After reviewing the story from Strange Tales #126 that featured Dr. Strange, I  found my self all to eager to read the second part; to bare witness to the conflict between the Doctor and the Dreaded Dormammu.  In fact, in the early pages of this adventure, we learn that this Duel does come with a high cost, win or lose.  We already knew from the last adventure, that if Dr. Strange lost, Dormammu intends to invade earth.  It is in these pages that we learn that if Dormammu looses, that his realm will face great danger from the mindless ones;  Thus putting Dr. Strange in the mental realm of not just a hard, but complex ethical conflict, even before the magical duel begins.

Artwork

I find that the artistic style flows from the last issue to this one, offering the same flow and feel, even when being read back to back.  The high energy magical duel offers both interesting ‘effects’ while leaving the background plane and vast feeling.  This while the Mindless ones, offer a great and interesting  other threat, along with their simple design.  Lastly, we have a redesign of Doctor Strange at the end of the adventure. where he receives the gift of a new red and gold cape to replace the blue one we have seen for so long; as well as a new amulet.

Story

The second half of the story does a good job of continuing what was stared the prior issue, while giving us a bit more investment.  Then the conflict resolution proves to be interesting, even if it is doubtless to prove inconclusive in the long run.  I feel this two-part story, does a good job tying together; Dr. Strange, and his purpose and place in the marvel universe, leaving me all the eager for more appearances of the sorcerer supreme.

Character And Development

Mystery Girl of the Dark Dimension

I won’t tell you yet who the mystery girl of the dark dimension is, if you want to know there are plenty of ways to find out online, and after I reach a point in reviewing that her identity has been revealed I will activate the link on the character list and you can click there. But the slow introduction, and a bit of mystery are great elements to any story and even more so, for Dr. Strange

She is , in this story an interesting new ally for doctor strange, or perhaps looking out for those of her world, making sure that our protagonist in saving earth does not dam the innocent of the dark dimension.

The Mindless Ones

We get just a taste of them in this tale, but even with a bit of an introduction they end up playing an important role in the climactic conclusion, and perhaps not one you might expect. This is an introduction of a classic group of antagonist, and one that I feel brings a strange uniqueness to them. Mindless as they are…

Originality And Continuity

This ties highly into what I talked about with the Charicters and development. The dark dimension may be a dark place, but not everyone who calls it home may be evil. We get that with our Mystery girl and how she explains the need to preserve Dormammu to preserve the order that Dormammu brings.

This leaves our hero without the ability to do what he had intended, destroy evil. In many ways this is a hint of shades of gray that freckle many comic tales (more so after the silver age then during it) . An Evil being may be good in other ways, or perhaps necessary. Thus leading to a different solution , a … compromise.