Doctor Strange #1 (June 1974)

If you're a fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, you may be familiar with one Stephen Strange, aka Doctor Strange. The Master of the Mystic Arts. The Sorcerer Supreme. The big magical cheese. The man you call in when some seriously bad mystical stuff goes down. The good doctor has visited this blog before. He first visited this blog in my review of Amazing Spider-Man Annual #2 (1965), in which he teamed up with the titular Wall-Crawler. We've also seen him alongside the Defenders (A "non-team" he has a long history with and was a founding member) in my reviews of Defenders #94 (April 1981) and Defenders #113 (February 1983). However, I don't think that we've ever looked at an issue of his own comic.

Yup, Dr. Strange has had his own comic several times over the years. His first series was actually his taking over as the central character of the Strange Tales title with issue #169 (June 1968). This series would last until issue #183 (November 1969).

Strange would return in another title: Marvel Premiere. Starting in 1972, this anthology series was used to give a starring role to pre-established Marvel characters. It also was a place to debut new characters; both Iron Fist and the second Ant-Man (Scott Lang) debuted in this title. Another neat thing? This title also featured the first comic adventures of rock singer Alice Cooper, and it reprinted UK-produced Doctor Who stories for American readers. Also, Black Panther and the Falcon had adventures chronicled in this series.

The third issue of Marvel Premiere would see Dr. Strange himself become the lead feature. He would continue to be the lead feature of the title until issue #14. With issue #9, writer Steve Engelhart and artist Frank Brunner would be the chroniclers of the adventures of the Master of the Mystic Arts. It was during their time on the title that in-universe, Stephen Strange would take up the mantle of the Marvel Universe's Sorcerer Supreme after the death of his mentor, the Ancient One.

Their run on Marvel Premiere would be successful enough to allow Dr. Strange to get his own on-going series again, which would be his second. The first issue of this series is what we're looking at here. This series, fully titled Doctor Strange: Master of the Mystic Arts, would last nearly 13 years. The final issue would be #81 (February 1987), and then in a bit of cosmic full circle, Strange would return to a new Strange Tales series in which he shared top billing with a certain pair of street-level heroes you may know of: Cloak and Dagger. It was the good doctor's longest-lasting solo series to date. So with that out of the way, let's take a look at Doctor Strange #1!

The cover is pretty neat. A Frank Brunner and Gaspar Saladino piece, it depicts the titular Master of the Mystic Arts struggling with some tentacles coming from a big crystal ball. It's a very well-drawn cover, and it communicates very well that our dear doctor is in big trouble...

"Through an Orb Darkly"
Writers: Steve Englehart, Frank Brunner
Penciler: Frank Brunner
Inker: Dick Giordano
Colorist: Glynis Wein
Letterer: John Costanza
Editor: Roy Thomas
Editor-in-Chief: Len Wein

The story begins with Dr. Strange brooding in his Sanctum Santorum.

"Do I get some apple juice or orange juice? Such decisions..."

His then-disciple and his on-again off-again girlfriend Clea comes by, and her presence is able to get Strange back to reality. The former surgeon admits that he's been neglecting her both as a boyfriend and teacher in the mystic arts due to a previous adventure in which he (possibly) literally witnessed the creation of the universe [Back in Marvel Premiere #13-14 (January-March 1974)]. She isn't too bothered, as she's been busying with her magical studies. She shows how far she's been going by doing a very dangerous trick, one that could unravel the universe if not done with great care.

"I summon the Lagomorph of Zatanna!"

Truly the mightiest spell of all. It is late, and even the Master of Mystic Arts must turn in for the night. Clea plays with her new pet rabbit, being unaware that a figure is watching outside the Sanctorum. The sorceress believes that Strange has a place of safety in the Santorum, considering the kind of threats and enemies he's faced. However, the figure intends to prove her wrong. They fire a magical spell at the rabbit.

"Oh dear, the rabbit got embiggened..."

Evidently the spell was a mystical form of steroids. The now-gigantic rabbit smashes its way out the window. Clea freaks out, as the giant rabbit will bring a lot of attention for sure. And Strange can't have a ton of attention on his Sanctum, due to all the mystical stuff inside it. The intruder leaps in and introduces himself.

