I just picked this comic up the other day. A new store called Five Below has opened in a
nearby city and it is what it claims, everything is $5 or below. This comicbook was part of a bundle that sold
for $4 and contained four comics. I
picked up the DCnU Justice League #8 in this bundle. Some will be given as Trick or Treat
treats. I saved on cover price as this
book sold for $1.50 back in 1983. There
must have just been a price increase as the inside cover has a tongue and cheek
apology/explanation as to why it was increased.
Better paper seems the main selling point, also the need to pay to get
top notch writers and artist. Whatever,
not my concern as it was bought as a back issue.
The book contains two stories. The first is a tale of the Master of the
Mystic Arts. It starts out with a man
named Jim Mandarin and his love Meredith.
They are a nice couple that seems ordinary enough, even if she is painting
Jim as the true Doctor Strange atop a medieval stallion. Soon Jim is checking out a new book he
bought. He tries to do a spell and
thinks nothing happens. It becomes all
too clear that he has succeeded in summoning something and it captures him and
they both disappear.
That is when Meredith heads to find Doctor Strange. It is interesting seeing her seek out the
Sanctum of Dr. Strange. If her plight
was not so serious it would almost be comical.
She does arrive and the adventure begins. Strange, Meredith and Wong end up drawn into
a different dimension where Jim is the servant of an evil force of
darkness. It is even more powerful then
Dr. Strange. Thanks to Meredith the man
she loves breaks free of the Darkness and she is able to bring her painting to
life. Dr. Strange combines Jim and
himself to make a dual person that can face the Darkness.
Jim had been turned away by Dr. Strange. After this battle he begins to reconsider his
decision. All and all this is a nice
little story.
The second story is the beginning of what we all know as
The Jungle Book. Written by Rudyard
Kipling and popularized by Disney, this is a familiar tale. Gil Kane writes and draws the tale. It really is beautiful. This covers the initial finding and adoption
of Mowgli by the Wolf Pack. It is cool
seeing realistic animals in the roles.
The society they have created is cool as well. This is a great back-up piece.
A cool bit of art wraps up
this comicbook. It is a Bill Sienkiewicz
portfolio that includes the following; Dazzler, Doctor Strange (conjuring a
vampire bunny?), Hulk, Shanna the She-Devil, and Thor. Thor as the goofiest smile on his face and I
really dislike that pic. These are
really neat, plus they ran short a few pages so we get this instead. Still, would have been upset paying full
price and having six pages of filler.
BDS
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