Doctor Strange: Verdammnis

Damnation (Reading Order) #1, 3, 6, 14

by Donny Cates, Rod Reis, Phil Noto

The city of sin gets its biggest sinner yet. When Doctor Strange raises Las Vegas up from its destruction during SECRET EMPIRE, he inadvertently opens a big door for the embodiment of evil, MEPHISTO! The devilish villain takes the city for himself and sets his sights on the rest of the world. It's going to take heroes from all over the Marvel Universe to defeat him, but there's nothing simple about fighting the lord of Hell. Who escapes alive, who escapes undead and who doesn't escape at all? DAMNATION is going out in a blaze of glory, and you GOTTA see who gets burned! COLLECTING: DOCTOR STRANGE: DAMNATION 1-4

Genres: Comics, Marvel, Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Comic Book, Superheroes, Supernatural

Paperback

First published October 30, 2018

Reviews

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I go to parties, people usually come up to me and ask:

You haven’t been here for more than ten minutes, so how are you already wasted?

Who’s your favorite satanic comic book entity?

It’s not Hades, or Pluto, or Hel, or Beelzebub. It’s Mephisto – that wise cracking, soul-collecting, demonic, and unless penned by Kevin Smith, all-around fun crimson-faced hellion. And he’s opening shop in Vegas, baby!! Snake eyes for the win and let my soul be damned!



Depending on the writer, Dr. Strange comics can sometimes be a load, thankfully Nick Spenser and Donny Cates make it amusing.

This one’s a tie-in to the Secret Empire crossover event.

What’s the Secret Empire crossover event, Jeff?

*shrugs shoulders* Dunno…



Las Vegas has been leveled by HYDRA Hail HYDRA! and Dr. Strange wants to do the right thing and restore it BUT as the saying goes: “No good deed goes unpunished.”



Dr. Strange tries reasoning and hanging with Mephisto...



…but it’s all for naught.



Strange, metaphorically craps out, and his soul now belongs to Mephisto.

It’s now up to Wong, and Bats the talking ghost dog, to bail out his friend.



But they need some help. So Wong assembles a team…



…which includes, whatever personality is in control of Moon Knight’s head…



…Ghost Rider…



…Elsa Bloodstone…



…and sundry and assorted others.

Things, as per usual, don’t go as planned.



Scarlett Spider (aka Diet Spider-Man) joins the team…



And for my Spanish-speaking friends, “Hola” and Moon Knight isn’t really worthy. Heh.



In spite of all this…



…there will be some demonic a$$ kicking to be had.

Bottom line: This has been getting mixed reviews, probably because it can’t quite wipe the Secret Empire stink away, but by the Hoary Hosts of Hogwash, it’s okay in my book.

As I've stated in previous reviews, I dig me some talking animals in comics, so the book has that going for it as well.

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Doctor Strange is barely in this book, but it is a companion piece to Dr. Strange: City of Sin. It's basically Marvel's latest attempt to create a supernatural team book or the Midnight Sons. Dr. Strange brought back Las Vegas and Hell followed with it. (Las Vegas was destroyed in that Secret Empire nonsense.) Wong gathers up a bunch of supernatural heroes plus Moon Knight and Iron Fist to go save Dr. Strange from Memphisto. It's alright but the art by Rod Reis and Szymon Kudranski is awful. Kudranski's art looks like the 5,000th copy off of one of those old ditto machines from grade school. Reis is able to hide his scratchy pencils behind the color work about half the time.

[Gianfranco Mancini · Rating 3 out of 5]

Vote: ☆☆☆1/2

Not reading many Marvel comics these times, but this casual purchase was just not as bad as expected.



It was like reading a sort of Ocean's Eleven in hell with Avengers and Midnight Sons (Marvel's supernatural non-group that I always had a thing for) with Wong playing George Clooney's role.



A funny read, the ending was epic, and I liked it enough to wanna see in the future who's gonna be in Doc Strange's party to rescue Johnny Blaze from hell


.

Nice.

[RG · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoybale but felt like too many cooks in kitchen type of story. I like it better when its just Doctor Strange. It really did feel like more a Wong story with others attached.

[Scratch · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up on a whim. I don't regularly read Doctor Strange, so I wasn't expecting to enjoy this as much as I did.

Where before Stephen has always been a stoic, sage voice that other comic book characters turn to, in the last couple years his personality has... changed. I have noticed that the last couple times I have seen him pop up in a Spider-man comic, Stephen is inexplicably recovering from a hangover and chewing Peter's head off. For those of us used to Doctor Strange from the 90s, we go, "Huh?"

