The
Masked Bookwyrm's Graphic Novel (& TPB) Reviews
Doctor Strange (Page 2)
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Marvel Masterworks: Doctor Strange, vol. 1 2007 (SC TPB) 120 pages
Written by Stan Lee (co-plotter Steve Ditko). Illustrated by Steve Ditko. Inked by Steve Ditko (with George Roussos).
Colours/letters: various.
Reprinting: the Dr. Strange stories from Strange Tales #110-111, #114-141, and the lead story from Amazing Spider-Man #2 (1963-1966)
Additional notes: intro by Dean Mullaney; covers and reprint covers.
Rating: * * * 1/2 (out of 5)
Number of readings: 1
Reviewed: Feb 2024
This collects the very earliest tales of Dr. Strange by Stan Lee & Steve Ditko, the character starting out as a short feature in the anthology comic, Strange Tales.
It's ironic that he's Dr. Strange in a comic called Strange Tales (perhaps the very reason they named him Dr. Strange) yet though his adventures expand from 5 pages at first to 10 pages with blurbs announcing he's taking fandom by storm, and the content of the rest of the comic proved less resilient, changing during his tenure from horror/supernatural anthology, to a feature starring the Human Torch of the Fantastic Four (later joined by the Thing!) and finally introducing Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD -- Dr. Strange rarely got the cover during this period.
Dr. Strange is featured in two consecutive tales to test the market -- then returns as a permanent feature after, apparently, good notice from readers.
I've read a few Marvel Masterworks collections recently and like a lot of these early Marvel series that were first introduced in short story/anthology comics (as opposed to characters like Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four which were launched in their own 20 plus page comics) the stories here are fairly simplistic, initially without a great deal of depth or emotion. Although Ditko's use of small panels squeezes more story than you might expect into the initial 5 page alotments.
Lee & Ditko are, of course, winging it, figuring the series out as they go. Initially Dr. Strange has little personality and is fairly enigmatic (as befits a short-episodes series about a Master of Black Magic -- as it's called at first; no Mystic Arts or Sorcerer Supreme, but "Black Magic").
Yet it's interesting how much is established in these issues that would define the series for generations to come -- which, I suppose, is as much a reflection on how little the character and his milieu was altered by later writers, unlike Spider-Man, Daredevil, the X-Men, etc. which gained (and lost) supporting characters and had alterations to their worlds over time. Very early we get Strange's signature invocations involving the Vishanti and the like; key foes like Baron Mordo, the Dread Dormammu, and Nightmare are established; the Ancient One is here, Clea gets introduced (albeit not yet fully developed or added as a regular/love interest). Although funnily Wong is more iffy -- he appears occasionally, then gets forgotten about for long stretches!
Initially Dr. Strange has a blue cloak and a medallion that is a key component of his powers, but drawn rectangular. I had assumed a change to his look would simply be arbitrary -- but no. There's actually a scene where Strange is given his signature red Cloak of Levitation and a new, circular medallion, completing his visual look that -- with occasional exceptions -- he would retain for decades. (Though the medallion is not, as yet, named the Eye of Agomotto -- though he does have a sphere that has that name). Likewise, his frequent use of Astral Projection and signature visual quirks (the way an eye appears eerily in his forehead, or the signature Ditko-esque way he holds his fingers when casting spells) are introduced and established.
I harp on this because sometimes when reading early comics the initial conception can seem a bit different from how the character would later be portrayed; or at least you can see the ideas slowly fall into place as Lee and his collaborators think of them. But these early issues really do quickly establish the template for future Dr. Strange stories.
Although one interesting difference is the use of the Ancient One, Strange's mentor. Later pundits have lumped Dr. Strange in with the "white saviour/chosen one" cliche of the white Western hero who masters some foreign skill; here Strange going to the East and learning Black Magic. Of course one could suggest the cultural/ethnic stuff is a little ambiguous since it is "Black Magic" and mostly made up by Lee & Ditko. Is it culturally Asian? Or is it just the Ancient One happens be Asian and his temple is in the east (sometimes identified as Tibet)? Strange is American and based in New York -- but does that make his magic inherently American? But more interestingly is that the Ancient One remains a recurring character in these stories and Strange, the white American hero of the comic, defers to the Asian man as his superior. It was a few years later, and a different writer/editor era, that they decided to eliminate the Ancient One as a recurring characters and elevate Strange to being the undisputed Sorcerer Supreme of earth.
