Three years after Jed MacKay made his debut on Doctor Strange, his time on the title has come to a close. Did MacKay kill Stephen, give him a brutal betrayal in Blood Hunt and ultimately strip him of the title of Sorcerer Supreme? Yes. But you can tell it was all done with a great love of the character.
While the latter half of this volume focuses on Blood Hunt and the final issue of the series, the first four issues let MacKay throw some fun ideas out before his time is up on the title. The first two chapters focus on a “baby’s day out” type of story with Clea’s new sister, Donna, as well as what Bats the ghost dog gets up to in his time while he’s not with the Stranges. Danilo S. Beyruth provides the art while KJ Diaz provides the colors for these opening chapters. They lend a charming warmth to the page that I really enjoyed. One standout sequence is the debut of a new iteration of the Circus of Crime as they deal with a rogue magical baby.
The next story in this book features a D&D-style adventure where Stephen needs to gather an adventuring party to grapple with a living roleplaying fantasy game called Cobolorum. MacKay uses this adventure as an excuse to use some of his favorite characters from past and present. The party is made up of Stephen, Black Cat, Hunter’s Moon, and Taskmaster. It’s a hoot and there’s a great ongoing joke about Stephen’s “friends (and Taskmaster).”
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The penultimate three chapters are the tie-ins to the Blood Hunt event. While they initially focus on the fallout from Blade’s betrayal, the tie-in issues then turn to focus on Wong and Bats as they deal with the ghost of Stephen’s brother, Victor Strange, who has been skulking around after being thrown into The Crypt of Shadows (a sort of shadow dimension behind the mirrors of the Sanctum Sanctorum). Oh and Bats talks to The God of Dogs and is a very good boy.
The final chapter in this volume is Mackay’s final issue with Stephen Strange. While a good chunk is dedicated to the fallout of Stephen losing the title of Sorcerer Supreme (to Doctor Doom, no less) and his internal struggle, MacKay also makes sure to check in on other characters before heading out the door. We get to see Wong and his W.A.N.D. (Wizardry Alchemy Necromancy Department) comrades one more time as well as General Stephen Strange (a previously evil alternate version of Stephen).
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Art duties on these last six issues of this volume return to the hands of Pasqual Ferry and Heather Moore and I couldn’t be happier. The combo of these two gives the book a unique and ethereal feel. Moore in particular provides some amazing colors that gave me ’80s cartoon vibes for the fantasy roleplaying adventure. One small thing I found delightful throughout MacKay’s run is that Ferry made the Eye of Agamotto a character that reacts to the things happening on the page.
Besides the gorgeous Alex Ross covers, one variant in the back of the book that caught my eye is one by Lee Garbett and Dean White. It’s a celebration of everything MacKay has done in this corner of the Marvel Universe.
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This run is a love letter to the weirder side of Marvel’s magical world and can proudly stand beside other recent great runs by Aaron, Cates, and Waid. My only gripe is that I selfishly could’ve used some more time to say goodbye.
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