Marvel’s new Doctor Strange comic is kind of trippier than the movie

I’ve been a fan of Javier Rodríguez since the days of Batgirl: year onebut I didn’t quite understand that he was working on the new one defender Series.

So imagine my surprise to leave defender # 1 to find out he’s turned full ditko. Rodríguez mixes trippy and diegetic magical visuals with non-diegetic things like a flashback illustrated by the steam rising from a cup of tea. It’s a ride.

What else happens on the pages of our favorite comics? We’ll tell you. Welcome to Monday Funnies, Polygon’s weekly list of books our comics editor liked over the past week. It’s partly society pages about the lives of superheroes, partly reading recommendations, partly “Check out this cool art”. There may be some spoilers. There may not be enough context. But there will be great comics. (And if you missed the last issue, read this.)

---

Fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe may associate the Defenders with street-level heroes like Daredevil, Luke Cage, and Jessica Jones – but the Marvel Comics super team started out as the team book for Marvel’s favorite weirdo. Doctor Strange, the Hulk, the Silver Surfer; basically anyone who really, really didn’t seem like a team player.

defender # 1 is recruiting a brand new team through Doctor Strange’s tarot deck, which is also used as a visual theme throughout the issue. If that’s not enough to moisten your pipe, writer Al Ewing seems to be picking up a few threads from his soon-to-be-finished run Immortal Hulk, including Betty Ross as the Red Harpy, and the idea that the last person alive in the universe will become the Galactus of the next universe.

Please give me a moment to take off my professional journalist hat. OK.

MY FAVORITE ROBIN CAME OUT OF THE CABINET THIS WEEK AND I’M SO PROUD OF HIM. I REALLY HOPE THIS TOWARDS TIM SEELEY’S ROBINS SERIES BUT MAYBE THE SCRIPTS ARE ALREADY DONE? NOT POSSIBLE. MY BABY TIM!

Image: Sam Hamm, Joe Quinones / DC Comics

There’s a lot to like in Batman ’89 # 1 as the series makes it clear that it will explore Billy Dee Williams’ Harvey Dent in ways the movies never did, introducing Barbara Gordon and a new Robin! But the artist Joe Quinones is also doing his best with these Tim Burton references.

Image: Sas Milledge / Boom Studios

I am totally enchanted by Sas Milledges mummy. Small town magic! Cool fairy designs! Teen Witches With Girlfriend Vibes! That wonderful little rock man!

Image: Rainbow Rowell, Andrés Genolet / Marvel Comics

and Runaway Hibernate characters again with this final installment of Rainbow Rowell’s Run on Characters. As usual for the series, we end up with a total cliffhanger with everyone’s emotional status up in the air. Nevertheless, the last few pages of the issue stimulate a few more developments – so maybe we will pick up these threads in other books? I live in hope.

Ok so Campisi is a story set in a modern world where a dwindling population of sentient dragons is some sort of … a normal plague / natural disaster? And in this small, mafia-run town, the gang’s lowest enforcer / problem solver has to solve the problem of a real dragon trying to kill its boss. I will certainly read a second issue.