Hi, Mark.
MD> It would be interesting to see Wolverine and Dr. Strange work
MD> together more often.
     I must confess, I have about as much use for Wolverine as I do
Venom & the Punisher.  I can think of 100 other Marvel characters I'd
prefer to see Doc meet than either of those 3.  Sorry 'bout that...
He did appear in Doc's last series... just in case you missed it and
you're interested in picking it up (I have no idea in which issue
though).
MD> I've seen Spiderman, Namor, The Incredible Hulk, and Ghost Rider
MD> all work alongside Dr. Strange, as well as the Silver Surfer and
MD> Dr. Doom (in that brilliant GN which I don't own).  I can't
MD> remember who else Dr. Strange has worked with though.  Could you
MD> give me a list of whom you can remember?
     My answer would probably have to be... "pretty much the entire
Marvel Universe at one time or another"...  But seriously, he's a
character who's been around since the early days of the Silver Age of
Marvel Comics.  He can't help but have bumped into most of their
characters at one time or another.  He's even run into Batman during
one of Marvel & DC's "Access" mini-series (which lead to a JLA/X-Men
fight).
DH> I like my Doc Strange to maintain that definitive look he's worn
DH> so well now for almost 30 years.
MD> It's not only definitive, but not as tasteless as many of the
MD> other costumes that I've seen on people.  Then again, seeing Dr.
MD> Strange fight some evil demonic entity in an Armani suit would
MD> make him seem far more Mephistophelean, now wouldn't it? {grins}
     I just find that Doc is one of those instantly recognizable
characters in the Marvel Universe.  I think they can monkey with the
design a little here and there... but in the end, I think he still
needs to be easily identified as Dr. Strange.
MD> That's the way the fans seem to like him best (and with good
MD> reason.
DH> Unfortunately, even the "classic"-looking Doctor Strange doesn't
DH> appear to have enough fans to keep his book going in the long run.
MD> Most of his fans will buy him when he's involved with other
MD> characters.  Most of the Dr. Strange solo storylines are boring
MD> and convoluted.  When he is working with others, he takes on a new
MD> presence which he can't create by himself (IMHO).
     I would hardly call somebody a "fan" if the only way they'll buy
a character's book is if it guest-stars somebody else...
     Personally, I think to relegate Doc to being a perennial guest-
star is to ignore the solo potential he has... even if that means he
can't hold down a solo book in the long-run.  Don't get me wrong.  I
do think he should interact with the Marvel Universe... but I also
think he can be effective as a solo feature too (just not in an
ongoing series of his own)... and should be promoted accordingly.
That's why I favour the mini-series route.
     I think during the Roy & Dann Thomas era of the last series, the
book had achieved a fairly good mixture of guest-stars and supporting
cast members (which included Doc's brother as the new Baron Blood).
The stories were solid and, for the most part, geared to Doc's
particular brand of super-heroics.  The art was great (IMO)... with
both Jackson Guice and Geoff Isherwood having stints on the series.
Where the book started dropping off (IMO) was when the writers (I
think it was still the Thomases) decided to, once again, strip Doc
down to nothing (something that happened way-too often to him, IMO).
Also, as the series went along... the regular stories were being
interrupted for Infinity Gauntlet/Crusade/War crossover issues... and
I'm not talking about one or 2 here.  I think Doc, like the Silver
Surfer, lost a lot of issues to those stupid crossovers... and that's
gotta play havoc with the flow of a series... especially one like
Doctor Strange.
MD> Think about it for a moment.  Does Martian Manhunter of DC Comics
MD> have HIS own comic book?
     Nor should he, IMO.  That being said, I do think Doc's been
around more consistantly over the past 4 decades and therefore is a
little better developed than the Martian Manhunter is.
MD> THen have them show up occasionally, like that Martian Manhunter
MD> team in the DC Universe.  I think it was called "JLA: Special
MD> Missions" or something like that.
     The title you're searching for is "Justice League Task Force"...
and I agree.  In it's original form, that book was something special.
I think it was most unfortunate that DC decided to abandon that format
to go with a more "New Mutants"-ish approach.  The book went from
being the only (then published) Justice League book I could stand to
read...  to being just another crappy League title.
MD> I liked the idea of an ever-changing team where specialists were
MD> summoned as needed.  I never bought an issue, but I loved the
MD> stories within. {smiles}
     I like that idea... but I also like the idea of there being some
constant characters in the series too... kinda like the original
"Defenders" book was (the idea of virtually changing the entire team
from story-to-story was done in "Secret Defenders").  Even the current
"JLA" book now has something like that in place.  There are 7 core
members (Superman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Green Lantern, Flash, Batman
& the Martian Manhunter), 6 more regular members (Orion, Big Barda,
Plastic Man, Steel, Zauriel & the Huntress), 1 coordinating member
(Oracle) and one guest-specialist (which changes from issue to issue).
MD> What was DC thinking about?  Creating a "Moon Knight" for their
MD> own purposes?
DH> Why do you think Fate was an attempt by DC to create their
DH> version of Moon Knight?
MD> Look at him?  "Oh, I'm such a hardcore character, going around,
MD> kicking butt and getting mystical items."  Not exactly like our
MD> man Marc Spectre(?), but a similar concept.
     You can thank the comic industry's love affair with grim & gritty
characters with attitude for "Fate"... the very same love affair that
catapulted Venom & the Punisher into their own series.  Don't you
think there's an interesting similarity between Moon Knight and
Batman... the "Dark Knight" (or that the first issue of the last "Moon
Knight" series debuted the same week that "Batman" opened into
theatres)?
MD> When did the change from Dr. Fate to Fate happen, anyway?
     Dr. Fate met his... uh fate during the "Zero Hour" mega-
crossover... the same series which spawned "Fate".
Talk to you later.
David
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