"You are now a horsey!"

Wong witness Silver Dagger's attack on Clea. He tries to fight the Dagger off, but the man is easily able to take him down. Silver Dagger eyes Strange's Eye of Agamotto, and grabs it. However, the Eye has a little alarm in it in case someone tries to steal it. Very smart of Strange to have some sort of security system for it.

The Dagger is able to neutralize the alarm, and make his way to Strange himself. He spies the Sorcerer Supreme meditating. And we learn why this man refers to himself as "Silver Dagger".

It's not fancy, but sometimes the simple solution is the best one.

You see, the Silver Dagger fancies himself a holy warrior, a man on a holy crusade against demons. His namesake weapon is made of silver, which is supposedly good against demons. Although silver may be more famous as a weakness of werewolves. His dagger is also dipped in holy water. He believes he's finally slain the most powerful demon on Earth. Silver Dagger takes his leave, taking Clea with him.

Wong wakes up and finds Strange lying on the floor, seemingly dead. He's alive, but for much longer. Even though Strange is no demon, he's still not dagger-proof. He asks Wong to retrieve the Orb of Agamotto and his cape. He returns with the items, and Strange works some magic. The Orb reveals that Silver Dagger has Clea chained up somewhere, and he's trying to force her to renounce her magic. The image in the orb transforms into a skull, and it sends out some grabby snake hands at Strange.

"This is not the 'jazz hands' orb I ordered!"

Well, there's something you don't see every day. But for Doctor Strange, this is just another day in the office. Strange tries to fight off the grabby hands, but their grabbiness is just too great for the Sorcerer Supreme. They drag the former surgeon into the Orb.

Nothing like watching the Sorcerer Supreme fall flat on his face to get a laugh out of Death.

This spread is awesome. Strange finds himself inside the Orb of Agamotto. He also feels better, which makes him wonder. Was he healed, or is he dead. Necromancy is involved, so it's likely the latter in my opinion. But before the good doctor can figure out what's his status, he meets a certain caterpillar.

This is what happens when you get into Lewis Carroll's LSD stash.

Evidently, Wonderland is located in the Orb of Agamotto. He basically tells Strange, "Welcome to the Orb of Agamotto, you're stuck here, enjoy your stay." Strange basically is all "Screw that! I'm getting out of here!" The caterpillar transforms into a more monstrous form and points out something to Strange: Magic is a double-edge sword. Spells come at a price. When he used the Orb to save his life, Strange opened himself up to the unreality within the Orb. Strange will become part of the unreality of the Orb, and Clea will be lost to him.

Strange angrily blasts the caterpillar, seemingly destroying it. Strange may die, but it will not be by the caterpillar's many small hands. He did wish that it didn't have to end this way. However, the caterpillar is okay. After all, the Orb's world is nonsensical and backwards. Death has no sway on the unreality here.

The caterpillar tells Strange there is one way out: Head to the center of the Orb. Everything comes together there. Strange can't fly straight there, as the unreality of the Orb doesn't allow the straightforward road. Too "real". Strange has no choice to trust the Lewis Carroll leftover, and heads out. The story ends with the caterpillar vanishing, planning to keep his eyes on the Master of the Mystic Arts...

This was a fun comic. It established a new villain for Strange to face, although I will admit one thing: Silver Dagger does seem like a step down from Strange's previous foe he faced. Although to be fair, considering the last adventure he had involved a sorcerer potentially becoming the Big Bang that started the universe (I'll have to look at that one sometime), it's hard to top. I also like that we get to see Strange set off a potentially epic quest. And considering the Orb's world is supposed to not make sense (appropriate then that the Caterpillar from Alice in Wonderland appeared here), there's potential for some crazy stuff here, and it's exciting.

Frank Brunner became famous thanks to his work here on Doctor Strange with Englehart. His art really fits the darker feel of the story. It's almost like a horror film with the Silver Dagger in the role of a slasher villain.

If you want to read this for yourself, I recommend tracking down the 2016 trade paperback Doctor Strange Epic Collection Vol. 3: A Separate Reality. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, spread it around! Take care of yourself and each other. Stay safe, stay home, stay healthy, and wash your hands often! Join me next time as Spider-Man brawls with a crazed Electro...