Strange Tales (2009) was one of the most exciting things to
come out in the last decade because of all of the amazingly diverse and
original alternative creators doing their versions of the standard Marvel pantheon
of heroes. And of all the great work presented in this anthology
Dash Shaw did
one of the most exciting stories of the bunch.
For his subject
Dash Shaw had the good taste to pick
Dr. Strange
and his nemesis
Nightmare who were created by
Stan Lee and
Steve Ditko, the team that created the pop icon of
Spider-Man.
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Originally presented in Strange Tales (1951) #122 |
I say
Dash Shaw had the good taste because
Ditko’s Dr. Strange is among my
favorite of the early
Marvel Comics with it’s wildly inventive and beautiful psychedelic landscapes
and characters.
|
Stan Lee and Steve Ditko's Dr. Strange fights Nightmare in the psychedelic realms of the mind. |
In just 4 short pages
Dash Shaw not only does an amazing tribute
to the original work but he does it in his truly original and energetic style.
In the first page we have a great picture of the
Doc in his element with all of the awesome strangeness of the original
Ditko
version.
Dash inks his work in clumsy large black lines and
cross hatchings that reminds me of a classic
Chest Gould Dick Tracy page. But he quickly goes beyond anything
Gould ever did when he mixes media and for the background does this
abstract painting that looks like pastel and computer generated shapes and swirls.
Not only do we get a visual treat in these pages but they
also convey an incredible sense of magic and spell casting that rivals the
original works or any magicians in any medium. You really get a sense that
there is a battle of the wits going on with
Strange and
Nightmare each
concentrating to their limit in a battle field of the mind.
Dash ends the comic back in the physical realm trying desperately to stay wake and out of Nightmare's grasp.
These comics wonderfully bring together old comic masterpieces with the innovative creators of today. Though
Dash is not one of the most subtle and delicate artists around, what he lacks in subtlety and delicacy he makes up for in energy, creativity and whimsy, and does it in spades!
Recently, I was surveying about the costumes of Marvel characters and found out Doctor Strange's costume to be the most underrated one. This is absolutely unimaginable certainly when there are a number of outdated wardrobes given to the characters as compared to the Doctor Strange Benedict Cumberbatch Red Coat which still is pretty much better than the rest.
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