Someone else, somewhere else put my objections to the way Fraction is handling the characters in Defenders much more articulately than I have here by saying that if it were a comic about magic guy and kung-fu guy it would probably be okay. But since he’s using Dr. Strange and Iron Fist, the character inconsistencies don’t work because they don’t build on or utilize what has gone before.

Tyler: No, I wouldn’t prefer static characters that never grow or change or go through new experiences? I do, however, want them to react in a reasonably consistent manner to those changes and new experiences. Since Bendis (whose writing I typically liked a lot up to the last couple of years) got ahold of the character, and in subsequent appearances scripted by others, I don’t think Marvel has treated Dr. Strange very well or presented him in a light that would attract many readers. Your mileage may vary, and that’s okay, too.

Tim O’Neil: It may be that Issue #4 explained everything in a convincing and artful manner. The problem is that I (and I suspect a lot of other potential readers) wasn’t willing to spend four months and just about $16 to get that explanation that we were never sure was going to come in the first place. If you’re writing a 120 page trade, then it’s probably alright to start the story with some odd behavior and explain it by page 90. But monthly comics are supposed to be written in a way that is satisfying to the casual reader as well as to the die-hard fan. At $4 a pop, that’s especially important. To my way of thinking, that didn’t happen with The Defenders.

By the way, I wonder if the Dodsons are gone for good on art.

So you’d prefer static characters that never grow or change or go through new experiences? I’m not picking on you, I’m genuinely curious.

Strange was always a character who was just there, in my opinion. He’d show up in other characters titles whenever there was a mystic threat, be a good hero, and then leave. His own titles were sporadic and never of great quality in the 90′s.

I’ll admit i’d rather see a more powerful Dr Strange, as the whole mystic side of Marvel is lacking right now and I’d rather see him engaged in that rather than slumming with the New Avengers. But I enjoy the humanizing of Strange in Defenders, it makes him more appealing and his dealings with Dormammu et al that much more fantastic.

I am reminded of what happened when Blue Beetle debuted during Infinite Crisis. Issue #1 entered the Top 10 selling almost 100,000 copies but once it hit the street, sales plummeted so that by issue #6 it was selling less than 30,000 units monthly. Even tho I loved the book, I think perhaps we have the same situation here, namely a recognizable and desirable concept that for whatever reason did not match the expectation that the consumer placed on the product that actually reached their hands.

It’s not that I think a person who gets laid can’t be heroic at all. It’s that I think this behavior isn’t consistent with what we’ve been told about Dr. Strange over the course of time. If Fraction had wanted to use a mystic who has casual sex with his students and isn’t confident in his powers or his place in the universe, I’m sure there are others out there he could have used who would be consistent with that. Or he could create a new character with those traits. It just doesn’t ring true with Dr. Strange. And, of course, then they couldn’t sell it as The Defenders starring Dr. Strange.

If you’re enjoying it, great. More power to you. I’ll read something else that I will enjoy.

Price point could be an issue. I suspect there are also a lot of people growing tired of Fraction’s writing after Fear Itself, I know i am. Defenders is the last title of his I’m buying. Obviously it’s harder to launch a title these days. More of my money goes towards books i HAVE to read (X-Force, Journey into Mystery) instead of trying to titles. You’re right though, on paper it should be doing well but the Defenders concept has never really caught on well ever.

Sean R-B, what about Dr Strange defeating Dormammu means he can’t get laid? Do one night stands make people not heroic? Not to mention just about every super hero ever goes through power fluctuations, i seriously cant think of one who hasn’t! You’re smart by voting with your dollar and not buying what you don’t want at least.

These types of comments are endlessly fascinating to me.

But that’s ok, that’s why God made horseraces. I’m enjoying Sketchy Steve and DEFENDERS in general and will be mucho-bummed if it doesn’t get a chance to get even weirder. Having said that, I agree it should be a buck cheaper.

But I wish everything was a buck cheaper.

How many experiments will it take for Marvel to realize that? Really?

And, yes, “spinning out of Fear Itself” probably isn’t the best way to market a book, either. So it has that going against it, too.

But price isn’t the whole reason. I read the previews online of the first issue and thumbed through it in the store and found that the characterization of Dr. Strange was inconsistent with the character as I’ve known him for over forty years. As was the characterization of Iron Fist; just kind of … off. I understand that Matt Fraction holds that he can make whatever changes to these characters he wants to because he’s the writer and it’s his story. But I don’t have to buy it.

I want my comic book heroes to be heroic; people who have flaws but triumph anyway. I’m sorry, but I can’t reconcile the Dr. Strange who rescued a whole dimension from Dormamu’s oppression in Strange Tales with the guy who sleeps around and can’t keep his magic working. It just doesn’t work for me. Certainly not at $3.99 and probably not at $1.99.