Marvel Masterworks: Doctor Strange Volume 1 (New Printing)

This is an incredibly charming foray into the history of one of my favorite Marvel characters. I had never actually gotten a chance to go back and see the original stories in Strange Tales, and this was a wonderfully produced journey back to the very beginning. There is such an innocence about the writing and illustration: it is simple, somewhat crude, but always beautiful. There are lots of cute inside jokes on the title page, and it is clear that Stan Lee and Steve Ditko are having a great time. It's funny because they often mention how people are excited about this "new" character, and you get the sense that they are a little bit surprised by it success.The original stories are pretty simple and fairly cheesy, but are very effective in letting us get to understand who this character is and where he comes from. One of my favorite parts is that the art style slowly changes over time, becoming more nuanced, more technical, and more beautiful. The stories also get more interesting and complex, and this is just volume one. Highly recommended for any collector, the production quality is also stunning: crisp lines, popping colors, and a beautiful presentation. This is a keeper!

So when I was a little kid, my friends all loved superman, batman... etc. For whatever reason, I gravitated toward the oddballs, Swamp Thing, Jonah Hex, Vamprilla, Micronauts.... and of course, Doctor Strange.I love all the Marvel movies coming out, I though Ironman 1 was phenomenal, and of course Wolverine.When Doctor Strange came to the theater, I was a bit apprehensive, I am not a huge Cumberbatch fan.... at least I wasn't before...The movie was fantastic, and is now my favorite superhero movie, in part, because it is so different from other superhero movies.This reignited my interest in the comics, which I had not read in decades. So I got this volume, to reread the original Steve Ditko version. I have been reading it every day now for a couple weeks, one story at a time, savoring them. They are a bit cheesy, and over the top, as was the style of the time. But I have always loved Steve Ditko's artwork, like Kirby, it was very distinctive! You knew it was Steve Ditko!I rate this a 5 out of 5 because I think it presents what it claims to present, in a very clean and sharp.

I found the more "superhero-y" bits where he fights villains such as Baron Mordo to be the least compelling of the collection. One's where he's off doing his own thing, battling strange creatures or anomalies were much more interesting and nuanced. Great, fun read.

The content of this book is really FIVE STAR - We're talking Steve Ditko at the height of his creative abilities, with some of Stan Lee's best scripting. The angst of Spider-man isn't here (except for a tad of it in the story reprinted from Amazing Spider-Man Annual #2), and instead we've got the most arcane and cosmic stories since the early days of Doctor Fate and Stardust the Super Wizard.I've given this particular incarnation of the book - the newest printing from 2015 - three stars because of the many unforgivable and easily preventable coloring errors throughout the book. The colorist just didn't seem to care what they hell they were doing. That's a damn shame, given the scarcity of this book; I know if I had bought a copy of the first printing (which gray markets for $200-400) and it had the same abominable errors, I would have been incredibly annoyed.This volume reprints all the Doctor Strange tales from Strange Tales, up until the climax of his hand-to-hand battle with the Dread Dormammu. Doc's origin is here, as well as the first appearances of the Ancient One and Baron Mordo, and the unnamed denizen of the Dark Dimension who would later be known as Clea. Thor also makes a cameo, and there's Spider-Man joining the Master of the Mystic Arts for their first battle with Xandu.If you like Ditko's work, like cosmic stories, or simply enjoy classic Marvel Comics, this is a great way to experience all of that. Just beware that the presentation is not as nearly as pristine as it should've been.

WOW! Finally, a great, high quality reprint of Doctor Strange's early years. Seeing Ditko's artwork really makes you appreciate the production design of the Doctor Strange movie even more.

Must have for any doctor strange or marvel fan. It consists of the classic comics starting from the very first issue that doctor strange was introduced.

The best Dr Strange stories by his original creators. But you need volume two to finish the run.

These Doctor Strange comics are nice. Pure and classic like the Spiderman comics of the same time period. Can be cheesy, but even that can be entertaining.

Really great for someone getting into Doctor Strange comics. As a side note this does not include the full issues of "Strange Tales" (a Human Torch based comic), rather only the portion of the original comic that actually had the doctor in it.

A Classic.

As a lifelong fan of Steve Ditco, the artist who created Dr. Strange and Spiderman, this book is a precious gem! Not only does it contain Dr. Strange's origin, but it also includes the rare classic story where Dr.Strange meets up with Spiderman! Wonderful nostalgia for me!

Perfect book, perfect job done! AAA+++

Delivered promptly and goods were as specified.Recommended