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Reviews

Doom Academy #1 Review

  • Written by: Mackenzie Cadenhead
  • Art by: Pasqual Ferry
  • Colors by: Edgar Delgado
  • Letters by: VC’s Clayton Cowles
  • Cover art by: Pablo Villalobos
  • Cover price: $4.99
  • Release date: February 19, 2025

Doom Academy #1, by Marvel Comics on 2/19/25, follows Zoe and the other members of Strange Academy as they get used to life at a new school run by the new Sorcerer Supreme, Doctor Doom.

Is Doom Academy #1 Good?

Recap

When Doctor Strange foolishly relinquished the mantle of Sorcerer Supreme to Doctor Doom at the end of the Blood Hunt event, Strange assumed Doom would return the mantle when the world’s vampires were contained. Instead, Doctor Doom used his newfound power to take over the world. This is his story.

Plot Synopsis

Doom Academy #1 begins with and follows longtime Strange Academy student and partial zombie Zoe. Doctor Doom, now the Sorcerer Supreme, renamed Strange Academy to Doom Academy and relocated the students to Latveria.

The issue follows Zoe as she meets her grumpy roommate, Marta, encounters an assortment of students from across the fantasy spectrum and joins the school newspaper, the Doom Academy Dispatch. As the story progresses, we see Zoe’s Strange Academy schoolmates integrating well into Doom Academy life, especially with the superior magic resources available and the immutable protection of Doom on the school to protect from outside attackers.

The issue ends with Zoe hearing a disembodied voice chanting a nursery rhyme, leading her to a room with a magical book that sucks Zoe into a new world.

First Impressions

If you’ve picked up this book because you believe it’s a tie-in to the One World Under Doom event, Doom Academy #1 is a tie-in in name only. Written with all the earmarks of a visit to Hogwarts Academy in the first Harry Potter film/book, the issue is more accurately a slice-of-life tween comic than a tie-in to Marvel’s biggest event of the year. Make your purchasing decisions accordingly.

How’s the Art?

Pasqual Ferry’s bright, expressive art is a great fit for Mackenzie Cadenhead’s script material. The cavalcade of whimsical fantasy creatures looks amazing, the small character moments (which comprise most of the issue) are framed well, and Edgar Delgado’s coloring is pristine.

What’s great about Doom Academy #1?

If you just so happen to be looking for a Marvel comic with strong Harry Potter vibes that doesn’t feel connected to anything else and hits the bullseye for the Young Adult (YA) tween demographic, this is it. The character interactions are light and airy, without a hint of threat or dramatic weight, and the last page twist has intriguing potential.

What’s not great about Doom Academy #1?

Why is this book a tie-in to One World Under Doom? Doom appears on the first page and a half to welcome everybody to the school, but that’s it. Neither the school nor the students have anything to do with the crisis at hand, the pacing is (to be generous) sedate, and the entire issue is a dialog-fest of introductions, feeling sharing, and validation.

To be fair to Cadenhead, the issue is edited by Nick Lowe, so you almost have to expect to be disappointed. Still, a tie-in should have some supporting importance to the main event. This issue does not.

About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.

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Final Thoughts

Doom Academy #1 is a fluffy time-waster that’s a perfect fit for readers looking for the Marvel equivalent of a Harry Potter comic. Mackenzie Cadenhead’s dialog-heavy script makes good use of introductions and relationships to build out a pleasant cast of characters, and Pasqual Ferry’s bright, whimsical art is a perfect fit for the story material. That said, readers who pick up this issue because it’s a tie-in to One World Under Doom will be disappointed by its lack of connection and importance to the main event.

5.8/10

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