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emsemce123's review
adventurous
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
The origins of Dr. Strange, the stories where the character first appeared in Strange Tales by Marvel circa 1963 written by Stan Lee and drawn by Steve Ditko, legends in the industry. As dated as this is at times, I can still look back and appreciate it, knowing that if I had read these as a child/teen/adult in that time I would've loved them as much as I love the more modern takes on the character now. It's impressive to see how imaginative Marvel was back then, not just the characters, the stories, but the artwork and world-building of the time. I'm also a big Dr. Strange fan and it's nice seeing the origins of so many Easter eggs I still see from time to time mentioned in modern runs and the film adaptations.
scheu's review against another edition
4.0
The entirety of Ditko's run on Strange is collected here. It doesn't really get going until the Eternity sequence midway through. Also for some reason Stan Lee doesn't give half these characters names... Clea appears at least ten times before they name her. So odd.
ellbo_oks333's review against another edition
4.0
first time reading marvel and wasn't disappointed! seems vastly different from the movies...
jekutree's review against another edition
5.0
Silver Age Marvel is my favorite era of comics, Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko and more were firing on all cylinders delivering the best products possible. What the Marvel bullpen was doing at the time was unmatched by anyone else in the industry. Pure creativity. Steve Ditko’s place as one of the architects of this period in Marvel’s history is accepted by most fans of the medium but it’s usually his 38 issue (and one annual and amazing fantasy issue!) stint on Amazing Spider-Man that people talk about. I’d argue however that his Strange Tales is better in almost every way. Ditko’s Doctor Strange is a run filled with pure creativity, especially after Dormammu is introduced. Dormammu’s introduction in Strange Tales #126 led to a 20 issue arc culminating in Strange Tales #146. It’s an epic nearly unmatched in the Silver Age. Ditko crafts these charming, psychedelic inter-dimensional landscapes that are mesmerizing to look at.
saif42's review
2.0
Going back this far is never a good idea when it comes to comics. It's like a meet your heroes situation, or seeing a picture of the love of your life when they were in the 8th grade. Most of the time, its just an ugly awkward precursor to the beautiful thing you love right now. That's about how I'm feeling with this book.
Its fun to see Dr. Strange when he was still a vignette in Strange Tales, battling Mordo and Dormammu in ten pages an issue sandwiched between The Human Torch and Nick Fury back when he was white. It was nice seeing the origins of Strange, back when he was just a black magic sorcerer and not the Sorcerer Supreme. Clea, Dormmamu, Wong was in like two panels. This was fun. It just wasn't good.
This is supposed to be a remastered HD Bluray recolored version of these old comics and it still mostly looks like crap. The stories are ok, but they're a lot better when they do them again in Dr. Strange or in Dr. Strange Sorcerer Supreme. Here in Strange Tales though, they're kinda crap.
For me, personally, its ok, its a fun read. I can imagine nine out of ten people would give this a negative star review, and the people who would actually enjoy this comic are a very rare breed. If you actually want to jump into Dr. Strange, definitely go for any of the collected Dr. Strange or Dr Strange Sorcerer Supreme stories, those are great. Skip Strange Tales unless you like Silver Age stuff. I've enjoyed very little Silver Age stuff and even as a Strange fan this is definitely more on the meh side.
Its fun to see Dr. Strange when he was still a vignette in Strange Tales, battling Mordo and Dormammu in ten pages an issue sandwiched between The Human Torch and Nick Fury back when he was white. It was nice seeing the origins of Strange, back when he was just a black magic sorcerer and not the Sorcerer Supreme. Clea, Dormmamu, Wong was in like two panels. This was fun. It just wasn't good.
This is supposed to be a remastered HD Bluray recolored version of these old comics and it still mostly looks like crap. The stories are ok, but they're a lot better when they do them again in Dr. Strange or in Dr. Strange Sorcerer Supreme. Here in Strange Tales though, they're kinda crap.
For me, personally, its ok, its a fun read. I can imagine nine out of ten people would give this a negative star review, and the people who would actually enjoy this comic are a very rare breed. If you actually want to jump into Dr. Strange, definitely go for any of the collected Dr. Strange or Dr Strange Sorcerer Supreme stories, those are great. Skip Strange Tales unless you like Silver Age stuff. I've enjoyed very little Silver Age stuff and even as a Strange fan this is definitely more on the meh side.
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