Doctor Voodoo: Avenger of the Supernatural #5
Rick Remender is a monster. The only reason Avenger of the Supernatural got the axe was due to the unpopularity of the character Doctor Voodoo, and the fact the Sorcerer Supreme arc during New Avengers did little to push the character forward. I commend Marvel for taking a chance on Remender's portrayal of Jericho Drumm regardless.
As the only critic on the Web as of yet to take a stab at reviewing this title’s climax, call me flabbergasted. There was a reason why I put this title off last among my huge pile of books. Don't get me wrong, I've enjoyed every bit of this now-made-mini as much as the next. However, since receiving notice of Doctor Voodoo’s cancelation, it left me with little to no interest in caring how this concludes. Thankfully, the finale goes out with a bang.
The issue’s surprisingly by-the-numbers, although to much effect. Dr. Voodoo and Dr. Doom go on to destroy many of Nightmare's undead creations, ironically many of them being canceled characters in Marvel's lore (i.e. Blade, Ghost Rider). In fact, Johnny Blaze plays an essential role in the outcome of this story. My perception only leads to thinking that Remender will jump on Ghost Rider once it gets the reboot--and you know it will. And why not, in this issue his action is frantic; his dialogue even better.
For a primarily street level comic author (Punisher, Thunderbolts), Rick Remender has a long vocabulary and isn’t afraid to put it to use. His characterizations of Jericho and ghastly brother Daniel are confident, well-traveled scholars, clearly not lacking in chemistry or sense of humor. Of course, Doom's perverse, megalomaniacal tendencies strike a match between the two.
In all, I was on my way in giving this issue a “rare” 4.5-5-bullet score (a hot topic among current com-bulleteers at the moment), and then the issue never stopped. I swear if the Sorcerer Supreme was wrapped up more punctually, it could’ve been something else. In a way, it’s unfair to the author that this book got canceled and the final few pages got stranded. Or did they? With news of a Heroic Age anthology title featuring some of the canceled cult favorites, among them Paul Cornell’s MI13 and Remender’s Doctor Voodoo, maybe fans of Jericho will get the finish they deserve, after all.
4/5 Bags&Boards - Not sad to see this go, considering I save the loot, but definitely something I will return to sometime in the future.