Stereo Comics   +  TIME

Been caught soliciting: Marvel, October, 2011.

When I saw a solicitation for a NEXTWAVE character, featuring a rather good NEXTWAVE-y cover by Juan Doe; written by a writer with a name so preposterous, it could only be pseudonymous; with a most curiously bone-dry solicitation blurb, I started to get suspicious. Could Warren Ellis be playing some obtuse prank on us all? But no, it turns out there really is a writer out there called "Dennis Hopeless". Honest. Best of luck with that one, young man.

I remember loving the Stern/Smith Dr Strange run a lot as a young 'un. Then Smith left, and Badger took over, and I liked that, too. But Stern left, and Peter Gillis took over, and Badger absconded quickly, too. The title died on its arse after that, and was folded into a split-book with Cloak & Dagger, with the venerable Marvel name STRANGE TALES. I love a split-book, and this one usually had great covers, by Kevin Nowlan or even Mike Mignola, and let's all remember comics were dirt-cheap back then, so I bought quite a few issues, but I do recall the book's contents as being pretty dreadful. Which leads me to the question: why are Marvel reprinting them? No-one in the creative team has suddenly been reappraised or became hot. Maybe it's because it was an earlier attempt at doing a darker, de-powered Strange, like the one Bendis is writing these days. I'll go ahead and just presume that this is part of a decision to create a sufficient Dr. Strange back-list for whenever the inevitable movie adaptation is announced. Anyway, less cynicism, more nice vintage Kevin Nowlan art.

Anyway, less ruminatin': the whole lot are up to see at CBR.