Strange Tales #111

I’m not sure I could possibly rate any comic that features a villain called Asbestos Man anything less than two stars. It would have to be a truly terrible book for that to happen. Just don’t inhale while you’re wearing that suit pal. The other part of this issue introduces us to Dr Strange’s arch-foe the evil Baron Mordo.

I actually really enjoyed Johnny Storm’s story this month, it was a simple but well told story of the hero getting knocked down and having to find themselves and fight back and win the day. Asbestos Man is a really dumb name for a villain and, given what we know these days about the substance, his idea of using asbestos to make his armour is a health and safety nightmare waiting to happen. But, but, his intentions are smart and for once it makes sense for a villain to target the Human Torch instead of just committing their crime and running away. We also have the benefit of a page and a half long final confrontation which is well written and relies on creative use of the heroes established powers instead of some crazy interpretation of what fire could do (see the flame scanner Johnny Storm used previously).

Artistically this is a solid effort by Ayers. The villain is well designed, he looks quite ominous when fully garbed unlike a lot of his contemporaries and the flames wielded by Johnny are pretty good. I thought Orson Kasloff was well realised both suited up and some excellent shading on his coat stands out. A couple of bare backgrounds let this down a little but when Ayers decides to add them to a panel they are detailed and help establish the mood of the different locations on display. The final battle is particularly well drawn, full of action stills with plenty of attention paid to particles and in the moment destruction (check out the Human Torch bursting through a window). The cover is nondescript more than anything else, Asbestos Man is drawn in all blue for some reason, despite the purples and greys on show throughout the book, and also the scale is a little off.

As for Dr Strange we have a short story detailing his fellow student turned evil villain Baron Mordo. Mordo creates a scheme to kill the Master that both he and Strange share. With the last of his strength the Master manages to summon Strange to aid him, setting up a battle between the two former pupils. It’s good but at only five pages the story doesn’t have a chance to really breath it just rushes through the three points. It succeeds in establishing Mordo as a continuing threat and helps refine Strange’s powers so that kind of makes up for the rushed story. Hopefully Strange will get longer in his next story.

Art wise I feel like this is a step down from the work of Ayers last month. Ditko tries to emulate that darker moody feeling but loses too much detail in his efforts. Faces are unemotional, with eyes drawn only as narrow slits instead of the more detailed work one expects of a Marvel issue of the day. I think Ditko does well drawing the few panels that portray the real world but his depiction of the Trance world in which battle takes place is lackluster, switching too often between bright hues for the background. Again the spirits of our hero and villain are drawn in plain white in the dream state, which still feels like a bit of a cop out as opposed to someone's artistic vision.

Taken together we have Jonny Storm’s best solo issue to date, and a slightly underwhelming Dr Strange story that nonetheless lays down more beats for Marvel’s strangest (sorry) hero. Both stories are worth reading, even if Ditko’s art feels a little dissappointing in Dr Strange’s portion of the book.

Without Oxygen, A Man Can’t Breathe… Even An Asbestos Man!

Johnny Storm

Keep on wearing that suit and breathing is going to be a real issue for you down the line regardless of fire, Professor Kasloff.