Surprise Doctor’s Visit In Doctor Strange #18
by Josh Davison
[*Mild Spoilers Ahead!]
Mynnatown, Kansas. A couple are preparing a party to celebrate the figure-skating championship win of their young daughter. There’s a knock at the door, but, instead of their daughter coming home, it’s Doctor Strange. He begins fiddling around the house and destroying their furniture and appliances. The husband is about to throw Strange out when a demon begins coming in through their television and speaking in rhymes. The couple’s house sits atop dimensional leylines, and Doctor Strange is trying to exorcise a demon that’s breaking through.
Doctor Strange #18 presents the reader with a fun one-off issue of Doctor Strange helping an everyday couple with apocalyptic problems of which they weren’t even aware.
Viewers of Doctor Who may find the story somewhat reminiscent of that show, though some of the contours of the narrative are quite different. For one thing, Stephen Strange is far more brusque and short with the couple than the more recent Doctor Who stars. But the formula of an extraordinary person breaking into an ordinary home to solve an unknown problem feels very Doctor Who indeed–not that this is a bad thing.
It’s a great one-off story for sure. Watching Stephen Strange deal with a more “run of the mill” problem is a nice change of pace after the “Herald Supreme” Galactus story.
The return of artist Jesus Saiz brings much to celebrate. Saiz is a phenomenal artist with a very unique vision for Doctor Strange. The texturing and detail work is brilliant and unique to Saiz. His color work is explosive and absorbing to boot. This is an absolutely gorgeous comic book.
Doctor Strange #18 is another stellar issue for the Sorcerer Supreme. We get to see Stephen Strange perform a surprise exorcism for a couple who would never have known a demon inhabited their home otherwise. Mix that fun premise with the masterful Jesus Saiz, and you have a comic book well worth recommending. Feel free to give it a read.
Doctor Strange #18 comes to us from writer Mark Waid, artist and cover artist Jesus Saiz, letterer VC’s Cory Petit, and variant cover artists Marcos Martin; and Alan Davis with Mark Farmer and Matt Hollingsworth.
Final Score: 8.5/10
