Doctor Strange: Strange Tales

Strange Tales (1987) #1-19

by Peter B. Gillis, Chris Warner (Illustrator), Terry Shoemaker (Illustrator)

It's Dr. Strange as you've never seen him before: as an eye-patch-wearing wielder of black magic! See him take on the deadliest foes in any dimension: Khat, Erlik Khan, Shuma-Gorath, Enitharmon the Weaver and more! Guest-starring the Defenders, Valkyrie, Cloak and Dagger, and some of Strange's closest friends - including Rintrah, Topaz, Clea and Wong! Collecting the Dr. Strange stories from STRANGE TALES (1987) #1-19 and the Cloak & Dagger story from #7.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Marvel, Fantasy, Superheroes, Graphic Novels Comics, Fiction

240 pages, Paperback

First published October 10, 1988

About the author

Peter B. Gillis (born December 19, 1952) is an American comic book writer best known for his work at Marvel Comics and First Comics in the mid-1980s, including the series Strikeforce: Morituri and the digitally drawn comic series Shatter.

Reviews

[Sophia · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I appreciate the journey Dr Stephen Strange went through in these pages, it’s really hard to remember everything that happened in the last 19 issues (not that I read every one).
Kind of tells me all I need to know about this collection of stories.

I mean, it’s partially my fault, taking (exactly to the day) a year and a half to read this.

What I’m going to do from now on is read anthology series or issues for a particular character in one go.
Anyway, that’s not relevant for this collected edition.

Something else that didn’t help is that a lot of the beginning issues were dealing with the fall out of some other story that I didn’t read. (Not even sure what comics they were).

I actually enjoyed the storyline where Stephen was so completely not like himself but we couldn’t sit in that difference because it was over far too quickly. It took over half of the CE to get to that point and only 2 issues to bring him back to normal!

I did like that right at the end, it seemed that Stephen used the lessons he learned to make things right. As well as pass those lessons on.

I don’t know what I’m hoping to see in the series that spins off from these issues but I hope it’ll at least be memorable!


Link to individual status updates:
Issue #1│Issue #2│Issue #3│Issue #4│Issue #5│Issue #6│Issue #7│Issue #8-10│Issue #11-12│Issue #13│Issue #14│Issue #15│Issue #16│Issue #17│Issue #18│Issue #19

[H (trying to keep up with GR friends) Balikov · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dr. Strange has a long history in Marvel Comics. I expect that more people will want to delve into it later this year after they see Benedict Cumberbatch playing the Master of the Mystic Arts in the Sorcerer Supreme’s first big-budget feature movie.

This collection is the reboot of the series in the 1980s starting with Strange Tales #1. It is okay to start here even if you haven’t steeped yourself in the saga of Baron Mordo or understood the role of The Ancient One.

Stephen Strange was a physician/surgeon who could no longer practice when his hands were damaged in an accident. He sunk into a deep depression. Eventually, he journeyed to the Himalayan Mountains where he encountered an isolated lamasery. There he met The Ancient One and started on the path to becoming Sorcerer Supreme. This storyline takes place decades later after Dr. Strange has sacrificed many of his powers and artifacts to save the lives of his friends. Now he must face the consequences – and he must struggle with the knowledge that his previous actions may have opened this world to the dark forces. He has sworn to be the protector of this dimension but can he do so with his reduced powers? Can he do so without using some of those dark powers that he has forsworn? And, can he survive without love; love that he has shelved in order to function as the Master of the Mystic Arts?

Don’t expect long soliloquies or extended musings on these, pilgrims. (This may not be Steve Ditko, but) This is Marvel!

[Jonathan Ammon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this collection of Strange stories from his STRANGE TALES run. The stories take on darker material as Strange begins to compromise his moral positions in order to win battles and defend the earth. There's some really interesting material and ideas here and real stakes as more people die in this run than in probably all of the Strange comics until now combined. There's a touch of subversive material as well. Yes, sometimes the stories and dialogue feel a little rushed, but the ideas are great. Chris Warner is a marvel as always, and I also greatly enjoy Richard Case's work. Dr. Strange was sharing half of these issues with Cloak and Dagger, but the stories don't feel short at all. This means the pages were packed with panels and the art didn't always have room to breathe or space to be developed, but I found it to be consistently quality and never disappointing with the exception of some overly stylized cover art from other artists.

