Strange #6 // Review
Wong is having a rough time of it. He’s one of a long line of people who have come to serve the Sorcerer Supreme of Earth’s Dimension. Wong’s Sorcerer Supreme is dead, and he needs to find out why as writer Jed MacKay ushers him into Strange #6. MacKay is aided in delivering Wong’s story by artist Lee Garbett and colorist Java Tartaglia. Wong’s had a higher profile in the mainstream thanks to his appearances in various ends of the MCU. MacKay gives the comics’ Wong a very impressive solo issue spotlight that makes a strong case for an extended close-up on Dr. Strange’s servant.
Wong is taking the ghost dog for a walk. He’s walking him out to The Bar With No Doors. The bartender is a woman who doesn’t have a set face. A curse keeps her from ever looking like the same person for too long. He’s gone to the bar to get the advice of Black Widow. Wong’s investigation will lead him to the X-Men’s Jean Grey, but before he can get there, he’s accosted by a vicious gang that’s all hopped up on fairy dust. It’s going to be a long night for Wong.
So Clea doesn’t show up at all in the sixth issue of her solo comic. It should be pointed out, though, that the title is merely a last name that also happens to be an adjective. And Wong’s journey into a mystery to discover his friend’s killer is nothing if not Strange. MacKay does a really good job of making a very wild and winding investigation feel smooth and graceful as Wong walks the stranger shadows of Marvel Manhattan with the ghost dog who serves as his sidekick. MacKay has shown a flair for mixing magic with street-level crime in his work on Black Cat. With Strange, he’s showing some talent for mixing magic with mystery and espionage.
One of the more interesting things about Wong over the years has been how totally unassuming he looks. Wong’s look was designed by Steve Ditko to look nondescript. Garbett takes a very casual-looking guy and gives him heroic stature without resorting to any cheap tactics. He trusts in one man’s journey to define his heroism in a world of psychic powers, strange magics, and so much lurking beneath the surface of one of the largest cities on Earth. It’s an impressively understated kind of action that amplifies the drama of a man who feels as though he’s failed before he ever walks into the first panel of the issue.
The title of the issue is kind of fun. “The Big Spell” might be a reference to Raymond Chandler’s hardboiled detective novel, The Big Sleep. Given that there’s a real sense of loss in the story, it could also be a reference to The Big Chill--the 1980s dark comedy about loss. Wong’s investigating the death of Dr. Strange, but he’s also mourning his loss in his own way. It’s not the type of thing often explored in mainstream superhero comics.
