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Tuesday, May 26, 2026

Favourite comics: Dr Strange #178 - Gene Colan, Tom Palmer, Roy Thomas

I first read the above Dr Strange tale in the UK Avengers weekly comic (issues 74-76) and was blown away by Colan and Palmers artwork which at the time was going from strength to strength. So when I saw an original US copy for sale at around 9 US dollars (£8 UK) during a recent holiday, I had to pick it up. The strip in colour is even better than the UK black and white version.
Future postings and replies to any comments may be limited due to personal family issues.

15 comments:

  1. Hope these personal family issues are satisfactorily resolved before too long, McS. I'm a fan of Colan's work, but his perspectives were sometimes a bit wonky and the banana fingers he drew could have been better. I mean less like bananas, not more. He had an operation on his eyes the last few years of his life and his art improved dramatically as he no longer had to draw with his face right up against the page.

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    1. I didn't notice that before but I see what you mean about banana fingers. I loved Colan 's art at this time on Dr Strange and I managed to pick up another couple of his late 1960s Dr Strange comics on my US trip. I had read that Gene required an eye operation but I wasn't aware just how bad his sight was.

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  2. Hi, Paul. I hope everything turns out all right for you.

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  3. Thanks Rip (and Kid) things are starting to get better and we hope to get back to a bit of normality soon. More importantly, my 92 year old "father in law" who had a very bad fall (broken hip) is getting better and more mobile so we won't need to stay 24/7 with him and be traveling so much.

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  4. Colan-Palmer! As good as Colan-Everett? Hmmm.

    Hope all goes well with your FIL. My parents are 90 and 91. If you have any words of experience please post! My folks are 90-91 and still self sufficient as a couple. But we have changed our life-styles as we see their challenges (like moving to a house with all necessities on the ground floor; no stairs necessary).

    Cheere, Joe

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  5. We've also arranged to have walkers, stairlift , new bathroom etc installed but it just seems to be one thing after another this weather. Sadly no advice to give just need to get on with it. Were lucky I suppose in that we have the NHS that helps with carers popping in to assist but as you know it's a bit of a long haul. Hope your mum and dad are ok it's great that they are together after all these years

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    1. Thanks. Well… the observation is that my folks are almost purely reactive. For instance, they didn’t get a stair lift going to the upstairs or the basement until my mother could no longer do the stairs often. (And then, the stair lifts are apparently made in England so it took three months to get the one going upstairs because there is a right angle turn in the stairs. One might think they would also have been made in the United States, but apparently not.)

      At least Deb and I are watching them and learning which is why we changed houses to be able to Live exclusively on the ground floor with no mandatory stairs.

      But, and I get it, they don’t want to leave their gome and gonimto senior/assisted living which costs around $10,000 per month for a bery average facility!

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  6. I hope things get better for you all Joe it's not just the emotional side of seeing a loved one struggle but it's physically exhausting at times. Although we are both pretty healthy (bar my recent heart attack lol) like yourself , we decided to move to a small cottage with everything on one floor to save us moving when we are older.

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  7. This is my favorite Doctor Strange era, even more than the Ditko stories. These are great yarns with some of the best artwork produced by Gene Colan for the company. Tom Palmer is a breakout talent on this project.

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  8. I totally agree with you on that Rip. Dr Strange under Colan/Palmer was a joy to behold. They were both fantastic at the horror / mystery genre.

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  9. Although I was always a Gene Colan fan since his time on the early Daredevils I've never collected his Dr Strange runs. Looks like something I'll have to investigate collecting, while at the same time still trying to cut back on my existing collection.....
    Best wishes for your partner's Dad's swift recovery, Paul.

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  10. I have fallen back a little in recent months on my plans to cut back on comic purchases but I couldn't resist picking up Colan's Dr Strange. Thanks Ian, things are slowly getting better with Linda's dad.

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  11. I hate Dr Strange's blue mask period - clearly just a blatant attempt to turn him into a superhero which thankfully failed.

    I hope your "father-in-law" is feeling much better, Paul - my parents died aged 71 and 77 so neither of them lived to extreme old age but people are living longer and longer nowadays and the problems of old age are becoming more common.

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  12. I wasn't a big fan of the masked Dr Strange either Colin but it was an interesting idea. My "father in law" is getting better thanks, but at 91 it's slow work.71 and 77 is really no age at all you must have been young when you lost your parents.

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  13. Paul, I was 33 when my father died in 1999 and I was 43 when my mother died in 2009.

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