[J · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great compilation of the Dr. Strange stories published in the Strange Tales series of the 80s. The art and writing are typically 80s (great if you like it, not great if you don't). Strange battles a number of foes, both well-known and lesser-known. It is pretty easily digestible for someone looking to learn more about Strange and his world (enemies, powers, history, etc.), so you don't need to be a Dr. Strange aficionado. Great fun, not too heavy, and perhaps nostalgic, I really enjoyed this book.

[Jdetrick · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dr. Strange is one of those characters that many writers don't seem able to work on unless they drastically change his status quo. Peter Gillis does that in these stories, and while he has some interesting ideas, his execution is lacking. Concepts on which significant time should be spent are brushed over, and Dr. Strange does very in heroic things. It's a disappointing collection.

[Stephen Snyder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Do the ends truly justify the means? This question is at the heart of this graphic novel. Not an easy question to answer. This novel will really make you think.

A great read! A must read for any Dr. Strange fan!

BRAVO!

Thank you for the loan Franklin Public Library.

[Jin · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Long and dark adventure for Dr. Strange. Remarkable story-telling by Gillis! A true collection of well fought battles by the Master of Mystic Arts!"

[Lynda · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little darker than I usually like, but still engrossing.

[Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

So much different from the early Doctor Strange stories that I am the most familiar with. Those stories were fairly self-contained and when they had a story arc, it may have lasted a few issues at the most. This collection includes the Strange stories from the entire run of Strange Tales (published in 1987). And this series is basically one long continuing story. Big downside is that they explain what happened in a previous story that set this all up. I wish that I had read that previous story as it may have set this up better than just being reminded every issue.

While the writer doesn't change, the art does. And unfortunately, the early Chris Warner art is much better than the Richard Case art that makes up the majority of the book. It isn't terrible, but it does look like a lot of the typical sloppy work done in the late 80's through most of the Marvel books. Cover art is by Brett Blevins (uncredited in this book) and Kevin Nowlan. It's really great and makes me wish either of those artists handled the interiors as well.

[Chris Browning · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s never great, but there’s something incredibly entertaining about this book that reminds me of the thrill of reading second tier comics in the eighties - not the greats or the classics, but those weird ones you’d find in old newsagents which were years out of date and when you had some pocket money left over. Actually it’s quite a good idea to compress an epic story over a bunch of shorter episodes than normal, because the hugeness of the plot but the pithiness of the instalments makes it feel closer to an old thirties cinema serial which is what I imagine Gillis is going for. I prefer my Doctor Strange significantly stranger than this, but it’s entertaining and there’s a particularly mad frame on page 85 where someone shouts “it’s Tim Curry!” as a non sequitur joke which instead is just amusingly baffling, like some sort of comic Tourette’s syndrome

[Jimbo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I never read these stories from Strange Tales, but I was impressed by Pete B Gillis's stories. Doctor Strange's decent into dark magic because of his love for his friends, or rather his family, is a brilliant concept of being the evil to beat evil and finding redemption in the end.
Bringing back and enemy of the Ancient One from the sixties stories of Strange and using him as a "friend and mentor" in the black magic world was an impressive connective tissue throughout Stranges stories. Even using the New Defenders.
It is a sad thing that Gillis passed away last year. His storytelling will be missed.

[Tan Clare · Rating 4 out of 5]

The 80s style of art takes a bit of getting used to. However, Strange's journey was rather interesting, especially his grudging partnership with Kuluu, which eventually turned into healthy respect. Also helps that it shows Kuluu as a more comprehensive character who is on his own journey.

[Zach · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little bit too rushed of a story but still a good read if you're into Dr. Strange.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5... rounded up for nostalgia :)

[Steven · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a long strange trip it's been...well, is, as it ain't over 'til the fat Vishanti sings a closing spell.