But as I say: there's not a lot to the stories/characters. That doesn't mean they can't hold your interest as an adult reader in terms of pacing and mood (especially a couple of the early appearances by Nightmare which are atmospheric and eerie) but you are reminded these are basically kid's comics. What's interesting, of course, in light of later controversies over how much Lee was the writer and how much he took credit from others, is that here Ditko is occasionally credited as plotter. Yet, as I say: it's not like there's a great deal to boast about in the plotting department, regardless of who did what.
Yet it's also fair to say that a big appeal of the series at first lies squarely at Ditko's feet -- but as an artist, more than a writer or plotter. Ditko had a genuinely unique visual eye for the series, imbuing an otherworldly strangeness to Dr. Strange's sanctum sanctorum and the Ancient One's retreat, and a genuine head-trippy weirdness to other realms and dimensions. Someone once said that when Jack Kirby drew sci-fi machines and computers he made them looked plausible and functional; well Ditko does that but on the opposite extreme of fantasy. He creates mind-boggling surreal landscapes of pathways that go nowhere and portals that open onto even stranger realms and things that make no sense...yet somehow seems like we really are glimpsing dimensions that obey laws of physics we cannot imagine. Later Dr. Strange artists often just felt like they were imitating Ditko, but not full comprehending the worlds he envisioned. Heck, even though Ditko recreated these sorts of visuals for later series, I'm not sure he pulled it off as well as he did here. And above and beyond all that is his use of shadow and the like, imbuing even scenes of a man walking down a rainy street, or a close up of a face, full of mood and import.
Supposedly some 1960s fans were convinced Lee & Ditko used LSD and other hallucinogens -- and it's not hard to see why they thought so.
And despite my suggestion the early stories are okay page turners but a bit simple, relying more on mood than plot/character, as the series progresses the stories get invested with a bit more gravitas. One of the best examples is the series' first two-parter (if I recall) and which first introduces the Dread Dormammu (after Strange having invoked the name frequently before). It's a stronger story, with greater depth. Indeed. when considering the whole Lee vs Ditko thing in terms of plotting, I'll admit from what I know of Ditko's rather rigid Objectivist beliefs, I'm not sure the moral ambiguity inherent in the story necessarily sounds like something Ditko would come up with on his own.
And even if Lee was just adding words to Ditko's plots, arguably that means he was adding what depth, what humanity there was to the series, as Strange evolves from an enigmatic Black Magician to someone who struggles and who triumphs as much through his strength of character as his spells.
After mostly one-off tales, toward the end of this collection we get a lengthy multi-issue epic as Dr. Strange is hunted by a teaming of Mordo and Dormammu. It's Dr. Strange's first long-form story and it's genuinely epic in length (from about #130-143) -- and was even later collected in a deluxe format mini-series. So epic that though the main conflict with Dormammu/Mordo is resolved by the end of this collection, it still ends on a bit of a secondary cliff hanger and apparently continued for another few issues yet!
It's a fairly exciting "man on the run" saga as Strange is pursued by a threat greater than himself and there are suspenseful and eerie scenes of Strange trying to elude both human agents of Mordo and weird spirit figures, his escapades taking him around the world and even a brief sojourn into another dimension. There he gets caught up in a conflict between two sisters that may well have inspired P. Craig Russell's celebrated Dr. Strange Annual (and its recycling in the graphic novel, What is it That Disturbs You, Stephen?). And the saga even works in a secondary thread as Strange tries to uncover the secret of Eternity (introducing yet another mainstay of later Marvel lore).
Closing out the collection is the first team-up between Dr. Strange and Spider-Man for an enjoyable enough romp -- and with the added novelty that Ditko was the artist for both characters at the time. As a reflection of how comics recycle themselves, the throw away story here -- where Strange and Spidey battle a wizard Xandu for an artifact called the wand of Watoomb -- spawned a few follow-up/sequel stories (in Marvel Team-Up #21 for one), later writers giving more backstory to Xandu, and it even serving as the basis for a 1990s Spidey/Dr. Strange graphic novel, The Way to Dusty Death!
