Doctor Strange Annual #1

   I'll skip my usual complaint about how today's annuals are a pale version of the originals in the '60s.

   (Aside from that sentence, anyway.)

   So let's talk about Doctor Strange Annual #1, which is good enough on its own, but could just as easily have been the latest issue in the regular series (aside from the nifty if difficult-to-process backup story in this issue).

   The main story brings back Clea, Stephen's long-running (and long ignored) love interest.

   I'm happy to see her, because I've always liked the character and she's handled well here.

   The whole story is rather light-hearted, which is a welcome relief from the grim goings-on in the regular series. It revolves around repair work being done on the Sanctum Sanctorum and the fumbling attempts of Stephen and Clea to get reacquainted.

   The story is by Kathryn Immonen and the art by Leonardo Romero, and they do good work here - but the story just doesn't clear the bar of being something special or unique enough to demand highlighting in an Annual.

Grade: B

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