Here's a book I didn't expect to even remotely like.
This reviews describes it pretty well.
Actually the two Strange stories in the front and back are pretty dumb in my opinion.
*BUT* the Impossible Man story in between them is probably the funniest thing I've read in years!
If you're a fan who isn't too keen on the direction Marvel has gone or even if you are you should check this book out.
Or just read it at a news stand if you have to!
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Stan Lee Meets Doctor Strange
Written by: Stan Lee & Brian Michael Bendis
Drawn by: Alan Davis, Mark Farmer and Mark Bagley
www.popsyndicate.com/index.php/site/sto ... strange_1/
Even though “Stan Lee Presents...” no longer appears regularly in comics (heck, it isn’t even in this comic book,) he’ll always be renowned as one of the key creators of Marvel Comics. He created these characters that we all still read and love today, more than 40 years after he scripted Fantastic Four #1. Stan’s an absent figurehead nowadays, one that we see pop up in film cameos and on DVDs more than we see him in comic pages. So, to celebrate Stan’s 65th year at Marvel, his party includes him writing books where he meets characters he has created. A few weeks ago, he met Spider-Man and now he catches up with Doctor Strange.
In the “Stan Lee Meets Doctor Strange” story, Stan finds himself in his “friend” Stephen Strange’s neighborhood so he decides to stop by, pay a visit and catch up on Strange’s “wild tales” or “far-out worlds.” He finds a different Doctor Strange than the one he remembers. Instead of worrying about the invading forces or Dormammu or Baron Mordo, Strange is working on his taxes, running a souvenir shop and trying to figure out how to keep his rent down. Strange’s Santum Sanctorum has become the mystical equivalent of the Hard Rock Cafe and it costs $50 for a personal audience with Strange. When Stan reminds Strange’s assistant who he is (he actually has to say “I’m Stan Lee!”,) he’s politely told that he qualifies for the senior citizen discount.
Stan’s writing is humorous and quirky and oddly refreshing. Right now he has this weird outsider view of Marvel that makes his story (lovingly drawn by Alan Davis) almost read like an indictment of Marvel. Without coming out and saying it, Stan’s pointing out how the current Marvel isn’t the Marvel he had a hand in creating. His Doctor Stange was heroic, mysterious and noble. He wouldn’t turn his house into a profit-driving machine or shill out his skills for the tourists. The whole point of this story is to point out how (in his estimation) Marvel has fallen from his ideals.
The second story in this book is a tribute to Stan written by Brian Michael Bendis and drawn by Mark Bagley. Thematically, it’s the exact opposite of Stan’s story, pointing out how much has changed and trying to drive home the point that change is good. Stan even appears in this story saying, “Change is good.” In the story, the Impossible Man returns to Marvel after a long absence. But he’s returned to the post-Civil War world. Looking to cause his usual fun mayhem and play with the Fantastic Four, he’s stunned to learn about the superhero civil war and that Reed and Sue Richards have split. It only gets worse from there as he gets an unwanted history lesson of the past couple of years, hearing about the death of Hawkeye, the New Avengers ("Ew" is his commentary about the new Stark Towers) and Gwen Stacy’s elicit affair with Norman Osborne. All in all, it’s not pretty. In the end, Bendis, the architect of a lot of this, reminds us through Stan that “change is good.”
Stan Lee Meets Doctor Strange sends mixed messages. Either the Marvel Universe is a poorer place since Stan Lee left it or Lee would have embraced the change and supported Gwen Stacy having kids out of wedlock. Take your pick.
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