Astro City #11 - "The Sorcerer's Assistant"

[arbre_rieur]

"It was designed to be my superhero laboratory of everything I ever wanted to do. The only way I would leave Astro City behind would be if I felt I've said all I have to say with superheroes." -- Kurt Busiek

Comments

[burkeonthesly]

I'm reading this, and it feels just a little bit like Christopher Bird's "I Should Write Dr. Strange."

[venatosapiens]

Which is good, because that series is basically everything I want out of a Dr. Strange book.

[icon_uk]

Loved this issue, the Sorceror Supreme's PA is a great role to focus on.

I'm somewhat reminded of an old D&D comic where a wizard, aware that his memory is not what it was, largely because of it being full of the spell's he's committed to memory, hires a halfling to serve as his PA, so he'll know which spells he has, and hasn't, access to at any given moment.

[beyondthefringe]

The Forgotten Realms series, back when DC has the TSR license. I want to say it was written by... Jeff Grubb? That was fun stuff. A drunken paladin, an asshole high elf cleric, an "Asian" swordswoman a golem inhabited by the spirit of a female dwarf. And a flying ship.

[halloweenjack]

Reminds me of the personal "dis-organiser" in Pratchett's Discworld, the Gooseberry, which is actually an imp in a box. (At one point, it leaps out of the box and physically sorts and files Sam Vimes' mountains of paperwork.)

[icon_uk]

"Bingly-bingly beep!"

[glprime]

"You've got it, [Insert-Name-Here]!"

[md84]

Well Doctor Strange does have Wong to help him pick up the slack.

[bruinsfan]

Sara Wolfe used to occupy a similar position for Strange as his social secretary and business manager. I miss her.

[icon_uk]

Yeah, but Wong usually seems a lot more... old school, in terms of being a manservant of the Sorceror Supreme, perhaps akin to Alfred. Raitha is more of a modern day executive assistant who just happens to work for someone who's job description is Sorceress.

Of course, I may well have missed out on some kickass Wong stories... and if I have, I'd love to know about them.

[md84]

One problem is that letting a relatively normal person handle affairs is pretty risky considering those affairs are usually Things Man Was Not Meant To Know. I doubt Stephen could offer a salary high enough to attract people to a job where handling the mail runs the very real risk of losing your soul to some denizen from the outer realms. I don't doubt that Munduna has plenty of safeguards to protect Raitha, but any security system can be breached. In this kind of job, unlike in real life, death may be the least horrible thing that could happen to someone like Raitha.

[icon_uk]

In most such cases, these things are caused by someone tampering with something they are not supposed to, like opening that sealed casket from the Lost Temple of Oblivion, or touching something actually called "The Forbidden Gems of Ast-Shukur Which Must Know Not the Touch of Humanity". I suspect a professional approach helps immeasurably.

[md84]

If I had that job I'd just assume everything that shows up in the mail or on the computer is something dangerous that shouldn't be tampered with. Because it is.

[cainofdreaming]

Though that'd kind of hamper the job efficiency, wouldn't it? Still better than accepting that black letter the small person delivered, though.

[grazzt]

How normal is Raitha, though? She seems to be doing the sort of work a magician's apprentice would be given, crossed with more standard personal assistant stuff.

And acting as a personal assistant is a great training regiment for a magician's apprentice. You keep the apprentice out of the way of the worst of the danger, while simultaneously showing them the day-to-day life of a mage in all its nitty-gritty. They get to practice their basics, and it will weed out the people who don't want to work for their power, as well as the severely arrogant.

[protogarrett]

I really do love Astro City.

[q99]

So busy!

[siliconshaman]

I like this. It's kind of cool seeing behind the scenes.

[icon_uk]

That's what Astro City does best! :)

[shadur]

Just like pretty much everything else it does?

[daningram.insanejournal.com]

Reminds me a little of Black Betty from Stormwatch PHD. I miss that series.

[silverzeo]

Hey, anyone else remember when Wonder Woman had "minotaur" for a chef?