The Merry Marvel Marching Doctor Strange!

Above is the Doctor Strange design by Steve Ditko for Marvel's shirts. The master magician is presented in mid incantation. 
 

A fuller version of this same pose was developed and used as one of eight posters Marvel presented. 

Here's the full grouping with Ditko's pose nested between another of Spider-Man. Other heroes abound. 

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Ditko's Doctor Strange Pin-Ups!

Here's a fantastic Dr. Strange Marvel Masterwork Pin-Up by Steve Ditko. This first ran in an issue of Marvel Collectors' Item Classics. 

Above is Steve Ditko's earliest Dr. Strange Pin-Up from an early issue of Strange Tales. Along with the original there's a glimpse of a delightful Fred Hembeck homage. 

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Doctor Strange Classics!

The Steve Ditko Doctor Strange stories were again reprinted in four of the better reprints from Marvel's 80's surge of Baxter paper titles which were to some extent intended to drive competitors off the newsstands in the up-and-coming comics shops. These Ditko look alike wraparound covers are by John Byrne and Al Milgrom. 

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The Pocket Book Doctor Strange!

These two volumes of Doctor Strange from Pocket Books gather together almost all of Steve Ditko's epic run on the character he created. The covers are by Frank Brunner who was most associated with the character at this time in the late 70's. 

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Doctor Strange - Master Of The Mystic Arts!

Doctor Strange was created by Steve Ditko. Stan Lee said as much from the very beginning of the series. While the Amazing Spider-Man has many fathers -- Lee, Ditko, and even Joe Simon and Jack Kirby perhaps, there's no denying that Ditko came up with the notion of Strange and he pushed Lee to let him do it. The series appeared with little fanfare in the back pages of Strange Tales (appropriate) where at the time the Human Torch was holding down the lead feature. Strange began his magical career in a small way, an enigmatic man in dark hues who possessed a vaguely Asian look and who left his Sanctum to sally forth into the world to defeat mysterious menaces. 

Slowly the strip picked up steam and Strange became more fully developed, eventually getting an origin which made him a selfish American surgeon who sought a way to heal himself through magic, and who is transformed into a selfless defender of mankind. Restricted to only a few pages in the back of the comic and getting only a small cover push, Doctor Strange proved resilient. Eventually after his first fight with the other dimensional menace Dormammu, Strange came into possession of his famous red cloak of levitation and his magic amulet, the Eye of Aggamotto. 

As the series progressed, Ditko's artwork matured and in a utterly bizarre seventeen-part battle with Baron Mordo, then the agent of Dormammu, Doctor Strange became a fully functioning part of the Marvel Universe. By this time the Human Torch had departed, but was replaced on the covers by Nick Fury Agent of SHIELD. Despite his long tenure in the series, Strange was still not seen by Lee as a character who could sell a book. This despite the fact that Ditko had seen fit to crossover his two creations in the second Spider-Man annual.  Eventually the day came when Ditko left Marvel and Doctor Strange. 

In that final issue Doctor Strange was at last given full reign on the cover. Soon after Marvel would adopt a policy in all its split books that allowed the features to switch up covers, but by that time Ditko was off working for Charlton and Tower and other companies. Perhaps if Lee had seen fit to give Ditko's creation more of a push he might've felt better respected, but we'll never know. 

Although he's not even on many and when he is he's rarely featured and is most likely drawn by Jack Kirby, (At least Kirby did a decent version of Doc Strange, unlike Spidey who he could not draw at all for the most part.) here are the covers for Doctor Strange's Ditko years. 

Doctor Strange proved to be one of Marvel's more resilient heroes, and to date even has two major theater features to his name as well as a TV movie from decades ago. Ditko created something very compelling in those secretive back pages of Strange Tales so long ago. 

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Ditko At Marvel - The Early Years!

The month of May will be busy as I am squeezing in most all of Steve Ditko's early Marvel Comics work. That includes his earliest work for the company as well as his later work on fabulous mystery tales with Stan Lee from the pages of Amazing Adult Fantasy and elsewhere. And without a doubt it will include his epic work on both The Amazing Spider-Man and Doctor Strange. Ditko also worked briefly on The Incredible Hulk and The Invincible Iron Man. It is during this era in which Ditko's fame grows with the new fandom which sprang up around the House of Ideas. Even today when most folks who think of Steve Ditko at all, think of his work on Spidey and Doc Strange, if they think of him at all. 

Here are the volumes I'll be reading to get this swift overview of Ditko's Marvel output. 

And while I'm reading all of that, I'll be watching the 1960's version of the animated Spider-Man series which ran for three seasons, and which brought to the small screen some of Ditko's most delicious villainous designs. 

And as has become custom here at the Dojo, I will also be taking a week-long hiatus during May, but more on that later. 

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Doctor Strange Day!