The writers really steered into the curve on this one. They portray Doctor Strange as a total mess, insecure and boisterous, more of a trickster than a sage. Am I supposed to relate to him more this way? Because, I don't. He's probably just getting more of the "snarky" treatment that Marvel is now forced to put almost ALL characters through. Star-Lord, Deadpool, Quicksilver, whoever; there is now an expectation that fans will only love a character if he is snarky and irreverent, snapping witicisms and pop-culture references.

So tired of that.

Still, the Midnight Sons are what saved this story. I have a habit of counting off the number of characters on the page I claim as "mine," or at least as some sort of a "favorite" of mine, and the Midnight Sons presented a surprisingly large number. Even someone like Elsa Bloodstone, whom I normally don't give a second thought, was a pleasant enough appearance on the page.

Ben Reilly was a blessed breath of fresh air, for all that his own title ended on an offensively Satanic note. This came just a little before the Ben Reilly title concluded, so we were able to bring a Mephisto element in to Ben's story without the story finishing so awfully. From a writing standpoint that was actually brilliant; tying together Ben's status as a severely tortured and resurrected person with Peter Parker's deal with Mephisto in the *abomination* that is Brand New Day.

Loved the spirits of vengeance appearing here, at least in principle. Johnny Blaze played a HUGE role in this story, but all the various Ghost Riders made an appearance. After Las Vegas is sucked into Hell and the Avengers respond, then a lot more people are suddenly rocking the flaming skull look. I actually have never really cared for that particular aspect of Ghost Rider (just not very aesthetic), but I love the *idea* behind his being a spirit of vengeance.

I will take some more Marvel monsters, please.

[Marco · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars out of 5. With a decent artist it would have been a 4, but Kudranski's art is absolutely hideous and it ruined the whole miniseries for me. I think I'll skip all the stuff he'll draw in the future because I can't stand him.

[Subham · Rating 4 out of 5]

This event starts off with Stephen resurrecting Las Vegas which was destroyed in Secret Empire and then the price of it came in the form of Mephisto who had taken it over and its up to him and his Midnight sons team formed by Wong to rescue it and fight the GR turned Avengers. It has so many col moments and is Donny's first splash at making cool comic books and is just pure fun and weird. The art is a bit zany but I love that style. Stephen is at his lowest and by the end has cool moments and rises like a metaphorical phoenix and moves on to the next stage of his life! And yes Bats gets good moments to shine too!

[Ronald · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh, I see in a lot of the reviews a complaint that Doctor Strange is not really in this comic much. But you could say that for all the characters making an appearance. I have enjoyed many of these characters in other stories but not in this book. This comic is just kind of a hot mess and it needed to focus. So much of the story is just oh that happened between panels. Oh well at least I did not waste my cash on this as single issues.

[Robert · Rating 1 out of 5]

So riddled with crossover holes as to be unenjoyable, and almost unintelligible.

[Benji Glaab · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining mini series for those up to date on the Doctor Strange run

Short rtc

[Greg Bem · Rating 4 out of 5]

Incredible art style, a curious and odd storyline.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel that Marvel has a better occult sector--even though DC had Vertigo (Constantine, Swamp Thing, Mysterious Stranger, etc.).

It starts out simple enough--Hell opens up in Las Vegas and the avengers get captured and converted to "demons". Doctor Strange losing his mojo and having a midlife crisis, etc.

This book has great art, and is team --Wong, Blade, Elsa Bloodstone, Iron Fist, Moon Knight, Brother Voodoo, Man-Thing, the Scarlet Spider, and the Ghost Rider. The Midnight Sons return. Strange becomes and Avenger God and all the previous Ghost Riders make a cameo.

It's probably the most fun I've had in this sector since Jason Aaron's Ghost Rider run. I've not read Venom: Circle of Fire yet, but it might be close!

Also: Peter talks to a Spider is AMAZING.

[Viridian5 · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked seeing Marvel's supernatural heroes team up, but I found it difficult to get past the idea that the only reason they had to mobilize was that Dr. Strange did some massive magic that of course led to massive consequences, in this case hell on earth and people facing damnation for the smallest of sins, making this a case of superheroes having to fix something another hero broke. And he'd do it again!

[Laura Lawson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the most enjoyable Doctor Strange story I have read in a while. Liked the overall idea and bringing in all the characters was a lot of fun to see!