Like a lot of these early 1960s Marvel Masterworks collections, your aware that it's not exactly grown-up sophistication (not even of the level starting to infuse Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four at the time) but these stories stand out from the crowd for their visual atmosphere and otherworldiness that make them appealing.
Doctor Strange: The Oath 2007 (SC TPB) 120 pages
Written by Brian K. Vaughan. Pencils by Marcos Martin. Inks Alvaro Lopez.
Colours: Javier Rodriguez. Letters: Willie Schubert. Editor: Tom Brevoort.
Reprinting: the five issue mini-series (2006-2007)
Rating: * * * * (out of 5)
Number of readings: 2
Published by Marvel Comics
This is my review after one reading -- followed by an addendum added after re-reading it a few years later
Largely buried in the hype surrounding Marvel's Civil War company crossover, was this Doc Strange mini-series (the good doctor then-currently without a regular comic) that is completely isolated from all the Civil War hoohah.
On learning his faithful manservant, Wong, has an incurable brain tumor, Strange endeavors to secure a mystical elixir -- and ends up with a possible universal cure-all; a cure which is then stolen, leading Strange, Wong, and the Night Nurse (a character whose secret clinic ministers to the city's super heroes) to track it down and find the villain behind it all.
The Oath, to put it bluntly -- is very good.
Vaughan manages to tell a tale that is both entertaining for Strange fans -- and easily accessible for those who've never heard of him before (thanks in part to the Night Nurse acting as an outsider, unfamiliar with Strange and his world). Admitedly, it's not like Strange has a particularly complex or confused continuity that needs to be grappled with. But the villain and the plot are entirely original to this story, even as it ties into and arises from Strange's history. In fact, Vaughan ties it into Strange's pre-hero backstory (as an arrogant physician who lost his surgical skill after an accident), something which I'd never seen another Strange story do.
The story is well-paced with some twists and turns, lots of humourous quips, yet touching on some profond dilemmas, and where the villain is surprisingly complex and nuanced in his goals and motivations. There are clever ideas, and memorable scenes that really make this live as a story -- not just this month's adventure of a long standing character (the climax between Strange and the villain is cleverly unexpected). By cutting between past and present, the scenes adding to our understanding of each, it generates a certain sense of complexity. In this day and age, there are a lot of minor stories that are stretched out (or "decompressed") to fill out a series of issues, but this is a five issue series that truly seems to warrant five issues -- no more, no less. And though I picked it up all at once, there's enough going on per issue that, had I collected it monthly, I think I would've felt the chapters justified the purchase (unlike some stories which are so thin, they read best as a collected volume).
The story isn't without its flaws. For one thing, it's obviously a bit awkward setting up a story involving a universal cure all -- because the ending is sort of a foregone conclusion (unless Marvel wants to radically alter its reality -- which, I suppose it has more than once). But even if we suspect the cure won't, ultimately, save humanity, the how and why remains a question we need to read the story to discover. Not to mention "who" is the villain and "will Wong be saved?"
As mentioned, there's a lot of humour at work -- which is fine, making some scenes fun. But it's the kind of humour that can seem a bit too self-aware, undermining the sense of reality, or drama, as characters utter an ironic quip when faced with a monster. As such, the story lacks some of the sense of an ineffable universe or surreal realms and heady philosophies, that some Strange stories evoke. Oh, there's adventure, and mystical battles, and occasional journies into strange dimensions, but it's more an adventure than a mystical odyssey. Yet, at the same time, by wrapping the story around Strange's past, and remembering his oath as a physician, and his loyalty to Wong, it's also much more concerned with Strange as a person than some Strange sagas.
So it may not be the definitive Strange-the-sorcerer saga, but it might be vieing for the the definitive Strange-the-man saga.
Or, at least, A man. After all, with, as noted, the penchant for witty banter and quips, as well as a slightly ruthless streak (Strange at one point commenting he has little patience for the law) one could quibble about whether this really reflects the Stephen Strange as written by, say, Englehart, or Stern, or others. Different writers always put their own spins on characters, so it's not that this isn't Dr. Strange...just maybe not the quintessential take on his personality.
As well, Wong is given a much more prominent, substantial role than he often gets in Strange stories (which is nice).
