Pick Five: Best Comic Book Magicians

5.  Dr. Doom

That’s right team, in addition to being a megalomaniacal  snappy dresser, Victor Von Doom is also well versed in the black arts. In fact, he is so knowledgeable that he was even in the running for Sorcerer Supreme once Dr. Strange gave up the mantle. A clever mix of technology and magic, Doom’s arsenal always keeps the heroes of the Marvel U on their toes.

4. Lord Fanny

If there are any Grant Morrison fans out there that have not read the Invisibles you should trade in your Skrull Kill Krew collector badge right now. The quirky  series follows a secret society trying to defeat an even secreter society of aliens who have enslaved humanity without our knowledge. One of the team members is Lord Fanny, a transexual shaman that uses her magic to protect humanity from demons. Probably the greatest transgender character in all of comic books, Lord Fanny deserves a spot on this list.

3. Zatanna

And how could I not include Zatanna? Her awesome backwards incantation powers were inherited from her Father and her costume is a hilarious throwback to the magician’s assistants from the Vaudeville days. As in, she has no pants. I assume they magically disappeared. But that was good enough for Batman, the Flash, and John Constantine.

2. John Constantine

And speaking of John C, his powers are so great that he tricked demons into fighting over his soul, has fooled Swamp Thing into saving the world, and managed to magically create a pretty good movie with Keanu Reaves playing the lead role. If there is anyone out there who has not picked up the Alan Moore Swamp Thing run or the Garth Ennis Hellblazer issues run, don’t walk, to your local comic shop.

1. Dr. Strange

You knew he would be number one! Created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, Dr. Stephen Strange is the best of the comic book magicians. Limitless powers, super snazzy duds, and a sweet pad in Greenwich Village (with the best skylight ever) makes him a key player in the occult. His awesome stories are too numerous to mention but check out Strange Tales #123 for  a street fight with Loki, Marvel Premiere #3-10 for a dust-up with Shuma-Gorath, and the Montesi Formula TPB for watching Dr. S crush Dracula under his magical booties.

Anthony Falcone is a freelance writer living in Toronto and he is Keyer Soze. If you have need of his services you can reach him via afalcone@comicbookdaily.com.Share this:ShareRedditEmail

Tags: Magic

PostedMonday, May 23rd, 2011 at 8:30 amin Championing Comics, Pick Five.Follow comments on the RSS 2.0 feed.You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

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3 Responses to “”Andrew Ardizzi says:May 23, 2011 at 8:00 pm

Honestly, Constantine should have #1 simply based on his being more badass than the other four. Your pointing out of his scheme to trick the demons into fighting over his soul in order to save himself from lung cancer is a testament to that. Nice list though.

ReplyCharlie says:May 24, 2011 at 11:14 am

What no Mandrake the Magician or the Scarlet Witch…? I was never big on the Scarlet Witch… what’s up with her and her brother the Quicksilver? Talk about a dysfunctional family…

ReplyLeigh says:May 24, 2011 at 2:01 pm

Yorick from Y the Last man! He may not be able to condure up a monster, but he can escape hand cuffs and straight jackets (Harry Houdini style) any day.

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