[Khabeer Rashad · Rating 4 out of 5]

A battle against the devil himself. Yeah, I loved this. And poor Moon Knight lol

[Ashe Catlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this simultaneous with Doctor Strange, Vol. 2: City of Sin, they both tell the story but from a different perspective.

I think this was really good but brought down by the whole City of Sin storyline because it kept recapping what happened in these issues, being that these two were collected together it got very repetitive even with a different perspective.

The journey Doctor Strange goes though, is quite good. I liked the fact he tried to get something positive in his life and ended up damning a whole city. Then because he was arrogant in trying to save it, it lead to him getting his legs broken. Pretty solid journey, I help but feel sorry for the guy.

I think if I was just reading this by itself it would have gotten a higher score but for some reason Marvel put spliced this with the other story for the Doctor Strange by Donny Cates. So unless you read one issue flick though and then read the next one, which by the way seems very annoying you have to deal with a dip in quality. So you can't really enjoy either story on their own merits, neither are bad though it's just a lot of things happen in both and you get so little from the changing perspective, it's not really worth it.

[Alex E · Rating 3 out of 5]

During the Secret Empire event, the city of Las Vegas was wiped from the map. After the dust had settled and Hydra Cap is defeated, the heroes gather in the place where Vegas was to survey the wreckage. While there, Doctor Strange decides, screw it, let's bring it back - and does just that - brings back not only the buildings, but all the people who perished as well.

This took me a bit by surprise as in my Marvel reading, Doctor Strange still doesn't have his full powers yet. I guess this takes place after whatever happens that allows him to be at full power because it was quite a feat. The problem with doing this is that casino also comes back that is from hell itself and is ran by none other than Mephisto. After the heroes are soundly defeated by Mephisto, Wong has to assemble a team to go and face him and hopefully get the heroes back.

Donny Cates did a good job of making the team that Wong assembles interesting and just slightly contentious. I think Cates did a good job of keeping the story brief and the pace quick. The plot is a bit out there, so it was good to move through it kind of fast, as to not get bogged down in the details.

Overall, an enjoyable epilogue of sorts, to the Secret Empire event.

[Anthony · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Marvel Universe was left reeling after the shocking and controversial events of Secret Empire. With the heroes left scrambling to return the publics trust in them, Doctor Strange feels compelled to bring life back into the world, and does the unthinkable: brings Las Vegas back to life, along with everyone in it. However things don’t go as planned, (as they rarely do for Stephen Strange), and not only does he become imprisoned by the evil Mephisto, but the Avengers who come to his aid become pawns in the demonic villain’s game with the Sorcerer Supreme as well. That leaves Stephen’s friend Wong to gather the worlds best supernatural fighters and morally flexible heroes to gather in an unprecedented way, showing a new kind of team that is pushed to the limits and takes readers through some surprising twists and turns they won’t see coming. A truly must read event for longtime Dr. Strange and Marvel fans.

[Joshua · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's an interesting story with some good charter moments, fun plot twists, and well-played humor. It suffers from the problem of big crossovers where each telling seems a little incomplete or contradictory here and there; I wish the whole thing could have been told comprehensively all the way through. The stand alone Doctor Strange issues were good (except that the big card game felt rushed) because of the internal struggle Steven goes through feeling like he has lost all of his friends. I really liked the set up in the overall Damnation storyline where Doctor Strange was trying to do something heroic more than just fighting. The standalone Johnny Blaze and Iron Fist issues were possible the best out of the whole lot. (I still need to look up the Ghost Rider T-Rex that showed up on one page).

[Ronan The Librarian · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid Midnight Sons/Doctor Strange/Avengers event. Rod Reis' art is a standout, and goes a long way in making the story as enjoyable as it was. For the most part, it is predictable, but some fun to see events play out anyway. The aforementioned heroes take on Mephisto as he tries to reclaim Las Vegas after Stephen resurrected the city back to the earthly plane. There's dubious logic and character behaviors, but in the end, it was some mystical fun, so I won't complain too much. Doctor Strange Vol 2 by Donny Cates ties in with this heavily, so I would recommend reading that in conjunction if so inclined. Seeing the monsters and demons and head-trips was fun, as well as the climax page. Worth a look if you're a big Marvel mystic fan.

