#silver dagger

[archived-themagicalmysticalboy]

all men are false, says my mother

they’ll tell you wicked lovin’ lies

[merrymarvelite]

Cover of the Day: Marvel Team-Up #77 (January, 1979) John Romita Jr. and Al Milgrom

[kissoflabrys]

Going to get her a colt single action army revolver so she can put a picture of me on the handle and never actually use it and she can get me a dagger with a pink and white handle so i can cut us fruits and we can sit in rhe sun and eat it

[browsethestacks]

Doctor Strange #05 (1974)

Art by Frank Brunner

[doctorstrangereview]

0129: Doctor Strange (vol. 2) #5

Cover Date: December 1974 On-Sale Date: September 10, 1974

And we come to the end of the first arc of our new Doc solo series. Sadly this is Frank Brunner's swan song as he leaves Doc, never to return. It's sad. Fortunately Gene Colan returns to art chores next issue. Doc died last issue and returned to life in the last few panels. Let's see what he does with it and what he does to Silver Dagger.

Clea is still a prisoner of Silver Dagger who is still attempting to break and "reform" her from the teachings of her demonic former instructor. Clea calls him mad and he replies he's as sane as anyone, proving it by comparing himself to Cotton Mather and members of the Inquisition. Yeah, that proves your sanity! Because it's what villains do and maybe Steve needed to burn a few pages of real estate, Dagger expounds on his origin!

In a nutshell: Dagger-to-be was a priest in the Catholic Church who worked his way up to cardinal. He expected to become pope but someone else was elected. For reason this makes Dagger-to-be in his own words "comprehend the power of evil." It sounds to me more like he's the ultimate sore loser. Brunner has some odd ideas about clergy vestments. Here's Dagger-to-be as a cardinal.

Here's the pope that's about to die wearing I don't know what.

Dagger-to-be goes wandering around in a fog until he stumbles into the Vatican forbidden library. He reads and reads and believes God has a new mission for him. To stamp out black magic with black magic. To me this is like fighting pornography by making hardcode blue movies, but what do I know? By the way, Brunner's Vatican Library has some cool books.

H. P. Lovecraft would be amused in-between his thoughts about European superiority. Dagger-to-be searches out mystic practitioners, learns all he can from them and murders them. He went to find the Ancient One but the old dude was already dead. For some reason Brunner draws the crypts of Kaa-U instead of the lamasery at Kamer-Taj. Did Dagger-to-be get his addresses mixed up?

Clea has now fainted. We don't know if she heard Dagger's entire story, but it doesn't really matter. While Dagger is distracted by Clea's current state, something slips out of the nearby All-Purpose Amulet of Agamotto. It's Doc! In through the Orb, out through the Amulet. Hey, maybe Dagger stealing it was a good thing! Doc doesn't have to travel.

Doc's senses have expanded and he's having one gnarly trip and it's without the aid of LSD!

This is definitely one time where eccentric panels work like a charm! Doc tries to find his body, but instead finds the wax figure Dagger decapitated a few of issues ago. He's confused and enters it anyway. He actually manages to get it going, despite like things like muscles.

Kicking the head is a nice touch. Doc-figure creeps up on Dagger and this is a truly marvelous image.

Dagger cuts the wax-figure to pieces, but Clea suspects more is at work here.

Doc "surges" into Clea. I think Englehart was perfectly aware of the double entendre he wrote! Together the two escape Dagger and flee back to the Sanctum Sanctorum. Steve and Frank even give us bystanders gawking at Clea's kooky outfit!

Clea/Stephen arrives back at the Sanctum and they ask Wong if Doc's body is still there. He answers in the affirmative while we look in on Dagger in hot pursuit. Dagger is not exactly thrilled about being mugged along the way.

Back at the Sanctum, Clea/Stephen asks why the body is still here and Wong says he couldn't bring himself to make the journey to Kaa-U. He probably dreads having to dig the place out with he bare hands after the place collapse in Marvel Premiere #10. He also mentions, that Doc doesn't have the usual dead body smell. Doc rejoins his body which, fortunately isn't really dead.

