The Doctor Strange Readathon

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Clea art by Ed Tadeo

To me, Ed Tadeo did a stupendous job. Thanks for providing juan678

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Could this have been the inspiration to cast Tilda Swinton as TAO for the Dr. Strange movie?
Right after the Dr. Strange movie come November I wish she and Benedict Cumberbatch had a cameo appearance in 2017's Spider-man: Homecoming

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http://www.bleedingcool.com/2016/11/...s-steve-ditko/

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Strange Tales 110
July 1963

“Dr. Strange Master of Black Magic!”

Writer: Stan Lee
Pencils: Steve Ditko
Inker: Steve Ditko

RATINGS
Reviresco:
CBR Readers:
Supermegamonkey: 3.5 / 5
Supermegamonkey Readers: 4.5 / 5
Trajan23: 7 / 10

REVIEWS / LINKS
http://strangescribe.blogspot.com/20...master-of.html
By StrangeScribe -I wish my synopsis was a quarter this good. Read this instead!

http://chronologyproject.com/marvelouszone/?p=3277
Chrissy from the Marvel Chronology Project, someone relatively new to comics, giving “A Modern Girl's View of Marvel's Silver Age"

http://sanctumsanctorumcomix.blogspo...e-strange.html
Ptor's celebration of this issue's 50th Anniversary – with some nice behind the scenes details.

http://www.supermegamonkey.net/chron...s_110111.shtml
SuperMegaMonkey's short, but illustrated, synopsis, placing the story in the MU chronology.

http://goodcomics.comicbookresources...r-strange-run/
Trajan23's short synopsis and ratings.

http://goodcomics.comicbookresources...comics-day-96/
CBR's Brian Cronin's spotlight on this run with lots of images.

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“I’m not yet a student of Marvel Comics history, but if I had to guess, I would say the introduction of a hero the caliber of Dr. Strange indicates a maturing of the readership. This might also be one of the first indications that someday, Marvel Comics will be considered worthy of scholarly study." – Chrissy @ MU Chronology Project

“Steve Ditko and Stan Lee’s run on Doctor Strange is one of the greatest single runs in comic book history” --Brian Cronin.


And it starts here with Doctor Strange's first appearance -- in five page long story! But of course, it is packed full of plot and info and greatness!



This has to be the first book in the history of Marvel Comics that is presented “quietly and without fanfare.” And this is true to some degree as Dr. Strange isn't even mentioned on the cover.



SYNOPSIS SHORT
spoilers:

Man tormented by debilitating nightmares seeks help from Dr. Strange, who enters his dreams and encounters Nightmare, as well as the truth about his criminal client. Dr. Strange only escapes death with the help of his mentor and his magic amulet.

end of spoilers

SYNOPSIS LONG
A man is experiencing torturing, re-occurring nightmares, that rob him of sleep. He has “heard a name, spoken in whispers, Dr. Strange! He dabbles in black magic,” and he seeks Strange out. Apparently he's also heard whispers of Strange's address.

A very confident and succinct Dr. Strange listens to his tale, and tells him he can help him by entering his dreams that night. After the man leaves, Dr. Strange visits his Master, by going into a trance and freeing his metaphysical spirit (now more commonly know as astral form) and finding the Master somewhere in the vastness of Asia. The Master calls Strange son and successor, and tells him he sees him surrounded by danger. He tells Strange to use the amulet to ask him for help if it is needed.





Strange goes the haunted man's apartment, goes into a trance, and astrally enters his dream. There he learns the man has been embezzling from people and the bounded figure is his guilt, or the victims he's wronged. Suddenly Nightmare appears and threatens Dr. Strange. While they exchange words, the man wakes up with knowledge of Strange's conversations, and decides to shoot Strange to keep his crimes hidden. Trapped between Nightmare and the murder of his physical body, Strange mentally asks the Master for help. The Master opens the entranced Strange's magic amulet, which captures the gunman in a hypno ray, before he can harm Strange. Using that distraction, Strange escapes Nightmare and the dream. Back in his body, he's able to deal with the man, and tells him the only way to find relief is confessing to his crimes.

Man, I really hope Scott Derrickson as soon as a MCU Doctor Strange sequel has been confirmed gets to make use of the Nightmare character in the MCU.

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THOUGHTS

• Did this guy really think the Master of the Black Arts wasn't going to figure out he was criminal???
  
  
• Also, in this very first story, we can see, that Dr. Strange is no deus ex machina super power.
  
  
• Ditko stays with some form of the 9 panel grid for the most part, and the story doesn't venture into the surreal and psychedelic we see later. We see a hint of it in the dream world panels with the bleeding path leading to the figure in chains, and in the spooky design of Nightmare.
  
  
• I also wonder who did the colors for this story. They are much brighter then I thought they would be – whilst some faces are underlit as if the panels were supposed to be darker or more shadowy. I also wonder why the nameless man's dreams are cotton candy pink.
  
  
• This was definitely a proto or primitive Doctor Strange story with some elements introduced, but not entirely fully formed. I think it's clear that Ditko did the heavy lifting creating Strange and his world here – while Lee hasn't quite got his names and ideas completely nailed down. While one expects them in Silver Age stories, I think Lee went a little overboard with the captions, a good many which are unnecessary. All the captions are at the top of the panels, where Ditko seemed to have left space for text. But often we get both captions and word balloons, which crowds the panels – perhaps this is why Strange is so succinct on page 2.
  
  
• Only half the characters are named in this story -- Strange, and only by his last name, Nightmare, and the victim, Mr. Crang, manifested as a tormenting chained dream figure. One assume that's Wong answering the door, and the Ancient One is referred to as Master, but the man Strange helps is nameless.
  