[B · Rating 3 out of 5]

This whole thing largely seems goofy and doesn't seem to have internal logic. Why doesn't Mephisto turn everyone into demons? Is Mephisto's rise really the cost of resurrecting Las Vegas? Seems like it's something else.

Note how the issue seems to use a lot of the "old" Scarlet Spider costume in the promotional art -- the new "new" PAD version that got ditched in issue 3. Seems like it wasn't always the plan to ditch it . . ...

Finally, the whole purpose of the book seems to be to really elevate Wong and make him a full-blown superhero rather than a Jarvis with mystical knowledge. I mean, go for it, dudes! Do it!

[Jana P. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ačkoliv jsem tento svazek prolíná/navazuje na ten předchozí, který jsem hodnotila plným počtem, mám pocit, že tady mi trošku něco chybělo, co by mne dokázalo uzemnit. Při čtení jsem byla občas mírně zmatená. Možná je to jen můj dojem, ale jako by se tam na můj vkus až moc přeskakovalo mezi časovými linkami "dříve/nyní" a na mne to vytvářelo dojem určitého chaosu.
Ale jinak opět oceňuji zapojení dalších superhrdinů. Bats a Wong mne tady jako Strangeovi nejbližší parťáci dost bavili. Kresba opět vynikající, spousta akce, napětí, byť tentokrát těch hlášek, u kterých se vždycky dost pobavím, tu tentokrát nebylo mnoho.
Ale 4 solidní hvězdy jsou pro mne určitě na místě.

[Adam Fisher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having read other Volumes that alluded to this one, I had about 75% of the story figured out or known. Was really excited to see Johnny Blaze in action again.
Obviously, like I talked about in the other reviews, Las Vegas gets restored, and all seems well, but my only lingering question after finishing it is: Are we about to see a Spirits of Vengeance title come back into the Marvel Universe?

Recommend. Wish I had fully read the omnibus as to experience the story in the order it should have been flowing. But... still very good.

What's next Dr. Strange?

[Beelzefuzz · Rating 3 out of 5]

This has some cool ideas. I tried to read it as a cross-over with the other books, but that was ruining it because the secondary books are bad and the main Doctor Strange books in the crossover either rehash this too much, spoil this, or do not align with it at all.
So while ambitious, it is ill conceived or maybe had poor editorial oversight. It is probably still worth it for the fun cameo appearances, the interesting Ghost Rider usage, and as an admirable attempt at Ocean's Eleven with superheroes.

[Shyue Chou Chuang · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a run-of-the-mill story where Doctor Strange accidentally brought on Mephisto in an attempt to do good, as such, the Avengers were compromised as was Doctor Strange. It was all left to his sidekick, Wong, it was really his story, to save the day. Wong assembled a team consisting of such personalities as Blade, Ghost Rider and more. Then, there was the usual superhero fisticuffs and brawls. And some rather cringeworthy quips. The artwork is competent but uninspiring. All in all a forgettable affair.

[Villain E · Rating 2 out of 5]

Half-asses the setup. Dr. Strange, acting out of character, has some extra power and decides to resurrect Las Vegas, which was destroyed during not-so-Secret Empire. But the city of Vegas went to Hell, and Hell comes back with it.

Some Avengers were on scene and get turned into Ghost Riders by Mephisto. (Somehow Thor can still lift her hammer.) Wong recruits some magical characters to help.

The ending also feels rushed. Maybe this needed to be longer?

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the plot and the appearances of other characters. What I liked the most about it was the portrayal of strained friendships. The developments in the friendships between the characters were so well done and felt so real. Also, if there was any animal friend to come out of any comic book that I'd love to be friends with, it would be Bats.

[Emmett Spain · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun book with tremendously cool art and colour work, this is more of a Midnight Sons book than a Doctor Strange book. I was fine with that—the story was cool, there were some fun and funny moments, and the design of a hell-soaked Las Vegas was really great. That art, man. And those colours! Big props to Rod Reis, Szymon Kudranski and Dan Brown.

[Terry Collins · Rating 3 out of 5]

More a Wong story than Dr. Strange, but I’m fine with that. This is really an odd collection - lots of heroes, but most are ineffectual. The Avengers are useless and possessed. The Scarlet Spider shows up. Other than Wong, a talking ghost dog, and Johnny Blaze everyone else is kind of … there. Worth a free read, but not cash.

[Daniel Butcher · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's really Wong: Damnation, and I do like how Wong is the center and makes him more than a butler.

Really this should have been collected with the companion Dr. Strange volume and made both stories more cohesive.