Strange Tales #146 Review

by jfpj1991, CMRO User

Strange Tales

Issue #146

Written by Stan Lee, Art by Jack Kirby

Published: July 1966

There were two things about the first part of this issue that really stood out to me.

The first was the pacing. We see the action sequences as Fury employs various methods of attack against the differing types of androids being created in the base of THEM. This is simultaneous with what we see at the base. There seems to be a growing sentiment within the top tiers of the hierarchy that Fury is not the man for the job. This is first shown by the general’s disregard for the two security agent’s assigned duty requirements. Later this is also shown within the board room, despite Fury showing how competent he can be when dealing with real threats like Hydra.

The second was how neatly THEM and AIM was connected in them mind of the audience and Fury. The writers have been linking the two for a few issues, prior to this, but this time we finally see it all come full circle. We know that the two entities are one in the same now. This issue also shows that unlike many fanatical groups, the geniuses that comprise AIM are not willing to sacrifice their own lives to kill Nick Fury. This develops the character of AIM as a whole, and allows Fury an advantage to know his enemy a little better.

The second portion of this issue was a huge letdown. It wrapped up almost every storyline that Strange has had. First we see Dorammamu fighting Eternity. There are some well drawn panels (points for that) regarding the fight but it seems so short for such an epic battle. I do realize that it is difficult to draw a fight sequence when the battle is taking place on a plane that is supposed to be beyond human comprehension. Therefore, I cannot deduct many points for that particular item. The rest of the story wrapped up too neatly for my taste. The woman, Clea, was saved. Mordo was instantly the prisoner of the Ancient One, and Strange, along with essentially a newly sworn in army, run off to fight evil. This would create a decent jumping on point in the future for new readers of the time, but I feel this could have all been resolved over the course of several issues, rather than being rushed.

Because of the points I mentioned from the Fury story, and the nature of Dr. Strange, I give this issue a solid 3 stars out of 5.