Greg Goldstein's Comic Art Gallery

Dan Adkins — Was It Nightmare All Along?

Doctor Strange #170, July 1968

Nightmare prepares to reveal himself to a fallen Doctor Strange in the second issue of the Sorcerer Supreme’s solo title.

Ever since Marvel Films announced that Sam Raimi was going to direct the Doctor Strange sequel, I’ve thoroughly convinced myself that Nightmare would be a (or “the”) nemesis of the film. Horror, darkness and weirdness? Bring on Nightmare.

And then, we had a Scarlet Witch (w/Vision) TV series, where it appeared that Agatha Harkness was the big bad? C’mon, there’s more to that than meets the Eye of Agamotto, right?

After that, Shuma-Gorath (the giant one-eyed creature) appears in the Doctor Strange trailer? The same Shuma-Gorath (now called Gargantos because of legal reasons) who once “employed” Nightmare in the comics? 

And the same trailer where both Strange and Wanda talk about…Nightmares?

Yep, I’m a Nightmare conspiracy theorist, apparently.

I have zero inside information. 

I don’t even read most of the spoiler “news” on-line.

I am just convinced that some time before those last post-credit scenes in Doctor Strange 2 are finished rolling, Nightmare will have raised his hallucinogenic head. And I guess by this time next week, most of us will know whether I’m right, or I’m the one hallucinating.

And one more thought on the subject of hallucinogens and impersonations:

Who says that was actually “our” Doctor Strange in Spider-Man: No Way Home?

Just sayin…

Agatha all along? Maybe, maybe not.

John Byrne — WandaVision

West Coast Avengers #42, March 1989

John Byrne takes over The West Coast Avengers with a storyline entitled “Vision Quest.” The Vision is missing — the government is secretly reverse engineering him — and when it’s all done, we witness the introduction of the “White Vision.”

Sound familiar? Many of these ideas and threads (and of course many, many others) appear in Disney’s WandaVision.

Byrne makes the visual most of an exposition page here. (The dreaded “talking heads” scenario.) Nearly all of the Avengers are represented, and John uses multiple angles (medium vs. close-up shots) and characters’ points of view to keep the page visually interseting.

Nice detailed inks from Mike Machlan, who used a very fine line — much easier to discern in the original art than in the printed page.

I don’t recall how often we caught a glimpse of the full exterior of the West Coast headquarters, but it reminds me of a Santa Monica luxury hotel. 

California Dreamin,’ indeed.

Can’t imagine that the entire comics-loving’ world hasn’t already seen this, but just in case…