Dagger has arrived and he is so focused on Clea he hasn't put the clues together that Doc might still be alive. Dagger burst into the study with Doc and Clea. Frank gives us some great, cinematic panels.

After his poor aim, Dagger uses the Amulet to attack Doc and Clea. The pair manage to take over the eye. Clea remarks that she's able to to this much easier now. Doc "surging" into her appears to have increased her power. The pair point the Eye at Dagger who is suddenly filled with wisdom (or something) and jumps into the Eye!

The ordeal over, Doc and Clea share a tender moment. Guess where Dagger is?

The caterpillar has an eternal conversation partner!

And those we close the arc! Sadly it's Frank's final turn on Doc except for a one-shot in 2010. He has really been spectacular. Next issue Gene Colan restarts his long association with Doc. He will have a pair of runs that will end with issue #47. He returns for one more issue in the successor series.

This is a charming finale. There's so much at stake, but as in previous stories, these high stakes are told in an intimate tale with a small cast. Steve manages to communicate Dagger's insanity both through his origin and his actions. The man is loony! Doc hangs onto Dagger's dagger and Chris Claremont even remembers it, although it functions a bit differently. I'll get to that one in a couple of months.

Doc shows why he is sorcerer supreme. He approaches Dagger after he invades the Sanctum with a combination of caution and confidence. His absolute faith in Clea is on display here as well. There are some minor glitches I pointed out above but they don't distract from the larger story. A well done finale from one of my favorite creative teams.

[curiouskittenxoxo]

don't sing love songs, you'll wake my mother

[innovacancy]

Silver Dagger News Cafe, Pawtucket, RI 10 February 2024

[thatshowthingstarted]

Ceremonial dagger, Turkey, Ottoman Empire, 16th century,

Given to Gábor Bethlen, Prince of Transylvania.

Ebony, emerald, ruby, silver, steel, turquoise,

length: 38,5 cm, width: 6,8 cm.

Courtesy: Iparművészeti Múzeum (Museum of Applied Arts) Budapest

[doctorstrangereview]

0121: Doctor Strange (vol. 2) #2

Cover Date: August 1974 On-Sale Date: May 14, 1974

And we're back to Doc's solo efforts (sort of.) It's a relief after that tiresome Giant Defenders issue with all those reprints. Well, the Defenders (sort of) guest star here as well. We're in for quite the whacko adventure.

Our splash page begins with the starling image of Silver Dagger decapitating Doc.

We quickly discover this is just a mannequin of Doc. Our Doc is still alive inside the Orb of Agamotto being tormented obstructed by that world's unreal inhabitants. The decapitation is just a stunt in Dagger's attempt to brainwash her and convert her to his religion which we will later learn is Catholicism. This sounds like the most realistic part of a comic book ever. Dagger claims to loathe using magic to get rid of magic, but it's his calling!

It appears he's done this before. Maybe someone will consider a Silver Dagger: The Early Years limited series and show us these earlier conversions. Dagger leaves Clea alone for a bit and uses the All-Purpose Amulet to show him Doc's corpse and discovering that his victim is still alive. Uh oh!

This provides a convenient segue back to that crazy Orb world where Doc is a bit discombobulated. Doc gets contemplative and philosophical. He attempts to mediate and orient himself which attracts something called a soul eater. It attempts to suck out Doc's ghost form. The attempt succeeds.

Doc is drawn into the soul eater's maw but sees a flash of silver as he's being devoured. It's the Silver Surfer, or something that looks like him, at least.

Doc encounters a bunch of other souls that have been incorporated into the soul eaters innards. Doc has no intention of ending like this. He flies to the creatures brain and works some shenanigans.

The creature "freaks out" (in Doc's own words) and as it crashes all its victims go free. Cool!

Doc and the Surfer chat. Surfer reveals that he's not the genuine article and is just part of the realm. Therefore he can't help Doc find the out door. Doc then remembers he has a physical body which has gone AWOL. Surfer points out that it walked to a nearby castle. It's not supposed to do that when Doc's ghost ain't home! The pair go to the castle which looks familiar (to me, not them.)

