Doctor Voodoo: Avenger of the Supernatural #2 – Review

by Rick Remender (writer), Jefte Palo & Gabriel Hardman (artists), Jean-Francois Beaulieu (colorist), Lauren Sankovitch (editor)

The Story: Doom has abandoned Jericho Drumm in a dimension where his magic does not work. Worse yet, half of his Staff of Legba is stolen. He barely makes it back to Earth, only to find out that whatever foe he has been fearing is already way ahead of him. Luckily, Daimon Hellstorm is there to help.

What’s Good: I confess that I’m a fan of Marvel’s “sorcerous” worlds, all the way back to the spooky Lee/Kirby Dr. Strange stories, so seeing a new monthly with the new sorcerer supreme is awesome. Jericho Drumm is a great character. He obviously doubts himself, but is also obviously compensating and this is a situation that goes way back. He’s been someone filling shoes all his life and the shoes don’t get much bigger than holder of the Eye of Agamotto. Drumm is what takes a cosmic sorcerer supreme invasion story and makes it personal. And it’s not just Remender’s handling of Drumm’s personality that makes this work. There is also the whole different angle on magic: the new stuff, the new spells, all of which fit into Haitian mysticism. I listened to Marvel’s podcast interview with Remender on this new series and I was heartened to find out he’s as much a sorcerer supreme fanboy as I am and it shows in his approach to Drumm.

Palo, Hardman and Beaulieu deliver on the art chores. This is not realistic draftsmanship. Between the three of them, they produce one of the grittiest magic stories I can remember in Marvel. The textured environment, the stylized shadows on cyclopean frogs, the falling stones – the story is told through pictures and a brevity of text that really makes the bookwork. The surreal settings come alive because of the imagination that Palo and Hardman bring to the table. And Beaulieu adds a lot to the mood with the use of earthy browns, grays and dirty greens to set moods that are only interrupted by the red of Drumm’s cloak, or in the case of the flashback to his childhood, blood. Overall, the artistic effect is excellent.

What’s Not So Good: Nothing to complain about, other than having to wait until next issue to see what happens next.

Conclusion: Whether you’re a sorcerer supreme fanboy or not, go out and buy this book. It is original, tense, spooky, surreal and moody.

Grade: A-

-DS Arsenault