The comic book permeates all levels of popular culture. This sporadic feature reviews some recent examples from the world of digital video discs (compatible with DVD-ROM-enabled computers and home entertainment centers) and also includes a recommended sequential-art reading list to extend the multimedia adventures.
’Doctor Strange: The Sorcerer Supreme’ (Lions Gate Entertainment, Rated: PG-13, $19.98)
Marvel Entertainment continues blandly to bring more of its comic-book characters into an animated realm through direct-to-DVD releases.
Just as in its previous Iron Man and Avengers cartoons, fans get another convoluted origin story, this time with comicdom’s most powerful mystic brought to life through a tired design.
Stan Lee and Steve Ditko’s wonderful tale of an arrogant surgeon, Doctor Stephen Strange, who loses his skills in a tragic accident but learns some humility on a life journey that transforms him into Sorcerer Supreme, gets no help on the screen from writer Greg Johnson.
Mr. Johnson detracts from Strange’s cosmic journey through the introduction of a subplot involving his sister and a team of sorcerers who take on the role of ghostbusters as they search New York City to eliminate a bunch of monsters.
The story does introduce his mentor, the Ancient One, and his sidekick Wong and leads to a confrontation with Doctor Strange’s eventual archenemy, Dormammu. Unfortunately, the villain is just a blowtorch with an attitude rather than the purple-suited, flaming-headed humanoid fans have grown to despise.
It boggles my mind: Why can’t Marvel grab some of the fantastic artists used on its books and use them to design the animated world? Heck, the company even has the mighty animator Genndy Tartakovsky (Samurai Jack and Star Wars: Clone Wars) working on a Luke Cage miniseries. Surely he could help.
Most disturbing in the animated adaptation: I barely saw the Sanctum Sanctorum (Doctor Strange’s home) and never heard the good doctor utter a single exclamation or incantation, a staple of his comic-book adventures that Mr. Lee used to relish writing.
The extras: I loved the first half of the “Who is Doctor Strange?” featurette, which contains interviews with Stan Lee and a few others who guided the character through the comic-book world. However, the 15-minute segment abruptly turned into a marketing piece for the cartoon, as its creators touted their vision and overexplained their development decisions.
Most telling of the extras is the “Best of Marvel Cinematics” feature and its selection of computer-assisted and computer-designed animation scenes from the video games Marvel: Ultimate Alliance and X-Men: Legends 2. The Alliance segments are riveting, and I am confounded why Marvel would not tap into the style of these scenes for its direct-to-DVD releases. It probably would cost more, but I gladly would take 45 minutes’ worth of that intense style rather than 95 minutes’ worth of mediocrity.
Read a book: Doctor Strange first appeared in print in 1963, but for the latest look at the Sorcerer at his finest, check out the trade paperback “Doctor Strange: The Oath” ($13.99), which compiles the five-issue miniseries written by Brian K. Vaughan and beautifully drawn by Marcos Martin.
’TMNT’ (Warner Home Video, rated PG, $28.99)
The famed four Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles returned to the silver screen this year in a computer-generated animated film that arrives in a single DVD release for its devoted fans.
Since the quartet’s debut in comics in 1984, they have remained a popular staple in numerous multimedia series through the pop-culture-permeated personalities of Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello and Michelangelo — and they could pack martial-arts action, drama and humor into almost any story in which they starred.
Although the turtle designs are incredible, down to the tiniest of muscle flexes, and Master Splinter never looked better, the human characters assume a bit too much style from Pixar’s “Incredibles” universe for my taste — though, if the creators need to imitate, they picked from the best.
This 87-minute story delivers on all levels, with plenty of monster fights, subplots pertinent to the Turtles’ previous adventures, a superhero named the Nightwatcher and a villain named Max Winters who ends up being not such a bad guy.
A top-notch voice cast rounds out the effort with Patrick (Professor X) Stewart as Max, Sarah (Buffy) Michelle Gellar as April O’Neil and Chris (Human Torch) Evans as Casey Jones.
Best extra: Lots of choices but little that’s worthwhile. I could have used a history of the Turtles, but instead get an avalanche of segments on the animation process and storyboard comparisons.
Also, the optional commentary track by director Kevin Munroe has its moments, but he could benefit from talking with a fellow creator or an actor. He seems too concerned with the minutiae of the project rather than being able just to enjoy watching and reflecting on his big picture.
Read all about it: In March the publisher of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic book, Mirage Studios, released five black-and-white sequential-art issues ($3.25 each) that together serve as a prequel to the movie. Each turtle, as well as April O’Neil, is spotlighted in a book.
Zadzooks! is on the Web. Read an extended version of his column, which includes a review of The Secrets of Isis: The Complete Series, and Space Ghost and Dino Boy (video1.washingtontimes.com/zadzooks). Call 202/636-3016; fax 202/269-1853; e-mail jszadkowski@washingtontimes .com; or write to Joseph Szadkowski, The Washington Times, 3600 New York Ave. NE, Washington, DC 20002.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.