange #6: He Was Never The Same

Doctor Strange #5 ended on a crazy cliffhanger that the mysterious killer Stephen had been looking for was General Strange, a weird version of Doctor Strange linked to the War of the Seven Spheres. In Doctor, Strange #6, Jed MacKay is joined by guest artist Juan Gedeon for a bottle issue style tale that delves into the War of the Seven Spheres and how it made our titular hero into the evil General Strange. 

Before getting into the meat of the issue, there is a page from the G.O.D.S scribe, Jonathan Hickman. Surprisingly, this page is part of the story and in the middle of the issue rather than an end stinger. Unfortunately, this page comes out of nowhere, adding little to nothing to the story, and doesn’t do anything to set up anything for G.O.D.S. Instead, it shows Wyn, one of the new characters, show up, talk to General Strange, make fun of him, and then leave. That being said, there has to be some credit due to Hickman and MacKay for being able to insert this organically into the issue rather than just keeping it separate.

The crux of this issue is how far Strange will go before he loses himself. This is a tale of how war can change people, even those who have devoted themselves to saving lives. MacKay does an excellent job of pacing out the events that show General Strange’s downfall, from small compromises to outright demands for allies’ executions. This heartbreaking series of events lead to the most significant change in the Doctor Strange mythos, the outright villainization of the Vishanti. This works well for the story and hopefully will come back later in the series after the Doctor has dealt with the General.

Juan Gedeon was an excellent choice for this issue’s artist, with his style fitting war’s visceral tone and gruesome nature. Kike J Diaz’s colors fill the battlefield with a harsh red tone, highlighting the dark path that Strange takes as war takes a role on his character. This is Strange, like we’ve never seen him before, with each event in the war taking a toll, slowly changing the appearance in ways that Gedeon conveys horrifyingly and dramatically.

Alex Ross’s cover for this issue must be the best cover in this series. General Strange looks menacing while he wields a giant ax, with the desolate yet fantastic wasteland in the background. This darker take on Strange immediately sets the tone for the issue by saying, yeah, we are about to get one hell of a Doctor Strange by the end of this. Ross’s attention to detail in the background also gives this magical and cosmic tale a mysterious ambiance that heightens the threat faced in the unwinnable war that General Strange is forced to fight. 

Cory Petit does an excellent job with the letters. Each character is given a unique voice accentuated by some unique speech bubbles that Petit puts in. So far, this series has been a blast to read, mainly due to Perot’s letters, with the cast of Doctor Strange never appearing so vividly on the pages with how they are uniquely lettered.