by Eric S Brown
The second collected trade paperback of Marvel’s Savage Avengers title is wildly different than the first. City of Sickles was crazy action and tons of bloodshed. To Dine with Doom slows down the pace of the story and really brings its main characters into sharper focus, especially Conan the Barbarian. Wandering the modern world in the wake of the team’s first battle with the evil mage Kulan Gath, Conan finds himself in Latveria where he encounters Dr. Doom.
Doom and Conan share a meal as they discuss a magical talisman that Conan carries. Wanting the power of the talisman, Doom appeals to Conan’s mercenary nature to accquire it in an extremely well written scene of subtle dialog between the two. It’s rare for modern comics to achieve the level of literary art that Gerry Duggan manages to pull off. Fans of both characters will be left grinning from this encounter between barbarian and king.
Dr. Strange shows up to warn Dr. Doom of Kulan Gath’s return. Strange, Doom, and Conan engage Gath in a battle that features everything from Doom calling in a missile strike from orbit to Dr. Strange donning an Iron Man like suit. Yet the trio are unable to stop fully stop Gath. His power level in terms of magic is almost mindboggling as there are few if any can stand against Strange and Doom combined. To Dine with Doom‘s end battle, while not as gruesome as the action in the previous collected trade, is more than enough to please any Marvel fan looking for a fun superhero tale that isn’t bogged down by politics or agendas.