The art by Marcos Martin is also quite effective and appealing. He maybe doesn't quite conjure a dreamlike world of magic and mystery, but he tells the tale well, with a nice eye for story telling. His style is somewhat simple, or maybe spartan is a better description, reminding me a bit of Steve Rude, though a bit rougher. But as I say, it's lively and effective.
The introduction of the Night Nurse character is an interesting addition to the Marvel "reality" -- and presumably a joke on the fact that Marvel once published a romance comic called Night Nurse.
There are a lot of fans in comicdom who seem to value continuity above all else. A "great" story is one that has a significant impact on the characters' reality, a "must read" is one that has repercussions for many stories to come. But to me -- too often -- such stories tend to be weak as stories, too concerned with the big picture, the writer too interested in making his "mark" on a character, and leaving the fundamentals of storytelling forgotten. The Oath takes a character that isn't currently starring in a monthly title...and leaves him petty much as it found him (well, there is one "significant" thing). And that's partly why I regard it as a good -- nay, a great -- tale. Because it's a story in and of itself, and a well plotted story that unfolds and develops before you, offering a few surprise twists, jumping between past and present, with a few philosophical ruminations, some witty quips and adventure, a story about a big idea filtered through the humanity of its protagonists -- or is that vice versa? It exists for its own sake -- not to sell the next company crossover, or to advertise the next mini-series. As mentioned, it is simultaneously aimed at Doc Strange fans -- and acts as a perfectly accessible introduction for those unfamiliar with him.
In short, it's a true graphic novel. And I like that.
Addendum after a later reading (Apr. 2016): I still enjoyed this story but, I suppose, some of the initial bloom had worn off -- despite re-reading it a couple of years later so I had time to forget the particulars. Maybe it's because when I first read it I had no expectation, so was pleasantly surprised. While the second time I had (vague) memories of really liking it...memories it couldn't live up to. I was a little surprised that the story felt a bit thin, given it takes five issues -- there weren't really any big twists or sub-plots that I had forgotten. And the glib tone (though still married with serious undercurrents) is a style I'm mixed on in modern comics. On one hand it can make for cute quips and witticisms, on the other hand it can serve to undermine the gravitas, the sense that there are real consequences to the scenes and the conflicts (despite the fact that there so obviously are, given the plot). Somehow it seemed to me older writers -- like Stan Lee, Roy Thomas, and others -- could throw in the gags and wisecracks, without taking away from the idea that these were real people in costumes, engaged in serious struggles. A lot of modern writers, I think, tend to end up making it all a little too cutesy, like the characters are just, well, comic book characters. Still, it remains a good, enjoyable page-tuner.
This is a review of the story as it was originally serialized in the mini-series.
Doctor Strange: A Separate Reality 2002 (SC TPB) 176 pages
Written by Steve Englehart. Pencils by Frank Brunner. Inks by Dick Giordano, others.
Colours: various: Letters: John Costanza, Tom Orzechowski. Editor: Roy Thomas.
Reprinting: Marvel Premiere #9, 10, 12-14, Doctor Strange (2nd series) #1, 2, 4, 5 (1973-1974)
Rating: * * * * (out of 5)
Number of readings: 2
Additional notes: intro by Peter Sanderson; cover gallery.
Published by Marvel Comics
A Separate Reality collects a nine issue run (skipping a couple of reprint filler issues) that marked the beginning of writer Steve Englehart's tenure telling tales of comicdoms most successful sorcerer, Dr. Strange, and reprinting the entirety of artist Frank Brunner's run on the character. The two took up the reins in mid-story, meaning the collection begins toward the end of a multi-issue arc as Strange searches for his missing mentor, the Ancient One. After that it surges into two separate story arcs that take the good doctor into realms head trippy and, even, provocative.
Doctor Strange had always been a character with one foot in psychedelia. So much so that some hippy era fans of the original stories by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko couldn't believe the stories were churned out by two middle-aged guys whose idea of "hard drugs" was probably extra-strength Tylenol. But those stories, and subsequent ones by Roy Thomas and others, never really married the weirdness with any deeper sensibilities.
