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Comics 411: Best Doctor Strange Stories

May 5, 2022 | Posted by Steve Gustafson
Doctor Strange 56 Image Credit: Marvel Comics

Welcome back! I’m Steve Gustafson and if you enjoy discussing anything comic book related, you’ve come to the right place. Each week we cover something in the industry and I always enjoy your input in the comment section below.

Previously on…


 
Last time we discussed our Top 10 Marvel Slugfests. Here’s what some of you had to say:

Captain Mcgloo: “Spider-Man vs Doc Ock from Specacular Spider-Man 79, an entire issue of the two of them just trying to beat the tar out of each other from one end of the city to the other, great Mantlo and Milgrum joint. Also Hulk vs Everybody from Hulk 300, and Spider-Man vs Wolverine from…well Spider-Man vs Wolverine.”

Thegoodfish: “I haven’t read a huge amount of comics so this probably isn’t that great in the big scheme of things but Spiderman Vs Morlun was a great first read for Spidey. The fight going on for hours and hours between them made it feel incredibly epic”

JusticeBringer: “Damn, nothing from World War Hulk made this list?”

Jake “The Stache” Fury: “X-Men/Hellfire Club vs Nimrod
UXM 209”

rf: “tales to astonish 100 sub mariner vs hulk
hulk 255 hulk vs thor
sub mariner 8 thing vs subby
ff 112 hulk vs thing”

laparkinator: “Spider-Man vs Wolverine if in my top 3, probably my personal favorite tbh. This was where I learned that Spidey held back so much. He actually held his own vs 1 of the most brutal brawlers in Marvel. And even tho it’s more of a beat down, I can’t leave off Juggernaut vs Spidey. Spidey just kept getting back up and asking for more before finally outsmarting Juggernaut to earn a win. Great comic”

LITMnooch: “I honestly think Wolverine vs Sabretooth should be their fight where Wolvie popped his claw through Creed’s brain and made him like a puppy for a while. It lead to the story where Sabretooth was a simple animal. Could he trained to be a better person or would the old Victor come creeping out and when he did, who was tasting those claws first?…:

Staying on Wolverine: I think Wolverine vs Thing deserves a mention, before this to illustrate Ben taking anything akin to a beating you’d see the occasional rock chip here and there but Wolverine showed that the Thing could REALLY be hurt by scarring him so badly he needed a protective helmet while his face healed… great break from the norm!”

Mr Mr: “Greatest one for me has to be Wolverine vs Sabretooth , cant remember what issue it was . But it was when the Xmen got back from fighting the marauders and had some casualties at the mansion. Sabretooth invaded the mansion, Psylocke tried to stop him but couldn’t. Then Wolverine arrived in time to safe her . It was brutal , you could feel it right through the pages.

Psylocke vs Sabretooth was also good , from the same issue . That whole issue made Sabretooth for me.

Another one I always liked was Thor vs Hulk, again cant remember what issue . Hulk tricked Thor to get rid of his hammer by holding a lady hostage lol”

Great stuff and thank you to everyone who commented last week! Too many great comments to list so go and check it out!

This week we discuss…

Best Doctor Strange Stories
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is upon us and it looks to be a fun ride through the Marvel universe. Why not ride the wave and look at some of the better Doctor Strange stories out there?
Before I forget to mention it, I’m just getting into Strange Academy: First Class but so far this is one book I think more people should be talking about. 

I’m going to start and finish with two of the best. The first has to be The Oath. Brian K. Vaughan and Marcos Martin’s story is a must read for anyone looking to know who Doctor Strange is. A wounded Doctor Strange deals with finding the culprit and saving Wong from terminal cancer hits all the marks and is hugely underrated as a book. 

Greg Pak and Emma Rios brought us Doctor Strange: Season One, a fantastic origin retelling. This book had a lot of influence on the big screen version and updated the character in all the right places. Beautiful art and we get proper introductions for Baron Mordo, Wong, the Ancient One, and Dormammu. 

I have to put a Defenders book on here and what better one than Defenders: Indefensible. Strange along with Namor, the Hulk, and the Silver Surfer are reunited with writer J.M. DeMatteis at the helm. Funny enough, he’s reunited with his fellow Justice League International co-creators Keith Giffen and Kevin Maguire. It’s a fun ride that shows how Doctor Strange can best function with a team and you don’t get a more unique team than this one. 

You don’t realize just how much you need a Doctor Strange with an edge until you read Dr. Strange vs. Dracula: The Montesi Formula. This collection is a crossover between Doctor Strange and Tomb of Dracula along with a five-issue arc of Strange’s solo title. Need more? You get Roger Stern and Gene Colan doing their thing the best way they know how.  

Speaking of edge, a friend said I need to include Doctor Strange: Damnation. Nick Spencer, Donny Cates, Szymon Kudranski, and Rod Reis bring it with a stacked deck as Strange is joined by a new Midnight Sons team that consists of Iron Fist, Blade, Ghost Rider, Wong, Moon Knight, Scarlet Spider, Man-Thing, Elsa Bloodstone, and Brother Voodoo!

Steve Ditko’s Strange Tales #130-146 is another must and the art is everything you want it to be. 
Writer and artist team Jason Aaron and Chris Bachalo delivered a fresh take with their The Way of the Weird storyline. While I feel they went a little too far with the changes, you have to hand it to them for going big with it. 

I’ll end with Doctor Strange & Doctor Doom: Triumph and Torment. I absolutely love this book and it’s another gem that doesn’t get enough attention. Seeing these two interact with one another gave them both a new level of intrigue and you get Roger Stern delivering a powerful story with some awesome early Mike Mignola artwork. 

There you go! I left plenty of low hanging fruit for you to grab so share you favorite Doctor Strange stories below!

That’s all the time I have. See you next week!