TODAY’S STARTLING NEWS STORIES:
-The Sun rose and the Sun set.
-Some people were born and others died.
-People argued about politics somewhere.
-A movie based on a Marvel Comics property made a buttload of money on opening weekend.
Yes, Doctor Strange had its North American release this weekend and it was huge. No surprise there: if titles like Ant-Man and Guardians Of The Galaxy that most people have never even heard of can make money for Marvel, what can’t? Now, certainly there are a number of reasons for this. Marvel understands their characters and what makes them appealing. They maintain control of their product, but pair up each title with writers and directors who understand the sub-genre (action-adventure, fantasy, heist movie, political thriller) appropriate to each film. The basic formula is roughly the same, but how it is expressed each time keeps it fresh.
Nonetheless, I’m also beginning to develop the sneaking suspicion that maybe… just maybe… Marvel has an astrologer on staff.
All of the Marvel movies since Iron Man have made a bundle — even the less successful ones. Sure, that’s due largely to the quality of the product, but as I’ve demonstrated before (as with my articles on two classics… Star Trek and Godzilla, and one stinker — The Room) the astrological conditions of a film or TV program’s first public viewing can show the potential for an enduring hit. Furthermore, the astrology of a fictional character’s first appearance in public can show when is a good time to release a product based on the character (see my article on Luke Cage for an example of that).
Now, how does this apply to Doctor Strange? The character first appeared in Strange Tales #110, which had a cover date of July 1963. But (as I discussed in the Luke Cage article) that means the good Doctor would have first actually rolled off the presses in April-May of 1963. Now of course we don’t have an exact publication date for this title, but even knowing that, one thing clearly stands out. Doctor Strange (the fictional character) was “born” with Pluto at 9 degrees Virgo. The North Node (“karmic destiny”) is exactly conjunct that point, and Neptune and the South Node — both of which have associations with mysticism and the occult — are exactly opposite that point right now. So if you want to make a splash with a movie about “The Sorcerer Supreme” then now is obviously a great time… even though (as I pointed out in my last blog entry) that Neptune-South Node conjunction is making a lot of people kind of stupid lately.
Therefore, I am drawn inevitably to one of two possible conclusions: either Marvel Entertainment quietly has an astrologer on the payroll somewhere, or they’ve been fantastically lucky with their release schedules (hey, even a good movie can underwhelm at the box office).
Either that, or imagine how much Marvel could benefit from having an astrologer on retainer. Hey Marvel! Click on the link below and send me an e-mail! I’ll work for comics!
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