Strange Tales #1 Review

 

Strange Tales #1 Review

Writer: Jeremy Whitley

Artist: Bayleigh Underwood

Colorist: Jim Campbell

Letterer: Joe Caramagna

Cover Artists: Bayleigh Underwood & Jim Campbell; Annie Wu; Gretel Lusky

Designer: Kat Walkington

Editors: Lauren Bisom, Farah Javed & CB Cebulski

Publisher: Marvel Comics

Price: $3.99

Release Date: October 8, 2025

 

Nico Minoru carries her Staff of One and casts spells behind her. Still, she cannot shake her flying, fire-breathing pursuer. Nico doesn’t know why Billy Kaplan transported her to Midtown. But if the dragon doesn’t kill her, she vows to end Wiccan’s life. Why does the former Runaway blame the one-time Young Avenger for her imminent demise? And can anyone prevent Nico from being roasted into a delectable morsel? Let’s grab our dice and character sheets, leap into Strange Tales #1, and see!

 

Story

After sheltering behind a delivery van, Nico bangs on the double doors of a nearby building. After she turns to face her imminent demise on the sidewalk, Wanda Maximoff offers Nico a helping hand inside her Emporium. But Nico is frazzled after her flight from the flying, frying death. So, the Scarlet Witch gets Nico to settle down and explain how all the trouble started.

 

In Jeremy Whitley’s story, it’s dangerous for magic users to venture out on Halloween. So, Nico and her friend, Karolina Dean, spent the evening in Billy Kaplan and Theodore Altman’s apartment. Billy was excited by finding a game he had never seen before. The four friends wrote up their character sheets, rolled the dice, and immersed themselves in the game. But as they played, creatures from their game appeared, and Billy and Nico fled for their lives.

 

While Nico gets Strange Tales #1 rolling, Wanda Maximoff proves to be the game master. The mystical investigator forces the story to follow her as she uncovers clues. Billy bought the game for a lark. Teddy, Nico, and Karolina came along for the ride. Wanda discovers that someone laid a trap for her son and his friends. Like Sherlock Holmes, Wanda isn’t afraid to embrace danger. Nico may not be a doctor, but she proves an able sidekick as the duo brave goblins, dragons, and more. And both women wield more effective weapons than a Webley revolver or a walking stick.

 

 

 

 

Art

As Bayleigh Underwood shows an explosion rocking Midtown, Jim Campbell reveals a green-clad witch fleeing the orange storm in Strange Tales #1. White ice erupts to chill the dragon's yellow and orange breath, while a glass door reflects the flames and the gray-blue street. Then, a red wooden door with a metal knocker appears before hands emerge from a white field to capture the witch.

 

The primary characters in Strange Tales #1 reveal an impish quality that shows the joy they find in being together. Wanda Maximoff radiates confidence and assurance as she welcomes her visitor and returns to the scene of the crime. Pastels dominate Billy and Teddy’s apartment when monsters appear. But while Karolina fills the room with a rainbow swirl, the other heroes cast white magic that radiates a unique color. 

 

Joe Caramagna fills white dialogue balloons with uppercase black letters. The letters shrink for lowered voices and enlarge for raised voices. The narrator speaks ivory words into black boxes, while Wanda confronts someone who speaks white words into black balloons. Sound effects fill the pages with all the crash, bang, and boom of a multiplex cinema showing Reign Of Fire. Thanks to Marvel Comics for providing a review copy. 

 

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

Strange Tales #1 launches an involving mystery that reminds us of the addictive power of games, the importance of reading instruction manuals, and the dangers of entering thrift shops.

 

Rating 9.4/10

 

To look inside see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.