Inspired by Shag’s podcast, I started reading the 1988 Doctor Fate series last weekend. I made it though the Eric & Linda era, so today and tomorrow I’ll be digging into the Inza Nelson issues 25-41. And for the first time too - so these comics are all new to me!
Welcome to #aFATEfulweekend ..again
Welcome to #aFATEfulweekend ..again
October 31, 2026 at 8:45 PM
Inspired by Shag’s podcast, I started reading the 1988 Doctor Fate series last weekend. I made it though the Eric & Linda era, so today and tomorrow I’ll be digging into the Inza Nelson issues 25-41. And for the first time too - so these comics are all new to me!
Welcome to #aFATEfulweekend ..again
Welcome to #aFATEfulweekend ..again
That brings #aFATEfulweekend to a close… again. I enjoyed the DeMatteis issues last weekend, but IMO he was writing a story that just happen to feature Doctor Fate. Reading Messner-Loebs these past two days felt a more fitting legacy for the character. But both runs were smart and thought provoking.
November 2, 2026 at 3:35 AM
That brings #aFATEfulweekend to a close… again. I enjoyed the DeMatteis issues last weekend, but IMO he was writing a story that just happen to feature Doctor Fate. Reading Messner-Loebs these past two days felt a more fitting legacy for the character. But both runs were smart and thought provoking.
Inza & Kent are getting to know their neighbors, to the extent that Inza (as Fate) takes down a former S.T.A.R. Labs engineer shooting up the block in hopes the city will finally fix the intersection traffic light where his daughter died. No job is too small for this Doctor Fate!#aFATEfulweekend
October 31, 2026 at 9:08 PM
Inza & Kent are getting to know their neighbors, to the extent that Inza (as Fate) takes down a former S.T.A.R. Labs engineer shooting up the block in hopes the city will finally fix the intersection traffic light where his daughter died. No job is too small for this Doctor Fate!#aFATEfulweekend
Tragic. This kid is running around town robbing places in their poor neighborhood to try and get himself arrested so he can go back to jail, which is the only place he ever got any support to try and kick his drug habit. But society can’t even help with that awful option. #aFATEfulweekend
October 31, 2026 at 9:35 PM
Tragic. This kid is running around town robbing places in their poor neighborhood to try and get himself arrested so he can go back to jail, which is the only place he ever got any support to try and kick his drug habit. But society can’t even help with that awful option. #aFATEfulweekend
A veritable haunted house, due to all the lives taken over the years by a Lord of Kemet who has been trappped in the land for a millennium. But Inza rushes in as Doctor Fate and winning - the victims appear to all have been released… alive in the now. This should be interesting #aFATEfulweekend
October 31, 2026 at 10:30 PM
A veritable haunted house, due to all the lives taken over the years by a Lord of Kemet who has been trappped in the land for a millennium. But Inza rushes in as Doctor Fate and winning - the victims appear to all have been released… alive in the now. This should be interesting #aFATEfulweekend
Inza loses her cool with a corrupt corporate head whose massive skyscraper blots out the sun shining on her neighborhood. She transforms into Doctor Fate to show him what real power is, dismantling his real estate holdings and uses the raw material to build houses for the people. #aFATEfulweekend
November 1, 2026 at 12:57 AM
Inza loses her cool with a corrupt corporate head whose massive skyscraper blots out the sun shining on her neighborhood. She transforms into Doctor Fate to show him what real power is, dismantling his real estate holdings and uses the raw material to build houses for the people. #aFATEfulweekend
After a tragic accident results in an untimely death, Doctor Fate (Inza Nelson) races into the next plane of existence to rescue the victim’s soul before passing over, never contemplating the possibility of painful and deadly consequences she unleashes back in her neighborhood. #aFATEfulweekend
November 1, 2026 at 12:23 AM
After a tragic accident results in an untimely death, Doctor Fate (Inza Nelson) races into the next plane of existence to rescue the victim’s soul before passing over, never contemplating the possibility of painful and deadly consequences she unleashes back in her neighborhood. #aFATEfulweekend
Kent starts a fight about how Inza is spending too much time as Doctor Fate and fixing small pedestrian stuff for the neighborhood that he believes their neighbors are becoming too dependent on the mystical superhero. Inza disagrees as first but starts to come around. #aFATEfulweekend
October 31, 2026 at 11:24 PM
Kent starts a fight about how Inza is spending too much time as Doctor Fate and fixing small pedestrian stuff for the neighborhood that he believes their neighbors are becoming too dependent on the mystical superhero. Inza disagrees as first but starts to come around. #aFATEfulweekend
“But in the last 20 years the government has turned against us. It has divided us by race and class and sex. It has produced a false prosperity based on debt and a false patriotism based on war.”
Now it’s another 30+ years later and still we are no better. Worse really. #aFATEfulweekend
Now it’s another 30+ years later and still we are no better. Worse really. #aFATEfulweekend
November 2, 2026 at 2:32 AM
“But in the last 20 years the government has turned against us. It has divided us by race and class and sex. It has produced a false prosperity based on debt and a false patriotism based on war.”