Dan Adkins was born on this date in 1937. Adkins was a sturdy artist who showed up everywhere -- Marvel, DC, Warren, and more. He was most famous perhaps for his time as Wally Wood's assistant on The Thunder Agents. He proved to be too slow to be a penciller at Marvel and show Stan shifted him over to inks. He did pencil and ink the focus of today's Dojo celebration -- Doctor Strange.  

When Marvel finally wriggled free of their distribution deal with DC Comics, they were at last able to expand their line of comics and deliver to their fans the comics they desired. So the split books which had been featuring two superstars were busted apart giving more room. Tales to Astonish became the The Incredible Hulk and the Sub-Mariner started afresh with a number one, likewise did Tales of Suspense become Captain America with Iron Man beginning his own series. And so we had Strange Tales become Doctor Strange, and the series starring Nick Fury Agent of SHIELD started a brand new series.

The first thing that jumps out at you in this debut issue (of sorts) is the way Dan Adkins expands his artistic storytelling. What had been rather cramped suddenly blossomed across the page and sometimes two with some fantastic effects. Adkins was an artist who was able to generate a great sense of realism and playing that against the weird dimensions which Strange often played in gave the book a really distinctive look. The first new issue gives us a Doctor Strange in repose between battles and it gives him time to reflect on his origin. We get an expanded version of the story by Roy Thomas first related so long ago in Strange Tales.

But that reverie is short lived as the menace of Nightmare appears, not seen since that earliest Doctor Strange story.

Adkins delivers possibly the best single comic of his career here with art that explodes across the pages and despite his tendency to a static pose offers up some truly memorable scenes.

But Adkins was slow and he would spend most of his career as an extremely capable inker.

Another man who was to go on to gain repute as an inker is Tom Palmer and he handles the artwork on the third Doctor Strange installment which takes the Doctor into some truly peculiar dimensions as he recruits Victoria Bently to help him rescue Clea. But just as Doc is able to discover her whereabouts an old villain raises his flaming head.

The menace of Dormammu returns and it comes at a propitious time as one of the greatest artists to ever draw Doctor Strange debuts on the series -- Gene "The Dean" Colan. Teamed with the pencil artist of the previous issue Tom Palmer, one of the great art teams in the history of comics appears for the first time and it's a blockbuster.

Colan immediately brings a dynamic and lush quality to the pages which now have room to fully demonstrate the weirdness of Doc's many worlds.

Dormammu and his sister Umar too are back seeking a way to Earth and domination there and so is the lovely Clea. Doc's search for her alongside Victoria Bentley is the key that allowed Dormammu access. But he's turned aside at the last moment.

Then the Sons of Satannish appear. Doc takes Victoria home to England and comes in contact with Lord Nekron, an acolyte of Satannish who seeks to steal Doc's power and of course fails.

The Sons of Satannish appear front and center at that point as their leader Asmodeus uses the combined might of the cult to attack Doc as he and Clea attempt to enjoy a night on the town.

Clea is kidnapped by the Sons and Doc is barely able to save her as he confronts the constant danger his public identity is constantly bringing to his door.

The identity of  Asmodeus is revealed and he is defeated but not before Doc must change his look and his very being to keep the secret of his identity which has proven a weakness.

The new Doc, as designed by Gene Colan is more purely a superhero and it's a look I've always cottoned to. The strangeness and coldness of the design work well for a hero who had in some ways grown too chummy since his early days as an aloof mystic.

But before his ultimate defeat Asmodeus unleashes the threat of Fire and Ice as his spell brings to Earth the Asgardian twin powers of Ymir the Frost Giant and Surtur the Fire Giant. To stop this menace Doc conscripts the help of Dane Whitman the Black Knight to invade the dimension of Tiboro to gain access to certain of the Sons of Satannish who had been exiled there.

Barely escaping the menace of Tiboro, Doc crosses over into The Avengers and allies himself with the Black Panther, the Vision, and Hawkeye to battle the twin giants of fire and ice. They just barely win the battle as teams shift to Antarctica to battle Surtur and Wakanda to battle Ymir.

The run  takes a break as a reprint is used to buy some time for the production team. It's a reprint of Spider-Man's team-up with Doctor Strange from the pages of the second Amazing Spider-Man Annual.

The great Ditko art is on display again as the heroes reject the threat of Wand of Watoomb and its wielder.

Doc is then almost immediately drawn into conflict with Nightmare who has somehow taken the enigmatic Eternity prisoner.

Gene Colan and Tom Palmer are at the top of their game through these issues. Magnificent stuff. 

Doc battle Nightmare and falls victim to his own Eye of Agamotto when Nightmare is able to gain control of one of Doc's most potent weapons.

But Strange makes an odd play when he conjures up the Juggernaut from the Crimson Dimension. This unstoppable force proves to be a potent wild card as he attacks Nightmare. When the two later team up Doc is ready for them.

And then it's the Undying Ones. In Doctor Strange's final issue (of this run) he comes across a threat which will cause him to call upon some astonishing allies. That is a story for another time, when we witness the beginnings of the non-team called The Defenders.

It took Doc a while to find his footing in the marketplace. This early run remains a dear fave. 

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