Product Description

After earning the title of Sorcerer Supreme, Doctor Strange must defend his title, his life and his world against enemies old and new! Dormammu, Silver Dagger, Nightmare, Stygyro and more test Strange's sorcery and sanity! And after a civil war in the Dark Dimension, a summoning of sorcerers, a debacle with Dracula and the apparent annihilation of Earth, can the Master of Mystic Arts stand up to something...Stranger Yet? Guest-starring the Avengers, Blade the Vampire Hunter and Nighthawk of the Defenders! Collects Dr. Strange #1-29, Annual #1 and Tomb of Dracula #44-45.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #193674 in Books
• Published on: 2008-01-09
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 616 pages

Customer Reviews

not a bad distraction
First of all, let's set the terms of this review. I was aware that this was b/w prior to ordering it and I was okay with that. Also, I had never read even a single issue of Doctor Strange, so I really have no frame of reference with regard to the comic's legacy. At age 30 it has probably been nearly 2 decades since I've read comics at all (although I was a passionate Marvel fan back in the day). Because I spend the bulk of my time reading more complex scientific and literary material, I occasionally like to unwind with a lightweight guilty pleasure in between books. That's precisely the function this book was to serve. I went in with low expectations, and admit that I was pleasantly surprised. Yes, the stories and plot devices do strain the credulity at times but hey: it's a comic. (Note: I found the stories in this volume to be less tedious than all the forced human drama in Essential X-Men Vol. 6, a volume I purchased around the same time.) Overall, I really enjoy all the great artwork (I don't mind the b/w a bit), and like the serialized narrative format that encompasses multiple issues. Taken for what it is, I think it was a great purchase. I can flip through a couple issues every now and then, and come back to it later. With ~30 issues, it's already kept me occupied for quite some time. The stories can occasionally get a little redundant, but it hasn't bothered me too much. If you're looking for high brow literature, this isn't for you. But if you want a good rainy day read, or something to keep you occupied for a long train ride, you could do a lot worse.

Strange Days Indeed
The Essential Dr. Strange #3 contains the start of the titular character's own comic book. It starts out reasonably strong, but then descends into some below average stories.

The art is really the high-point of this collection. This is one title where I am sad that it is only a b&w reprint as the colors in such an eldritch tale are more important than in a typical superhero book. Here, the normal panel configuration of a comic book is shattered, increasing the surreal and mystic nature of the stories.

The actual stories start off well, containing reasonable length multi-issue tales of 3-4 volumes, featuring Dormammu and showing Dr. Strange facing trials and increasing in power. In one case we even get a retelling of the origin of Dr. Strange due to a missed deadline.

The stories themselves veer into explorations into the nature of reality very quickly, and they become very tiresome at that point. Much of the action taking place inside Dr. Strange's head as illusions are used to attempt to overcome Dr. Strange's willpower. We see reality, and the earth, destroyed and rebuilt a couple of times. Even in something which demands a great amount of willing suspension of disbelief, seeing this happen in consecutive stories does boggle the belief and gets old.

One of the final stories, the longest by far, is the weakest. A meandering tale which jumps the tracks as writers change, moving from a trip into the past into the unlikely story of a cabal of sorcerors who wish to become stars. Literally. Big flaming balls of gas, because they control reality. This story was not only poor, it dragged on for far too long.

On the whole, an average collection of an interesting comic book character that differs from the typical superhero.

Solid B-list comics
Doctor Strange had an up and down career as a comic-book. Its high points, in my opinions, were the classic and never-equalled run by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko reprinted in the first Essential Doctor Strange; the Lovecraft-inspired run mostly drawn by Barry Windsor-Smith and Frank Brunner (reprinted in Essential Doctor Strange vol. 2) and possibly the Marshall Rogers-illustrated run that will (hopefully) be reprinted in a later volume. Luckily, there are plenty of good moments in between these high marks, thanks in large part to gene Colan's frequent contribution.

A good thing about Gene's art on this title is that he did not try to imitate Ditko's style nor to copy his version of alternate worlds. Bringing his own vision allowed Colan to really shine in a few stories collected in this book (particularly in a story involving the character Eternity and the possible destruction of our world).

Storywise, Steve Englehart does a fair job here. Many stories focus more on the nature of reality than on confrontation, which is fine in a book about magic. There is a very 1970s feel to many stories, with themes that were also approached by other Marvel writers of the era (Steve Gerber and Don MacGregor, to name but two).

Altogether, it is true that this book lacks the grandeur of Essentials #1 and #2. It is still a pretty entertaining collection with a few gems thrown in. At the price, it is a bargain.