Next week, Marvel launches its “All New, All Different Marvel NOW!” line, a slate of sixty or so new superhero series, many of which put fan favorite characters in new and unusual situations. One of the most anticipated All New All Different series is Jason Aaron and Chris Bachalo’s Dr. Strange series, which shows Earth’s Sorcerer Supreme handling magical threats with a more…physical manner than what we’re used to. While Dr. Strange is (in my humble opinion) one of Marvel’s best superheroes, many superhero fans aren’t familiar with the character as Strange has struggled to maintain a solo series for any long stretch. So, to help fans get acquainted with Marvel’s master magician, here’s a list of five essential stories starring Dr. Strange:
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Dr. Strange: The Oath
One of the most underrated Marvel miniseries of the last ten or so years, The Oath focused on Strange’s medical background and his relationship with his longtime servant and partner, Wong. Written by Brian K. Vaughan and illustrated by Marcos Martin, The Oath teams up Strange with Night Nurse to hunt down a supposed catch-all formula capable of curing any illness, even Wong’s rapidly progressing brain tumor. Vaughan and Martin moved Strange away from his recent use as a “deus ex machina” character brought in to solve any threat and back to a classic blend of compassion, arrogance and retro sensibilities. The comic also was one of Martin’s first comics with Marvel and paved the way for Vaughan and Martin’s successful collaboration with The Private Eye, a groundbreaking and award winning web series. The Oath was Marvel’s most recent attempt to make Dr. Strange cool again and set the tone for many of the character’s appearances in various Avengers books.
Doctor Strange and Doctor Doom: Triumph and Torment
Although he’s best known for his trippy catchphrases and seemingly limitless magical powers, one of Dr. Strange’s most important character traits is his compassion and empathy. That’s one of the central themes of Doctor Strange and Doctor Doom: Triumph and Torment, a graphic novel that teamed the two wildly different “doctors” in a battle against hell itself. Strange agrees to help Doom fight the demon lord Mephisto to reclaim the soul of Doom’s mother and in the process learns that Doom is more than just a megalomaniacal despot. Written by Roger Stern, Triumph and Torment is also noticeable in that it features the artwork of a young Mike Mignola, years before he started working on Hellboy. Widely considered one of Strange’s best stories, Triumph and Torment is a great comic that gave Dr. Doom and Strange extra depth and set the tone for the pair’s complicated relationship.
The Domain of the Dread Dormammu
One of Dr. Strange’s earliest adventures, “Domain of the Dread Dormammu” is a two part adventure that introduces several key items and characters to Dr. Strange lore. In the story, Dr. Strange travels to the Dark Dimension to stop Dormammu, a powerful otherdimensional warlord, from invading Earth. Aided by a mysterious woman (who is named Clea in a later story), Strange faces Dormammu in a one on one duel, which is interrupted only by the weakening of a barrier keeping the Mindless Ones, a race of powerful and mindless creatures capable of destroying….well, anything, at bay. After assisting Dormammu re-seal the barrier, the warlord agrees to a truce with Earth. Dormammu, Clea and the Mindless Ones all would play major roles in later Dr. Strange stories, with Clea eventually leaving Earth to pursue a relationship with the magician. The adventure also introduced the Eye of Agamotto and Strange’s Cloak of Levitation, Strange’s two primary magical tools.
The Eternity Saga
The follow up to “Domain of the Dread Dormammu”, “The Eternity Saga” is an epic 17 chapter story that really defined the character during the Silver Age. Written by Dennis O’Neil and illustrated by Steve Ditko, “The Eternity Saga” follows Strange as he seeks out the cosmic entity Eternity after his mentor the Ancient One falls to the combined efforts of his two greatest foes, Baron Mordu and Dormammu. With both his mentor and his love interest Clea’s life on the line, Strange faces a host of weird and bizarre threats and emerges victorious due only to his own determination. Many consider “The Eternity Saga” to be the quintessential Dr. Strange story and it’s more than likely that aspects of the story will appear in the upcoming Doctor Strange movie.
A Separate Reality
Although the good doctor frequently encounter cosmic entities, occult powers and concepts that stretched the boundaries of human understanding, no Doctor Strange story is more mindbending than A Separate Reality, a collection of 1970s Dr. Strange stories by Steve Englehart and Frank Brunner. There’s actually two important Dr. Strange tales collected in A Separate Reality. The first sees Strange receiving the title of Sorcerer Surpreme after his mentor the Ancient One dies under heartbreaking circumstances. The second story features Strange travelling back in time and discovering the entity who would one day become God while pursuing a fellow magician. Considered by many to be the pinnacle of “weird” Dr. Strange comics, reading A Separate Reality will leave you thinking about the nature of the universe and craving more of Strange’s crazy and bizarre adventures.