Inside, neither He-Man nor the Sorceress are home. Instead they find a bunch of heroes getting drunk. Around the table are his fellow Defenders, Spider-Man, a couple of Avengers, Nick Fury and public domain superhero from the 1930s, Captain Midnight. Doc's body is sitting politely at the head of the table while, next to him, the Hulk is getting angry because Doc won't talk. We know these aren't the genuine articles because Namor isn't being an angry drama queen. Frank gives us a lovely two page spread that's a bit of levity in this rather dark tale.

Doc rejoins his body and bids his ersatz fellow heroes farewell when another reveler arrives, whom the crowd address as The Queen. The Queen turns out to be an ersatz Valkyrie astride her winged horse, Aragorn.

Queen Valkyrie asks Sir Hulk who is the stranger? Hulk doesn't know but wants him to stay for tea. Doc, not wanting to tarry further as he needs to rescue Clea in the real world, declines. Perhaps he should have done it more politely as this is the reaction:

Doc has greatly softened in the decade since he was introduced, but when he's on a mission the arrogant jerk can rear its ugly head. Perhaps the knowledge that these dudes aren't real helps, but Doc makes short work of the gang.

Hulk manages to just get angrier, grabs Doc and pummels the heck out of him. But it wasn't really Doc, just an illusion. Seems an apt plan considering where he is. Revived, the entire gang comes for him again. And again he rebuffs them.

Yup! Arrogant. But powerful! The soul eater returns and Doc is about to protect the unconscious ersatz heroes when we see that Valkyrie and Silver Surfer are still awake. They explain he doesn't need to worry about the soul eater. They have no souls for it to consume! How logical in this unreal place! Doc then has the epiphany that his real foe is:

Doc realizes that he didn't escape death, he merely postponed it. He must get to the center of the Orb. Valyrie/The Queen offers him her unreal version of Aragorn who now knows how to get to the center. Doc flies off and we return to reality where Dagger has been peeping in on Doc and showing Clea to make her lose hope.

Whoa! So much going on here and Frank Brunner's art is simply wonderful. It must have been a joy to illustrate such fantastic weirdness. Yes, I'm gushing a bit. I love this arc and we're right in the thick of it. Our newly minted sorcerer supreme is thrust into a situation that probably of none of his predecessors have dealt with and has ever-mounting uncertainty. And he's got his lady friend to worry about so he really can't waste a lot of time.

As we've progressed, Englehart has improved Doc's speech to something less stilted and more formal. He knows Doc is somewhat cut off from pop culture and will have a more formal way of speaking, but not like a soap opera where everything ends in an exclamation point!

This arc gives us Doc as an explorer of the unknown. Englehart handles it well by having Doc handle it well.

The next issue tag is a bit of a lie. The next issue is reprints, but issue four will fulfil it's promise.

[solidsmax]

Marvel 97'

[calvincell]

The fact that an extremely high visibility Marvel project like Marvel Rivals earnestly includes & adapts Cloak & Dagger has me foaming at the mouth with joy!

I was already on board the moment they included both Black Panther & Storm as playable heroes but to go the extra mile & put Tandy & Tyrone on the roster AND as a paired hero rather than splitting them up ensures that I’ll likely be putting in hours equivalent to the 100+ I clocked back when I played classic vanilla Overwatch.

Now all I want for future Marvel Rivals content is the addition of Silver Surfer to the roster. Only then will I be satisfied that all of my woefully under-appreciated/under-represented faves get time in the limelight that IMO is long overdue!

[chromet]

Chrome Hearts Large Heart Dagger Money Clip

[ninasoden]

A Room For Murder by Michele Pariza Wacek

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. That means, when you purchase a book using an Amazon link on this site, I earn an affiliate commission. All commission earnings go back into funding my books; editing, cover design, etc. Meet Charlie. Better known as “Aunt Charlie” from the award-winning Secrets of Redemption series. She’s back, making teas and solving cases in this…

[treasures-and-beauty]

Dagger and sheath. Blade - second half of the 16th century, Iran. Sheath - 17th century, Turkey. Steel, silver, gold, uncut diamonds, rubies, emeralds, garnet

[doctorstrangereview]

0118: Doctor Strange (vol. 2) #1

Cover Date: June 1974 On-Sale Date: March 12, 1974

This is it! Doc has his own solo title again. After meeting God and seeing the Big Bang, what's in store? Despite the cheesy cover copy this is an intimate story with a small cast and few sets. We introduce a new villain that will pop up from time to time start Doc on the next stage of his Sorcerer Supreme journey.

