Five Essential Doctor Strange Reads
Marvel Studios' latest cinematic superhero blockbuster Doctor Strange is hitting theaters this [...]
Marvel Studios' latest cinematic superhero blockbuster Doctor Strange is hitting theaters this week, and it's about to the Sorcerer Supreme into a household name.
Like most of Marvel's marquee movie characters, Doctor Strange has a rich comic book history dating back to the 1960s, as an early creation of comic book legends Steve Ditko and Stan Lee. That said, his publication history has been spotty, meaning he's not the easiest character to get a handle on.
That's where ComicBook.com comes in. Whether you're looking to do some homework before seeing Benedict Cumberbatch bring Stephen Strange to life in live-action, or you've already seen the film and just can't wait to for more Doctor Strange, we've sifted through the good Doctor's sordid history and found some of his very best stories.
Whether you're in for the long haul looking to go all the way back to Doctor Strange's roots or to ump into the modern Doctor Strange, or you're just looking for a quick one-off story of mysticism in the Marvel Universe, we've got you covered.
Check out our picks for the five Doctor Strange comic book stories you absolutely don't want to miss.
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Marvel Masterworks Doctor Strange Vol. 1
The first Doctor Strange volume of the Marvel Masterworks line reprints Stan Lee and Steve Ditko's earliest stories featuring the character.
Strange's origin story in Strange Tales #115 reveals a surgeon who was almost oddly emblematic of Ditko's own Objectivist ideals transformed into a mystic defender of Earth.
The volume also introduces key players Clea, Strange's longtime lover and apprentice, Baron Mordo, Strange's nemesis, and the Dread Dormammu, a power hungry threat from another dimension.
Through all of these tales, one theme repeats itself and that's the value of knowledge of power. This becomes most evident in the storyline dubbed "The Eternity Saga." Most of these early adventures are episodic, but that changes towards the end. Dormammu is introduced as a fully realized dimensional despot. He's a dangerous conqueror, but he's also the only thing that protects the denizens of his realm from invading hordes. In their first encounter, Dormammu is forced to make a pact with Strange that forbids him from invading Earth directly.
"The Eternity Saga" begins with Dormammu using Mordo to wage a proxy war. He grants Mordo increased strength to dispose of Strange, which would free Dormammu from his treaty. What follows is a chase across the globe and other dimensions as Strange tries to stay one step ahead of Mordo's network of mystically minions while searching for the meaning of Eternity, knowing that unlocking that secret may be the only thing that can save the Earth from invasion, with Ditko's inventive art making even mystical staring matches and handwaving thrilling to see.
Doctor Strange Epic Collection: A Separate Reality
This epic collection includes the first Doctor Strange solo series, but the good stuff begins with the Doctor Strange stories featured in issues of Marvel Premiere.
Steve Englehart pens the tale, with art by Frank Brunner. Unlike the Steve Ditko comics of collected in the Marvel Masterworks voluem, his is the post-Neal Adams era, which means even heroes who fight with magic words and mystic hand gestures are as cut as an Olympic athlete. Englehart also supplies the philosophical musing that would come to color many fans' understanding of Strange as a character.
The Marvel Premiere story sees Doctor Strange battling the forces of Shuma-Gorath, only to find that the sinister entity is attached to the mind of his mentor, The Ancient One. The story ends with The Ancient One ascending to higher state of being and finally granting Doctor Strange the title of Sorcerer Surpeme.
The Marvel Premiere stories conclude with a tale that sees Strange and his old nemesis Baron Mordo racing backwards through time and meeting God, who turns out to be a sorcerer from the future. No, really.
The Epic Collection concludes with the first handful of issues from the second Doctor Strange solo series. Before the Doctor Strange movie, not many mainstream fans knew who Doctor Strange was. Those with a cursory understanding of the character probably acquired it from the status quo of this second series, which sees Strange as Sorcere Surpeme, and Clea living with him in the Sanctum Santorum as his lover and his apprentice.
Essentially, this volume is peak classic Doctor Strange.