Now it’s another 30+ years later and still we are no better. Worse really. #aFATEfulweekend
Now it’s another 30+ years later and still we are no better. Worse really. #aFATEfulweekend
Discovering her Doctor Fate has been an agent of chaos (not evil, just chaos) all this time forces Inza to find a new current of power in order to face the Lord of Chaos who has been influencing her this past year. So she taps into the human spirit of every being on Earth. #aFATEfulweekend
November 1, 2026 at 5:57 PM
Discovering her Doctor Fate has been an agent of chaos (not evil, just chaos) all this time forces Inza to find a new current of power in order to face the Lord of Chaos who has been influencing her this past year. So she taps into the human spirit of every being on Earth. #aFATEfulweekend
The “War of the Gods” xover continues, and it was the gods of Egypt in an energy-human shape complaining about how their worshippers view them with animal attributes that cracked me up. Of course they immediately reverted to type once they reappeared on the physical plane. #aFATEfulweekend
November 1, 2026 at 2:52 PM
The “War of the Gods” xover continues, and it was the gods of Egypt in an energy-human shape complaining about how their worshippers view them with animal attributes that cracked me up. Of course they immediately reverted to type once they reappeared on the physical plane. #aFATEfulweekend
That’s it for #aFATEfulweekend tonight. I’ll have to put off the William Messner-Loebs run of Doctor Fate starring Inza Nelson until next weekend. 😴
October 26, 2026 at 2:54 AM
That’s it for #aFATEfulweekend tonight. I’ll have to put off the William Messner-Loebs run of Doctor Fate starring Inza Nelson until next weekend. 😴
Kent you coward! It was just a conversation between Inza and Wonder Woman about the possibility of you carrying a baby to term - you didn’t have to run away!
Gears are shifting and this has the feel of things being wrapped up, as if the creators knew next issue would be their last. #aFATEfulweekend
Gears are shifting and this has the feel of things being wrapped up, as if the creators knew next issue would be their last. #aFATEfulweekend
November 2, 2026 at 2:53 AM
Kent you coward! It was just a conversation between Inza and Wonder Woman about the possibility of you carrying a baby to term - you didn’t have to run away!
Gears are shifting and this has the feel of things being wrapped up, as if the creators knew next issue would be their last. #aFATEfulweekend
Gears are shifting and this has the feel of things being wrapped up, as if the creators knew next issue would be their last. #aFATEfulweekend
A short framing sequence allows the guest creatives to take us back to when Kent and Nabu were Doctor Fate. I am confused how Fate’s amulet of Anubis created an ether vortex in the past, dragged our hero there, where the amulet was then taken to power the machine creating the rift. #aFATEfulweekend
November 1, 2026 at 6:31 PM
A short framing sequence allows the guest creatives to take us back to when Kent and Nabu were Doctor Fate. I am confused how Fate’s amulet of Anubis created an ether vortex in the past, dragged our hero there, where the amulet was then taken to power the machine creating the rift. #aFATEfulweekend
Can’t have a final issue of Doctor Fate without going back to the wellspring from which it all sprung - the Lords of Order and a Lord of Chaos are at it again. But Inza has a theory she wants to test out. And just maybe this will all end with these beings gaining a new perspective. #aFATEfulweekend
November 2, 2026 at 3:13 AM
Can’t have a final issue of Doctor Fate without going back to the wellspring from which it all sprung - the Lords of Order and a Lord of Chaos are at it again. But Inza has a theory she wants to test out. And just maybe this will all end with these beings gaining a new perspective. #aFATEfulweekend
Swallowed by her own helmet, Inza watches her NYC neighborhood turn on itself without her there to magically right every wrong, constantly prop things up, or fix every little discomfort. And Kent convinces Lord of Order Shat-Ru to help him become Doctor Fate again, mostly. #aFATEfulweekend
November 1, 2026 at 5:42 PM
Swallowed by her own helmet, Inza watches her NYC neighborhood turn on itself without her there to magically right every wrong, constantly prop things up, or fix every little discomfort. And Kent convinces Lord of Order Shat-Ru to help him become Doctor Fate again, mostly. #aFATEfulweekend
Wonder Woman shows up in Doctor Fate because it’s a “War of the Gods” crossover. But this is a great opportunity to talk about all the time lost souls that were released back in Issue 28 who now live in present day… just like the thing that happened in Starman’s Opal City! #aFATEfulweekend
November 1, 2026 at 1:17 AM
Wonder Woman shows up in Doctor Fate because it’s a “War of the Gods” crossover. But this is a great opportunity to talk about all the time lost souls that were released back in Issue 28 who now live in present day… just like the thing that happened in Starman’s Opal City! #aFATEfulweekend
This issue is told from Kent’s perspective as he returns to New York and discovers all the changes Inza has instituted while he’s been gone. A rebel group has risen up to work against Doctor Fate, but Kent realizes it’s for all the wrong reasons when they try to recruit him. #aFATEfulweekend
November 1, 2026 at 5:21 PM
This issue is told from Kent’s perspective as he returns to New York and discovers all the changes Inza has instituted while he’s been gone. A rebel group has risen up to work against Doctor Fate, but Kent realizes it’s for all the wrong reasons when they try to recruit him. #aFATEfulweekend
It has dawned on me that I am not doing well with time to average 22 comic books today.
