'Strange Academy' #1 Review: Skottie Young presents magical schooling tweaked the Marvel way
Spoiler alert for 'Strange Academy' #1
The first issue of Skottie Young's 'Strange Academy' is here and it looks ready to change the magical landscape of Marveldom. The new series introduces a host of new characters and promises to provide an education in every type of magic.
Set in New Orleans, a city that's heavily associated with the occult, the series aims to get to the heart of Marvel magic while providing a cast of young heroes we can all relate to. Beautifully illustrated by Humberto Ramos ('Runaways', 'Impulse'), the series is an aesthetic treat and we can't wait to get more of it.
When the first previews for 'Strange Academy' were released publically, we were a little skeptical of the series. After all, a school for heroes is nothing new in comics at large and definitely not in the Marvel Comics universe, which is already populated by multiple such academies.
But that said, 'Strange Academy' #1 is a fun read with endearing new characters like Emily Bright and Shaylee Moonpeddle and a star-studded cast of old favorites including Doctor Strange's old librarian Zelma Stanton and former Sorcerer Supreme Doctor Voodoo, the latter of whom appears to be the Dumbledore of this wizarding school.
The story itself is clearly aimed at a younger audience but for older readers, this series provides a bit of nostalgia for classic series like 'New Mutants' and the original 'X-Men' comics. Plus, the new characters introduced in the issue all have the potential to grow to be fan-favorites and the script for the book reveals that there are more students at the Academy who may pop into the pages of the series at any point, which is definitely something to look forward to.
'Strange Academy' #2 is scheduled to hit the stands on April 1 and we are definitely going to be picking up a copy for ourselves.
'Strange Academy' is written by Skottie Young, illustrated by Humberto Ramos, colored by Edgar Delgado, and lettered by Clayton Cowles.