A MARVEL GRAPHIC NOVEL
By Roger Stern, Michael Mignola & Mark Badger (Marvel)
ISBN: 0- 87135-559-0
I can’t recall the last time Marvel published an all-original graphic novel as opposed to a collection, but not so very long ago they were a market leader in the field with an entire range of “big stories†told on larger than normal pages (285 x 220 mm rather than the now customary 258 x 168 mm) featuring not only proprietary characters but also licensed assets like Conan and even creator-owned properties like Jim Starlin’s Dreadstar.
This odd seeming concoction is perhaps one of the very best Marvel Universe tales from the post Kirby years and tells a powerful tale by contrasting the mandatory origin sequences of the two doctors to produce effective motivations and deeper insights for both characters.
Victor Von Doom is a troubled gypsy genius who escaped the oppression of his homeland on a scholarship to America. Whilst there he was a rival to young Reed Richards, perhaps the most brilliant man alive. The arrogant Von Doom performed unsanctioned experiments which marred his perfect features, leading him down a path to super-science and an overwhelming hunger for power and control. His mother, a sorceress, burns in hell for the unholy powers she used in life, powers which her son also possesses.
Steven Strange was America’s greatest surgeon, a vain and arrogant man who cared nothing for the sick, except as a means to wealth and glory. When a drunken car-crash ended his career, Strange hit the skids until an overheard barroom tale led him to Tibet, an ancient magician and eventual enlightenment through daily redemption. He battles otherworldly evil as the Sorcerer Supreme, Master of the Mystic arts.
When a magical call goes out to all the World’s adepts offering a granted wish to the victor in a contest of sorcery both Doom and Strange are among the gathered. After mystic combat reduces the assemblage to the two doctors, Doom’s granted wish is to rescue his mother’s soul from Hell…
A classic quest saga, Triumph and Torment sees the two mages storm the gates of the Underworld in a mission of vain hope and warped mercy, battling the hordes of Mephisto and their own natures in a mesmerizing epic of power and pathos.
Roger Stern is at his absolute writing peak here and the unlikely art team of Michael Mignola and Mark Badger defy any superlatives I could use. The art is simply magical, especially the mesmerising colouring, also courtesy of Mr Badger.
High drama, heroism, perfidy and plenty of surprises wrapped in superb craftsmanship typify all that’s best in the “Marvel Style†and this tale has it all aplenty. A softcover edition (ISBN13: 978-0-87135-660-4) with an alternative cover is also available.
© 1989 Marvel Entertainment Group/Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Nice book. Stern & Mignola at their best…