Reading 90s Doctor Fate may turn into a two weekend endeavor. #aFATEfulweekend
Reading 90s Doctor Fate may turn into a two weekend endeavor. #aFATEfulweekend
October 24, 2026 at 5:38 PM
It has dawned on me that I am not doing well with time to average 22 comic books today.
Reading 90s Doctor Fate may turn into a two weekend endeavor. #aFATEfulweekend
Reading 90s Doctor Fate may turn into a two weekend endeavor. #aFATEfulweekend
38 years ago, I was not prepared for the tonal shift of Dr Fate from the disturbing but brilliant 1987 mini to the humor of this 1988 ongoing series and stopped reading after a dozen issues. Giving it another try this weekend though, all 41 issues and the annual.
#aFATEfulweekend
#aFATEfulweekend
October 24, 2026 at 12:59 PM
38 years ago, I was not prepared for the tonal shift of Dr Fate from the disturbing but brilliant 1987 mini to the humor of this 1988 ongoing series and stopped reading after a dozen issues. Giving it another try this weekend though, all 41 issues and the annual.
#aFATEfulweekend
#aFATEfulweekend
McManus gets a break, only drawing the bookend pages to this one-off tale exploring a Doctor Fate adventure that took place between the ‘87 mini and this ongoing. It’s got more depth and drama than comedy, and made for a nice change up. #aFATEfulweekend
October 25, 2026 at 8:12 PM
McManus gets a break, only drawing the bookend pages to this one-off tale exploring a Doctor Fate adventure that took place between the ‘87 mini and this ongoing. It’s got more depth and drama than comedy, and made for a nice change up. #aFATEfulweekend
Huh. Maybe regular artist Shawn McManus should have taken Issue #7 off because he’s not drawing the big finale for Doctor Fate’s first year. Instead we get the tremendous pairing of Val Semeiks & Mark Buckingham - who look awesome together! #aFATEfulweekend
October 25, 2026 at 3:31 AM
Huh. Maybe regular artist Shawn McManus should have taken Issue #7 off because he’s not drawing the big finale for Doctor Fate’s first year. Instead we get the tremendous pairing of Val Semeiks & Mark Buckingham - who look awesome together! #aFATEfulweekend
#aFATEfulweekend indeed!
Tom Sutton’s name came up on Not Near Mint’s YouTube show last night while I was hanging out in the chat room. Then earlier today I reposted an old comment about how much I loved Sutton’s work on Grimjack. And now look who drew the main story of the Doctor Fate Annual… 👀
Tom Sutton’s name came up on Not Near Mint’s YouTube show last night while I was hanging out in the chat room. Then earlier today I reposted an old comment about how much I loved Sutton’s work on Grimjack. And now look who drew the main story of the Doctor Fate Annual… 👀
October 24, 2026 at 8:38 PM
#aFATEfulweekend indeed!
Tom Sutton’s name came up on Not Near Mint’s YouTube show last night while I was hanging out in the chat room. Then earlier today I reposted an old comment about how much I loved Sutton’s work on Grimjack. And now look who drew the main story of the Doctor Fate Annual… 👀
Tom Sutton’s name came up on Not Near Mint’s YouTube show last night while I was hanging out in the chat room. Then earlier today I reposted an old comment about how much I loved Sutton’s work on Grimjack. And now look who drew the main story of the Doctor Fate Annual… 👀
The return of Doctor Stoner is a welcome site, and the tone of the book has really developed a welcome balance between the drama and the comedy. But Linda and Eric (now Eugene) have seemed aimless for six issues, six months in real time. That had to be frustrating for readers. #aFATEfulweekend
October 25, 2026 at 8:57 PM
The return of Doctor Stoner is a welcome site, and the tone of the book has really developed a welcome balance between the drama and the comedy. But Linda and Eric (now Eugene) have seemed aimless for six issues, six months in real time. That had to be frustrating for readers. #aFATEfulweekend
This felt like a pivot, but a necessary one. Kent Nelson was aged up magically but that was a later reveal, and he met Inza as an adult. Eric Strauss was introduced to us as a 10-year old boy, and Linda was his stepmother. Soulmates or not, that’s been very tricky to navigate. #aFATEfulweekend
October 25, 2026 at 6:30 PM
This felt like a pivot, but a necessary one. Kent Nelson was aged up magically but that was a later reveal, and he met Inza as an adult. Eric Strauss was introduced to us as a 10-year old boy, and Linda was his stepmother. Soulmates or not, that’s been very tricky to navigate. #aFATEfulweekend