Thursday, November 25, 2010

THANKSGIVING THAUMATURGICAL TASTE TEST!
-or-
BY THE ONION RINGS OF OSHTUR...
THE MASTER OF THE MASTICATING ARTS!

---
THANKSGIVING IS HERE! *
---
...and as such, besides being a day for the giving of thanks for what we have, it has also become a day synonymous with stuffing a turkey (or tofurfky for the vegans) and stuffing your face!

A lavish table of many courses, side dishes and deserts is usually in the offing, and in many places, extravagantly prepared fine-dining experiences are to be had.

Surely one would expect one such as Doctor Stephen Strange, a man surrounded by the trappings of wealth and taste (as well as a live-in man-servant) to be well versed in the culinary delights of Haute cuisine.

One would expect the likes of Doctor Strange to always be seated at a well-laid table, spread with every type of delicacy.
And yet, I tell you that is not the case.
Doctor Strange is a man of basic food tastes!
No gourmand, he.

Oh, certainly... scenes can be found that will show Strange sitting at a lavishly prepared table, but those are few and far between, and in the instances that I found, he is not eating. He may be reading a tome at the table, or in the company of others, but more often than not, he is not actually eating the fine cuisine.

Now...it being late Autumn, on the cusp of Winter, many may say that the season for BBQ (Bar-b-Que) is over and done.
Well, those fickle, fair-weather feeders are NOT the Master of the Mystic (and Masticating) Arts.

It seems that Doctor Strange has a deep hankering for hot-dogs, hamburgers and the Roving Rings of Red-Onion!

As they say, the proof is in the pudding... or the potato-salad as the case may be, because as of late, I have seen many instances to prove my statement.

I received the following trading card by the awesome blog-master over at "Strange Occasions" (check him out... he's fab!)
The card, a rare promo for the Super Hero Squad collectible card game features Doc making a CheeseBurger. A sorcerous "slider", as it were.


"Anticipation!"
(readers under 30 will have no idea what I'm referring to here)

By coincidence or design, the original sketches for Doctor Strange for the Super Hero Squad show have him conjuring a singing, dancing hot-dog.

    "Oh, I wish I had an Oscar Mayer wiener..." 

    Lest you think that all I can procure are SHS images... from DEADPOOL and CABLE # 49 (reprinted in the recently released Deadpool & Cable Ultimate Collection Vol. 03 TPB ) is this little scene...

      "By the Onion Rings of Burger King - - You Are Undone!"

      And, to show that this is not merely relegated to recent happenstance, and that Doc's more mundane taste in foodstuffs goes back a bit further in history... readers of this blog well remember this shirt (that I blogged about along with many other Dr. Strange related garments [HERE])...
        "By the Salaminous Buns of Poupon!"
        DOCTOR STRANGE conjuring forth some eats while wearing a Bar-B-Que bib!

        "I want a hamburger... no, cheeseburger. I want a hot dog..."

        Designed as the OFFICIAL shirt worn at the Marvel company PICNIC in 1996, it sets up an early precedent for Strange's more "American" palette.

        But, that's not even the EARLIEST such example of Dr. Strange's unrefined gourmet leanings...

        No.
        From 1972, in the pages of Marvel Premiere # 4 is THIS little scene:

        A deeper unfathomable unknown than even the most cosmic mysteries is... 
        from what exactly is a hot dog made?
        Doc don't know. Doc don't care.

        "Oh, sure," I hear you say... "Pick the few scenes of Strange eating junk from a few sources"...
        Well, what would you say if I showed you proof positive that Doctor Strange not only EATS such street-level meals, but he also PREPARES recipes for same?


        The 1977 MARVEL SUPERHEROES COOKBOOK featured several "recipes" by Dr. Stephen Strange:

        "Add 1 Eye of Newt. 2 Wings of Bat. A pinch of powdered dragon scales..."

        One such recipe was for "DR. STRANGE's MYSTERIOUS STEW".

        Now, while stew may be one of MY personal favorites, and while it might entail some "cooking", it is basically tossing whatever you have into a pot of water and putting it to a near boil.
        Hardly anything fit for a banquet table.

        Strange also offered a little side-dish:
        SALAD!

        Doctor Strange tosses salad... oh, man... And a fruit salad at that.

        Strange's tossed salad isn't specified on the page, however there is one for "Deviled Ham Salad". That sounds appropos...
        Still, the illustration shows Doc levitating FRUIT into a crystal vessel of some sort, so... it's most likely a fruit salad (another favorite of mine).

        Basically, nothing more than chopping up whatever fruit you have lying around and tossing it into a bowl.

        Sensing a pattern yet?
        No?

        OK. This last one will definitely set it all to light.

        Bachelor Chow!

        "Doctor Strange, INSTANT EATERY!"

        And I quote:

        "INSTANT EATERY IS ANY FOOD THAT YOU CAN GRAB FROM THE REFRIGERATOR OR BREAD BOX AND PUT IN YOUR MOUTH WITHOUT COOKING IT."


        And that is Awesome!
        Judging by our shared style of food preparation... it looks like perhaps I AM INDEED Doctor Strange.

        So, as many of us sit to sup with friends and family and (hopefully) enjoy a well-cooked meal, let's remember poor Stephen Strange and his hot-dog and finger-food tastes.

        It's a good thing that WONG is around to cook his meals.

         
        Oh, Nevermind.
        Happy Thanksgiving, to all! 

        Tamam Shud!
        ~P~


        *
        (For those in the United States it is always on the 4th Thursday in November. Canadian Thanksgiving is on the 2nd Monday of October. Sadly, most other countries do not have such a holiday. More so's the pity)

        7 comments:

        Anonymous said...

        I loved this article, I really did. Thanks for the mention!

        Anonymous said...

        Great stuff, first thing that popped into my head was the hot dog scene from Marvel Premiere. And there it was, a few paragraphs down. But the Doc's recipes all seem pretty bland... is he on some sort of dietary restriction, perhaps?

        Unknown said...

        wasn't he seen eating a hot dog in the stadium in the last limited "strange" series?

        ~P~ said...

        Hey Wyrd,

        Actually, I'm pretty sure he was eating NACHOS... but he was only seen WEARING them, since he was hit in the face by the baseball tossed by his (short-lived) apprentice; Casey.

        I thought I recalled a one-panel scene of Doc at a baseball game in some other recent title, but I can't place it.
        I think he may have had a hot dog there too.

        If anyone can think of other scenes, I'll add them to the post.

        ~P~

        ~P~ said...

        Oh... and I WAS going to add:

        - the scene of DORMAMMU eating a hot dog, from
        Marvel Adventures Super Heroes # 9
        (review at this link:
        http://sanctumsanctorumcomix.blogspot.com/2009/03/asti-all-seeing-comic-reviews-marvel.html )

        but it was;
        A) Dormammu
        and
        B) a non-canon kiddie story.

        I was also thinking of adding Doc eating SUSHI from "I AM AN AVENGER # 2", but while a basic looking dish, it wasn't in keeping with the BBQ style eats that I was looking for.

        But, I know there ARE other examples of Doc eating basic street-foods out there.

        I'll keep looking and if anyone else finds more, LMK.

        Thanks!
        ~P~

        Anonymous said...

        Unrelated to Thanksgiving or food, but there's this...
        http://marvel.com/news/story/14713/watch_marvel_super_heroes_what_the-_episode_15

        Howard Hallis said...

        LOVE the Superhero Squad card... WANT!

        Post a Comment