I became a fan of MARVEL Comics in the early 1960s (you can read about it here), but it took me until the mid-1960s before I discovered Doctor Strange. The story of a gifted surgeon who loses his ability to operate gripped me. Stephen Strange’s search for an answer to relieve his afflictions take him to Asia and becoming a student of a Sorcerer Supreme, The Ancient One. Strange learns magic exists and that Earth is just one location in a multiverse of dimensions.
At the time I started reading Doctor Strange comics, the artist and prime mover was Steve Ditko who specialized in surreal artwork to capture the weirdness of the various dimensions where Doctor Strange travels to while defending Earth from invasion by powerful entities.
Doctor Strange uses a variety of mystical objects, including the powerful Eye of Agamotto and Cloak of Levitation to help defend our planet. Strange resides in a mansion referred to as the Sanctum Sanctorum, located at 177A Bleecker Street, Greenwich Village, Manhattan, New York City.
While other MARVEL super-heroes use super powers, Doctor Strange has to manipulate the occult forces of magic and sorcery to defeat multidimensional threats. Doctor Strange: A Decade of Dark Magic provides a guided tour into the development of one of MARVEL’s most enigmatic characters. GRADE: A
Table of Contents:
The Ancient Tomes — xi
Prologue: Set Time to Swirling — 1
1. 1963-1964: The Gossamer Thread — 8
2. 1964-1966: A Nameless Land, a Timeless Time — 27
3. 1966-1969: Other Realms, Other Voices — 47
4. 1970-1972: The Flickering Flame — 71
5. 1972-1973: Man Nor Magic — 87
Epilogue One: Over Credits — 111
Epilogue Two: After Credits — 113
Acknowledgements — 121
Illustrations — 123
Bibliography — 126
About the Author — 130
While I was never a big fan of Ditko’s Spider-Man (too much teen angst, and the teens looked to be in their thirties), he knocked it out of the park with Dt. Strange. Strange’s surrealistic battles in the Dark Dimension against Dormammu are still etched in my brain.
Jerry, I have the same mental etchings of Doctor Strange battling Dormammu in the Dark Dimension! The surreal backgrounds are haunting!
Steve Ditko was the perfect artist to draw Dr. Strange! I had a dentist named Dr. Strange, many years ago, and he had a framed drawing of the Master of the Mystic Arts in his waiting room! I thought that was neat!
Bob, what do you think of the DOCTOR STRANGE movies starring Benedict Cumberbatch? I agree with you on Steve Ditko and his effect on the DOCTOR STRANGE comic books.
I saw one DS movie many years ago and don’t remember much of it! Ask me about any movie and I’ll probably have the same answer!
Bob, I also watched a lot of MARVEL cartoon shows in the 1990s.
Have you heard of Scott Shaw? He’s a new friend who went to my high school and is one of the 4 alumni who started ComicCon, along with Greg Bear. He’s had a long career as an illustrator. He often posts on Facebook
I’ve read some of his comics, but never really followed him. I know he styles himself as Scott Shaw!, maybe to differentiate himself from other Scott Shaws.
Maggie, no, I don’t know Scott Shaw but I was familiar with Greg Bear whose SF books I’ve read.
I didn’t know that there’s a lot of Scott Shaw’s. He did a couple of talks recently at the school and donated a few of his books to an exhibit I’m helping get together at the school. Authors & artists. I think Greg Bear and Kadir Nelson are the most well known.
Maggie, Greg Bear has more gravitas than Scott Shaw or Kadir Nelson.
Yes. Interestingly when I joined the alumni foundation and was asked to review our hall of fame, Greg Bear was given as an example of someone who didn’t deserve to be in the HOF as ” big deal, he wrote a book”.. I let them know that he was a national and international best selling writer who’s won MANY awards. The same person said a person who self published a book on Amazon deserved to be in the HOF. I was able to keep Bear in but also had to keep the other
Maggie, that’s why I eschew awards.
I guess friendship will out. Why wasn’t the self-published writer in the Big Deal, He Wrote a Book category?