Death of Doctor Strange: Bloodstone #1 Review

Writer: Tini Howard

Art: Ig Guara, Dijjo Lima, and VC’s Joe Caramagna

Publisher: Marvel Comics

Price: $4.99

Release Date: January 12th, 2022

The Bloodstone family, always at the fringes of the Marvel Universe, take center stage in the one-shot The Death of Doctor Strange: Bloodstone #1, as Elsa works overtime to clean up the mess left behind by Doctor Strange’s death. See my review below.

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The Story

The Death of Doctor Strange: Bloodstone #1 is as much about the family dynamic as it is dealing with the aftermath of Doctor Strange’s death.

The story kicks off with Elsa Bloodstone facing off with a monster running loose in London, alternately wielding a shotgun and a rifle that’s as long as a fishing pole. Afterward, the meat of the story begins, as she returns to Bloodstone Manor and has a family reunion with her brother Cullen, a smarmy rich guy who, much like the Hulk, transforms into a Kaiju-type creature when he gets riled. This guy is such a jerk, he’d fit right in as a James Spader-type nemesis in a John Hughes film.

Elsa is herself is written blandly, alternating between angry and annoyed, with little variation. Even when a new member of the Bloodstone family appears from the past, Elsa seems more suspicious than elated.
I loved Elsa’s character much more in the “Fearless Defenders” series that came out years ago, where she was a member of that version of The Defenders, along with Valkyrie, Misty Knight, Danielle Moonstar, and Clea. Throughout that book, she had an icy demeanor and a razor-sharp wit that always cut deep. She was like a shotgun-toting, supernatural totem wielding Dorothy Parker.

I wish this had been a series or limited series rather than a one-shot. The one-shot format doesn’t allow the story and characters to breathe, so character-building suffers. The story feels rushed, but ends with an interesting twist that hopefully will be picked up in a new Bloodstone series.

The Art

Ig Guara’s art in The Death of Doctor Strange: Bloodstone #1 is a bit sketchy, reminding me of the work of Tim Sale. Creatures, especially Cullen’s kaiju transformation into the monstrous Glartrox, are captured vividly and take up most of the pages in Jack Kirby-type fashion.
People and backgrounds aren’t rendered quite as well, but sufficiently enough to where the reader can easily follow the action.

Final Thoughts

The Death of Doctor Strange: Bloodstone #1 has a couple of good action scenes, but doesn’t add any new layers to Elsa Bloodstone’s character. The new Bloodstone family member and the twist at the end set up a new direction for Elsa, which hopefully will pay off in the near future.