  
• Strange's white streaks are on the top, instead of at the sides of his head. I prefer this, myself, so he looks less like Reed Richards. Which would have been even more confusing if Stan Lee had gone with his original name for the Master of Mystic Arts – Mister Strange! According to Strange Scholar Ptor.
  http://sanctumsanctorumcomix.blogspo...e-strange.html
  
  
  
• Strange also looks very Asian here, with some odd extraneous upwards tufts on both his eyebrows and goatee. His amulet, obviously the Eye of Agamatto, is some seriously bling here. But other than that, this is the pretty much the classic, iconic costume for Dr. Strange, right down to his orange gloves with spots.
  
  
  
• Strange's front door window and a window in the Master's (Ancient One) room has the same design as Strange's iconic Sanctum Sanctorum's roof window. Google says this the Seal of the Vishanti, a protection symbol? Also called the Window of Worlds?
  http://toylab.blogspot.com/2015/02/w...um-doctor.html
  
  
  
• I like how Nightmare is more in shadow and not clearly seen. It makes him more mysterious and frightening.
  
  
• We also get a few 'rules' of magic here. One, that entering a hostile dimension, sorcerers may pay with their life for doing so. Two, that astral project involves a trance and leaves the body unprotected.

LOL!
Yeah it's spooky alright.
Thanks for pointing that out.
Could this be the explanation that the nowadays Dr. Strange possibly is an imposter from a hostile dimension while the original paid with his life when entering said hostile dimension?

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http://mcuexchange.com/scott-derrick...trange-sequel/

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OMG ! The gloves ! The Eye ! The four panels strip where it opens ! I can't believe it ! It's even better than in my memories !

Right you are!

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I've always wanted to read the classic Dr. Strange tales.

As many readers, I grow up without a Dr. Strange solo series, and any chance of reading the old stories was frustrated by not living in US. The Lee/Ditko and the '70s runs I believe have never been reprinted in Italy since they came out the first time. As a result, for me Strange has always been a guest character (a very cool one) with a lot of non-explained history.

Do anyone know if the Essential are easily available?

Yes, this is so true. Not having a series in almost 20 years certainly did Dr. Strange no favors. And I have great respect and admiration for non-US fans of Marvel, especially when Marvel makes it so hard for them to follow their books and characters.

The first Essential appears to be out of print, but you can pick it up in the secondary market for about 30 - 40 USD. Marvel did reprint the first Marvel Masterworks Dr. Strange Volume 1 recently, so it's in print. This was also released in paperback, but that's gone out of print and is a bit pricey now. In Stock Trades has the new reprinted hardcover for 28 USD -- but I think their shipping is high. You might check your European stores for it.

http://www.instocktrades.com/TP/Marv...-PTG/APR140753

Also, the Epic Collection series released Volume 3 in October 2016 and will release Volume 13 in October 2017! http://marvelmasterworksfansite.yuku...t#.WUpjGfnyiM8

[juan678]

Selfie today fan art by khorazir

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Marie Severin, co-creator of the Living Tribunal

From Strange Tales #157 June 1967
http://comicsalliance.com/marie-severin-art-gallery/

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Love that Selfie today fan art by khorazir

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I'm most familiar with Sorcerer Supreme, having read the full series 3-4 times now. That was "my" Doc, as it was the book I read growing up.

That said, I've jumped around through the various eras and read a little bit of everything. My second favorite run is probably Stern's early 80's material.

To me, every marvel comic series Roger AWESOME Stern wrote was marvelous.

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Strange Tales #163 Dec 1967
"Three Faces of Doom!"
The Living Tribunal, learning of excess evil mystical energy has been absorbed into the staff of Nebulos, seeks to destroy it,
however needing the staff for it's own purposes Nebulos refuses to give it up.
As the two beings battle it out, Dr. Strange tries to stop them from destorying each other fearing that Nebulos'
destruction would lead to never knowing where Nebulos sent Victoria Bentley.

Temporarily taken out of battle the Tribunal, Dr. Strange fights off the pain caused by the creature the Tribunal created to keep Strange at bay.
Strange then grabs the staff from Nebulos just as the Tribunal had successfully burried the creature in falling rock from a destroyed mountain.

Strange hands over the staff to the Tribunal, who in thanks transports Strange to the location of Victoria Bentley.

Script by Jim Lawrence, art by Dan Adkins.

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Strange Tales #164 Jan 1968
"Nightmare"
Dr. Strange finds himself transported to a strange world where he has to fight gigantic and monstrous creatures in his search for Victoria Bentley.

Fighting past all the creatures in his way, he finds a cave, where he is greeted by a hologram of the planets lone humanoid and master of science: Yandroth.

Yandroth informs Strange that he intends to keep Victoria Bentley as his queen when he uses his scientific genius to conquer the universe.
He warns Strange to turn back or suffer the consequences. Undaunted, Dr. Strange travels deeper into the cave in spite of Yandroth's warning.

Script by Jim Lawrence, art by Dan Adkins.

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Strange Tales #165 Feb 1968
"The Mystic and the Machine!"
Traveling deeper into the strange cave to try and save Victoria from Yandroth, Scientist Supreme, Dr. Strange comes across the villain's fortress.

Strange manages to use his mysical powers to destroy each of the defense machines Yandroth has installed into his complex.

When a hand-to-hand fight between the masters of the mystic and scientific arts ends with Strange's victory, Yandroth unleashes his robot Voltorr against the mage.

Script by Jim Lawrence, art by Dan Adkins.