By the 1970s, comic creators -- particularly at Marvel -- like Steve Gerber and Jim Starlin were moving mainstream heroes into decidedly more abstract directions, and Englehart and Brunner were doing the same with Dr. Strange. The first couple of issues, concluding the quest for the Ancient One, toy around with some weird ideas and images, but the storytelling itself is a bit cluttered. By the end of the story, Strange has been promoted from simply Master of the Mystic Arts to full fledge Sorcerer Supreme, a change that promised adventures to come of a more cosmic scale.
Englehart's writing can seem a bit too, well, comicbooky at first, while Brunner's art is uneven. Though Brunner has become something of a legend, perhaps because his work in the field was so fleeting, I wasn't as fully impressed. Oh, there's still good work, but I wouldn't say it was on the same level of realism as, say, Neal Adams, or of cosmic grandeur as, say, Jim Starlin -- Brunner's contemporaries. In fact, Brunner's successor on Dr. Strange, Gene Colan, easily did as good if not better work.
The next three issues, however, begin to deliver. The story starts out, as before, a bit clunky, though entertaining, but gets better as it goes along, as Strange and one of his arch-foes, Baron Mordo, become caught up in the scheme of Sise-neg, a time traveller from the distant future who is travelling backward through time, absorbing all magic as he goes, hoping to achieve godhood by the time he reaches the end of his trip -- the origin of the universe! Strange and Mordo become advocates, both trying to exert influence over Sise-neg, his power increasing exponentially as he travels backward through human history -- Strange to persuade him towards benevolence, Mordo toward malevolence.
The final, four issue saga (from Dr. Strange #1, 2, 4, 5) is the best, definitely weird and head trippy, as Strange is attacked by a religious fanatic convinced sorcerers are evil, their initial conflict leaving Strange hovering near death. He sinks into a nightmare realm of Unreality and eventually confronts Death itself.
By this point Brunner's art is much more accomplished (perhaps benefitting from Dick Giordano's inks) and the cosmic/psychedelic scenes more awesome. And Englehart's writing seems more sure as well. Though there was at least one vague bit. In Unreality, Strange concludes the people he sees are products of his subconscious, yet there's a (unsettling) nightmarish sequence where he encounters people unable to die that seems almost as though we are meant to take them as literal. Reflecting on it, I think not, I think they are still products of Strange's sub-conscious, their significance -- and what they reflect of Strange's psyche -- made clearer in the next reprinted issue. But it's never fully articulated, which is awkward.
In addition to the mood, adventure, and weirdness, there are underlying attempts to tackle deeper concepts of life, death, destiny. Though Englehart doesn't always follow through effectively. Strange achieves a higher level of consciousness and ruminates on the inter-connectedness of, and sacredness, of all life (in a nicely written passage) -- yet later zaps offending monsters fairly indiscriminantly. When Jim Starlin put Captain Marvel through a similar perception-altering experience around the same time, he did a better job of conveying a sense that the good Captain's subsequent actions were being influenced by his new philosophy. One also begins to realize why Strange was occasionally a favourite target of the religious right when decrying the corrupting influence of comics. In the early stories, Englehart throws in a villainous figure called the Living Buddha -- an oddly named character that seemed likely to strike Buddhists as just slightly sacrilegious. But that's O.K., because before he's done, Englehart will probably have offended everyone. The Sise-neg story reveals an interpretation of God that will doubtless not sit well with many hardline religious thinkers, while in the final story arc, the villain is a Christian fanatic determined that all magic users are evil -- a not unobvious comment on the very critics the comic has had over the years. Though, despite playing around with religious icons, the stories are, at the same time, suffused with ideas freely borrowed from religious thought, particularly Eastern religions.
I've long felt that Doctor Strange should be a weird, abstract comic, as much about philosophy as battles with super-villains. But though I've long enjoyed the character, I've felt the stories rarely fulfilled that image I had -- one of the closest was Doctor Strange (1970s series) #34 and perhaps #54. But these vintage stories come closer to that vision. They start out a bit uneven, with big ideas, but lacking discipline, but get better as they go, tackling grandiose and audacious concepts and ruminating on reality itself...all within the confines of 30 year old, Comics Code Approved stories. And that's all I have to say to the modern-is-better/Vertigo crowd.
Cover price: $28.75 CDN./ 17.95 USA
