Marvel’s Preeminent horror anthology, Black, White, & Blood, and Guts, returns with its fourth installment. This edition, we get a pretty great team with Mark Waid and Jorge Fornes giving us a Doctor Strange story, Anthony Oliviera and Javier Pulido weaving a tale of horror and suspense, and Victor LaValle and Bruno Bull De Oliviera in his Marvel debut, providing The Defenders with the horror treatment.
Creative Team
“Careful What You Wish For”
Writer: Mark Waid
Artist: Jorge Fornes
Letterer: Joe Sabino
“Nature Red In Claw And Tooth”
Writer: Anthony Oliviera
Artist: Javier Pulido
Letterer: Joe Sabino
Editor: Will Ross
“The Whisper In The Darkness”
Writer: Victor LaValle
Artist: Bruno Bull De Oliviera
Color Artist: Rachelle Rosenberg
Letterer: Joe Sabino
Editor: Lauren Amard
Assistant Editor: Drew Baumgartner
Editor: Devin Lewis
Cover Artist: Phillip Tan
Published by Marvel Entertainment
Writing
The writing for this issue is really great. Every story finds its own way to stand out. Each story stands out in its own way. Mark Waid’s Doctor Strange story was the right choice to lead off the comic as it is easily the strongest. Supplemented by beautiful art from Jorge Fornes, Waid shows why he was alway so adept at writing interactions between Wong and Doctor Strange. Waid brings us once again to Stephen Strange the surgeon, struggling to realize he’s no longer a surgeon supreme but the Sorcerer Supreme.
Anthony Oliviera did a great job weaving a tale and pulling you in before the big reveal happens in his story. We get a glimpse of a monastery that seems to have lost its way before one of Marvel’s Midnight Sons has to show up and straighten out the monastery. Oliviera’s story feels way more horror than the other two stories. There’s a certain pulp comic feel about it that I really enjoyed. Pulido contributes well to this feeling with his artwork.
The final story comes from Victor LaValle and features the Defenders on New Year’s Eve. It is important to note that this story includes a note from the editor that the story takes place before Defenders #125 and features Doctor Strange, Hulk, Silver Surfer, and Valkyrie, among others. LaValle shows us what happens when New Year’s Eve hijinks take over the Defender’s own teammates.
Art
As good as the writing for these issues is, the artwork is what really, truly shines. The decision by all of the artists and Marvel to really focus on the reds lets the art pop. The lines are crisp and clean, and each artist has their own chance to shine. Marvel’s team did a really good job pairing the artists and writing teams together for this issue. Each grouping feels unique and distinctive in this anthology. The art and words find synergy in each story that I think would be harder to accomplish if the teams were mixed up.
Fornes and Pulido intentionally chose the reds for highlights to make certain characteristics of the scene stick out. The crisp look of Stephen Strange’s red cloak of levitation amongst the otherwise gray and black of the scene really catches the eye. The lines and letting are sharp on all three comics when they need to be and fuzzy or less crisp when the moment calls for it.
Overall: 9/10
At the end of the day i’m really enjoying this series from Marvel. I’m not a huge fan of the anthology style of the comic, as Marvel has already done some anthology stuff this year for their big-ticket Marvel/DC crossover, but the creative teams for these comics work. The art teams match the writer’s style well, and it has me loving the differences, some subtle, some large, from story to story.
Until next time, may your pulls be magical and your multiverse remain stable.
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Have you checked out this issue of Marvel” Black, White & Blood and Guts? Let me know what you think in the comments below!
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