Strange #2: Thunder! ThunDER! THUNDERSTRIKE HOOOOOOO!

It’s Clea’s second day on the job as Sorcerer Supreme of the earthly dimension, and it’s quite the busy one indeed. She comes face to face with a gilded masked face with Death’s very own…Sorcerer Supreme, the Harvestman. The book is full of both world building and character development, where Jed delves into the dichotomy of where Clea is right now, as the sorcerer supreme of both the Dark Dimension, as well as this one, and how the magicks from both of them aren’t exactly on the same wavelength, which I think this is a rather brilliant take on the situation here. Also the relationship between Clea and Wong is refreshing, on top of comedic timing with the sassy snakes, and affable Bats. 

Despite having magic for nearly the entire existence of the Marvel universe, there are very few comics that have given it a series of outlines that helps to dictate what can, or can’t be done, without having to use it as a crutch. Sure, with things like magic, you’re always going to have these issues, but magic is no different than the over the top sci-fi fixes, like any of Tony Stark’s kajillion armors, or whatever weird scientific feat that Reed Richards concocts that can fix literally almost any problem. 

With this issue, we’re seeing a weird war that’s taking place inside Clea, as her station as Sorcerer Supreme is wreaking havoc inside of her. This adds a depth for Jed to mine and creates some character growth in Clea, who unfortunately doesn’t have decades of development under her belt. She’s had meager pittance in regards to other love interests in comics, to no fault of her own, because Doctor Strange has a fairly spotty record when it comes to carrying solo titles, so having a fairly underdeveloped supporting cast is to be expected. Much like with Blade, despite what the Wesley Snipes movies did to establish his place in pop culture, to the point writers often mine the movies for character development. 

Marcelo Ferreira on art duties, and he’s still killing it. Sure, I’m not completely in love with how Clea looks when she’s in her full Sorcerer Supreme mode, and the fire hair is…still not my favorite aesthetic choice, but I’m willing to let it grow on me. His Thunderstrike is both grotesque and menacing at the same time, and the Harvestman has an interesting design, with a rather ill defined power level, especially he shrugged off some of Strange’s most popular, and powerful, wards and spells, so where we go from here should be an interesting.