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.

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Favourite Comics: Dr Strange , Master Of The Mystic Arts #1 Brunner & Englehart

Don't you just love it when you find what you thought was a long lost item from your past, well thats what happened to me last week when I was looking through a box of old British comics in my loft . There sandwiched between two 1970s issues of the Lion comic was the above first issue of "Dr Strange Master of the Mystic arts", one of my all time favourite titles. I don't think that I purchased this comic in 1974 as from memory issue 4 was the first issue of this title that I picked up so this was probably bought in the late 1970's to early 1980's when specialist comic book stores seemed to be everywhere. Regardless this issue sees the start of the excellent Silver Dagger story arc featuring a certain caterpillar and some of Brunner and Giordano's best art - enjoy.

Favourite Comics: Marvel Premiere - Dr Strange #3 - Barry Smith & Stan Lee

As mentioned in my previous post I have been on a bit of a back-issue comic buying spree recently picking up some of the comics I either used to own but gave away or comics that I lusted after but missed first time around. In relation to “Marvel Premiere” #3 this was a comic that I had always wanted but never saw in my local newsagents at the time, so when a copy became available in my local comic store, I snapped it up. I first read this story in #93 of the UK weekly "Avengers" comics back in June 1975 and as “cool” as the story was back then, nothing compares to the "magic" that the original 1970's US colour versions provided. Enjoy:

In this story “While the World Spins Mad!” Doctor Strange’s enemy is unknown with only a riddle given by the venerated Ancient One as to his foe's true identity (it’s Nightmare!). While the threat he faces is real, it pales in comparison to what is actually happening to him in the real world. Although Steve Ditko and Gene Colan will always be "my" Dr Strange artists, Smiths art in this issue is on par with these 2 giants of the genre and I would have loved to have seen him draw more Dr Strange comics (apart from "Marvel Premiere" #4, which I will now be on the look out for).

Above: Cover of Avengers weekly (UK) #93 - There is review of this issue of the UK Avengers in the excellent "Power of the BeeSting" blog that focuses on UK Marvel.

Favourite comics: Doctor Strange; Master of the Mystic Arts ( vol 2) Issue 4

I have been a fan of Dr Strange ever since I first read his earliest tales that were reprinted in the UK Marvel “Avengers” weekly comic back in 1973. Those early tales by Steve Ditko and Stan Lee are without doubt the benchmark for the character but in the 1970’s there was plenty of stiff competition for that title with Gene Colan and Steve Englehart’s excellent (long) run on the character. However, it was in 1974 that arguably (and for me at least) one of the best ever single issues of the entire series came out; “Dr Strange: Master of the Mystic Arts” (vol2 ) issue 4. Like so many things from back in the day (in this case 1974) I can no longer recall with any certainty where I purchased this comic but I do remember being absolutely blown away by the art and story.

After appearing in a successful run in Marvel Premiere issues 1-14 in the mid 1970’s Dr Strange moved back into his own title “Doctor Strange: Master of the Mystic Arts” , which ran for 81 issues between June 1974 – February 1987 . Although the most famous run on this title was by the aforementioned team of Englehart and Gene Colan there is no doubt that the stand out issues were by the team of Frank Brunner and Steve Englehart which ran until issue 14 of Marvel Premier (which also featured art by Sal Buscema, Jim Starlin and Ditko) until Brunner’s last issue “Doctor Strange: Master of the Mystic Arts” number 5. The above cover and opening page to issue 4 by Frank Brunner are absolute gems that beautifully illustrates the madness that faces Dr Strange.

Although Dick Giordano is credited as the inker it seems that Neal Adams did most of the inking chores on this book and his hand certainly seems evident to me in many of the pages. In the story itself Dr. Strange continues to make his way through an unreal world within the Eye of Agamotto. Fighting Death, the sorcerer supreme struggles until he spies the shape of Eternity and eventuially defeats Death. Afterwards, the spirit of the Ancient One arrives to inform Strange that this was the final test for the new Sorcerer Supreme and that Dr. Strange can no longer age and can only die by means of violence. He is also gifted with the mystic Ankh of Enduring Life. For me the Brunner and Adams's collaboration places this story not only among the best drawn of the entire series, but is also one of the best drawn comics of the 1970’s and beyond.