Doctor Strange and Doctor Doom: Triumph And Torment
Doctor Strange and Doctor Doom: Trumph and Torment is not only a fantastic and essential Doctor Strange story, but one of the greatest Doctor Doom stories ever told as well.
Doctor Strange may have been given the title of Sorcerer Surpeme by the ancient one, but once every 100 years the title is put up for grabs by the Vishanti, the powerful beings that power most of the Marvel Universe's magical spells. The event occurs in this graphic novel, written by Roger Stern and illustrated by Hellboy creator Mike Mignola.
All of the masters of the mystic arts of the Marvel Universe are summoned to the challenge, but only Doctor Strange and Doctor Doom are left standing at the end. Strange ultimately proves victorious, but there's a catch. The Sorcerer Surpeme must then grant a boon to any other sorcerer who who made it through the ordeal, which means Strange owes Doom a favor.
What Doom asks of Strange is for assisstance in freeing his mother's soul from Mephisto in Hell. Given the nature of the quest, it should be no surprise that the story illimunates Doom a bit more than Strange, but Strange's dealings with Doom reveal much about the Sorcerer Surpeme.
A singular grapihic novel with fantastic art, this is an easy one to newbie friend looking for a contained taste of Marvel's mystical side.
Doctor Strange: The Oath
Doctor Strange: The Oath is a miniseries by writer Brian K. Vaughan and artist Marcos Martin. It is also the story that was most influential on Benedict Cumberbatch's portrayal of Stephen Strange in the Doctor Strange movie and set the table for Strange's portrayal in the modern Marvel Comics universe.
Doctor Strange: The Oath is different from most Doctor Strange stories in that the core conflict isn't about Strange trying to acquire the knowledge and power to defeat some other evil wizard. Doctor Strange: The Oath confronts Strange with a series ethical dilemma and makes it personal for Strange by dangling Wong's life in the balance.
It's basically the kind of thing that Brian K. Vaughan does best, and Marcos Martin illustrates it all beautifully. There's a reason why Vaughan and Martin continue to work on new projects together even today, and that reason is brilliant chemistry that's apparent on the page.
This story also takes place after Strange and Clea have called it quits, leaving Strange open to pursuing a new relationship with the Night Nurse, which is an exciting development as well.
If you're looking for a self-contained Doctor Strange story, it's hard to better than Doctor Strange: The Oath. If you're looking to start at the beginning of the modern era of Doctor Strange, again, The Oath is where it's at. IF you want something similar to the portrayal of Doctor Strange in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Oath is your book,
Basically, if you only read one story on this list, make it Doctor Strange: The Oath.
Doctor Strange: The Way of the Weird
If you're interested in reading Marvel's current Doctor Strange ongoing series, here's where to start. Writer Jason Aaron and artist Christ Bachalo pick up with Doctor Strange after the events of Secret Wars unmade and then rebuilt the Marvel Universe.
What the current Doctor Strange series does so well, particularly in this first volume, is go beyond simply telling stories about Doctor Strange and instead tell stories through Doctor Strange's eyes. Most Doctor Strange stories include some kind of interior monolog that lets readers inside the Sorcerer Supreme's head, but the current Doctor Strange goes further by actually telling stories from his perspective and helping readers understand how Strange, with all of his mystical might, sees the world around him. This is a task that the highly stylized and creative layouts and designs of Chris Bachalo are particularly well-suited to.
The Way of the Weird gives readers a sense of what everyday life is like for Doctor Strange. It reveals how he goes about helping people on a daily basis even when he's not solving a world-altering crisis alongside the Avengers, Defenders, or Illuminati. The series also gives us a sense of the mystical Marvel community that Strange is part of by spending time in the Bar With No Doors drinking with other notable Marvel mystics.
Aaron and Bachalo's story only escalates from here, as the force known only as the Empirikul attempts to exterminate magic across the multiverse, and the deep, dark secret that Doctor Strange has been hiding in his basement comes back to haunt him. Doctor Strange has been one of Marvel's better series since Secret Wars, and fans could do a lot worse than giving it a read.
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