Thursday, August 23, 2018
Random Reads: "He Who Stalks!" by Stern, Sutton, and Chan
Dig it, Groove-ophiles! Yesterdays' magical post has gotten Ol' Groove in a magic mood, so here's a fave Dr. Strange tale, written by one of my fave Dr. Strange writers, Roger Stern. The moody art is by the unlikely-but-interesting team of Tom Sutton and Ernie Chan (anyone who remembers that the Doc/Clea figures on the splash page were used on the back cover of the Pocket Books Dr. Strange reprint paperback book, go to the head of the class). I s'pose the main reason I like this one so much is because it features a rare non-Defenders team-up of Doc and Nighthawk, plus cool cameos by Iron Man, the Beast, and Yellowjacket (what, you thought Ol' Groove dug it because it featured Daredevil's old nemesis, Death-Stalker?) Oh, and, yeah, I'd have bought Dr. Strange #29 (March 1978) for the gorgeous Frank Brunner cover alone!
Sutton and Chan did not make a good combination. Don't know what the thinking was behind the pairing but I would have prefered all Sutton. The Brunner cover was nice. His name will forever be associated with Dr. Strange. Have you run any part of the magnificent 6 issue Rogers/Austin run of Dr. Strange, 48 - 53? I believe Stern wrote those also.
ReplyDeleteI looove that Stern/Rogers/Austin run, but I think Groove's Bronze Age ends before that, with the 70s.
DeleteI always loved this issue, still remember grabbing it from the spinner rack.
ReplyDeleteLoved that surprising Sutton/Chan combo at the time, so much so that their (and Stern's) first issue of Strange was still very readable despite the disappointment of the Starlin no show (after that cliffhanger ending to the brilliant #26 - aaarrgh! )
ReplyDeleteUsually those Filipino guys tended to overpower the pencils with their own style, but here you still get that distinctive, feverish quality Sutton's work had with an added realism that seems appropriate for Dr. Strange.
Great choice Groove.
Maybe in the near future you could post that issue Sutton did with P. Craig Russell...?
-sean
Yeah, I remember this one. I also bought it off the rack, and liked it. Can't really see Sutton in here, though. Chan's inks are pretty dominant and give it that "Conan vs Thulsa Doom" vibe. Stern was an interesting writer: always had a good feel for characterization and inter-character relationships that rang true.
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