Doc is meditating. Apparently he's still "coming down" from his encounter with God and the origin of the universe. After many hours, Clea's ample bust and giant, bizarre pink collar interrupt Doc to show him a trick she learned.

Doc responds with a rare joke which leads to a cute intimate moment.

Docs relationship with Clea is one of the highlights of this run! It's genuinely heartwarming. We next learn that Doc needs the Mists of Morpheus to sleep. Perhaps this is a mystical drug dependency? He also has Wong take the Cloak of Levitation to be dry cleaned. How does Wong tell them how to handle this precious piece of ancient cloth? Against expectations, Doc and Wong wander off leaving Clea in the company of her conjured rabbit.

This is opening to introduce our new villain. He's lurking outside in the rain watching Clea. Our mystery baddie isn't just being a peeping tom. He casts a spell to make Clea's cute little companion "Night of the Lepus" size.

Once she overcomes her surprise, Clea attempts to think of a remedy for what she believes is her error. The enchanted rabbit has other ideas and smashes through that lovely round window. Clea looks out the window and is ambushed by our villain who entrances her with mystic eyes more creepy than Xandu's.

Wong is doing his own peeping tom duties and attempts to intervene. Our villain decides to just give him a kick to the gut and take him out. Next, he takes the All-Purpose Amulet which attempts to warn Doc at the feel of an unknown caress. Our villain manages to avert this. There are no more obstacles and he proceeds to his goal, Doc. The sleeping sorcerer supreme doesn't fare well.

That's gotta hurt!

Silver Dagger is the villain's moniker as well as that of his weapon. His purpose was to assassinate Doc. It appears he was well prepared for this task. Silver Dagger departs the Sanctum Santorum with Clea in tow. Meanwhile, Wong regains consciousness and finds Doc, thinking he's dead. Doc is barely alive and asks Wong to bring him the amulet and Clea, Wong must inform him that both those items have been stolen. Doc must make due with the poor substitutes of the Orb of Agamotto and his cape. Wong brings them. Doc's wound is somewhat healed and he peeps into Silver Dagger's hideout seeing him torturing Clea. This doesn't make him happy. Dagger senses Doc's spying and suddenly the Orb's image changes to a skull. The the Orb attacks him!

Doc is drawn into the Orb. We learn what Necromancy is: "magic through the dead" and that Doc is not falling through infinite space, but rather infinite glass. Sounds painful. It gives Frank an excuse for a cool full pager.

Thanks, Frank. That's cool! Once he lands he finds himself in conversation with a curious looking caterpillar. Keep an eye out for the Alice in Wonderland references. There are more in this story arc. The caterpillar lets Doc know he's in the Orb, not the afterlife and he can't get out. Doc strongly disagrees and goes to leave against caterpillar advice. He doesn't take it too well.

The mad insect traps Doc in what looks like thick strands of snot. Doc frees himself and thinks he destroys the creepy bug, but this turns out to be wrong. The bug has returned to his pre-angry form. He explains to Doc there might be a slight chance he can bugger off back to reality by going to the center, but he'd go back to bleeding to death in minutes. He offers Doc to chill out. Doc declines and heads out.

The new series is off the a good start. It's weird and mysterious. From this first installment it's really not easy to tell where things are going. I like this. The story starts out simple enough and is really touching. Englehart really appreciates Doc's relationship with Clea. He also has a good handle on how it's softened Doc's personality where he can even make a little joke every now and then which was unthinkable in the Lee/Ditko days. We don't know much about Silver Dagger yet. He's grey and bald and wears funky clothes. He took out Clea and Wong with little effort and was able to stab Doc through his protective aura. He's prepared. We don't know yet if he was successful because he slipped under the radar or because he's a true threat to the sorcerer supreme. The bat-crap crazy world inside the Orb will only get crazier with lots of guest stars, sort of.

Awesome!