This volume collects the entirety of the Doctor Strange run from the revived STRANGE TALES comic (where Strange began his life), and things get more than a little confusing, given that it follows a lengthy run in the second volume of his namesake comic. Strange has returned from a tremendous battle, exhausted, and depowered as his Sanctum Sanctorum has been battered and many of his tools and artifacts destroyed to stop a rival sorcerer -- and all the things those artifacts kept at bay are now trying to come back.

Desperate times, then, call for desperate measures, and Strange finds himself turning to the Dark Side, embracing the perils of, gasp, black magic...but, wait, from the beginning he was described as a black magic practitioner, and even as a necromancer. Oh dear.... "I've just killed my first man!" he exclaims tearfully at one point...apparently he's forgotten the other men, demons, and assorted beings he's knocked off over the years. There's also a lot of "I must be an ascetic and deny myself the pleasures of love!" thing going on, which, errr, well, for the longest time he was knockin' boots with his disciple/apprentice, Clea, and not shy abut his feelings, either.

So, all of that made things a little awkward. The story itself has Strange joining an old enemy of the Ancient One to blast through to the worst of the dark forces, which turns out to be our old friend Shuma-Gorath. To do this, Strange has to do bad things, swallow a ton of darkness, and eventually merge with the randomly-appearing Arioch, Lord of Chaos (best known from Michael Moorcock's works), which blows up Strange's ego and gives him long flowing blonde locks.

Eventually it's over, Strange gets an intervention to clear him up (seriously), and we're back in business as the guardian of the light, blah blah blah. Amends are made in one case, and help is given to a tortured soul in another.

It's odd, but I remember Gillis' run on Strange being one of the really *good* ones....

[Christopher Rush · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a pretty good, mostly self-contained, story from beginning to end. For those who don't spend much time with Dr. Strange, this is a pretty good place to start. He does deal with the occult at times, which gets a bit weird, but it's no Sandman or Swamp Thing, so it's fairly tame in comparison. The story is a follow-up to a major event of Strange's life: having sacrificed a number of his powerful talismans and amulets in a recent battle with a major villain, Strange returns to find all the ancient enchantments preventing the Ancient Evil Ones from invading Earth are gone - the world is in serious trouble. Making things worse, Strange soon starts on the downward path to being a black magician, no longer fit to wear the Eye of Agamotto or use the spells he has grown accustomed to for so long. He needs to restart his career, re-find himself, and re-discover what his life and purpose are: all the while making up for wrongs against friends and loved ones and, oh yes, preventing the darkest, most powerful evils ever from destroying the world. All this in 20 12-page increments. Though some of the issues end somewhat abruptly, readers can go into this with great confidence it is an impressive, enjoyable story with a satisfactory conclusion. Artistically, it has the '80s written all over it, marking the end of the Jim Shooter era of Marvel and the beginning of the Tom DeFalco era (so still within the general second "golden age" high-water period of Marvel). I enjoy that, but others may not. I was glad to have read this.

[Artur Coelho · Rating 2 out of 5]

Doctor Strange é daquelas personagens da Marvel cujo conceito é mais interessante do que as histórias em si. Algo notório mesmo na época em que era escrito e ilustrado por Ditko, com um fantástico traço surreal. Este Strange Tales mostra bem isso. O conceito é bom, com o feiticeiro supremo a questionar-se, mergulhando num lado negro que terá de experimentar para atingir um novo patamar de pureza, mas as aventuras em si são lineares. A qualidade da ilustração também não é nada que mereça ser discutido. Típico dos comics dos anos 80, onde a atenção dada à estética ainda não se tinha tornado uma das marcas do género.

[Thomas · Rating 2 out of 5]

Great idea for a story but not executed very well, a lot of that had to do with the art which was very weak. The recoloring didn't do it any favors. Essentially Strange comes to the end of a long road of bad decisions that were essentially the ends justifying the means and then it's ok in the end. I got this cheap at a comics show, I enjoyed it well enough for the price I paid ($5) but by the Vishanti in no way is this worth the original $30 price.

[Nicole Westen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good introduction if you're not too familiar with the character. I came across him in a Deadpool comic and this was my next stop. The only thing that bothered me was the constant references to things that happened in other issues that were not contained in this volume. But I'm a completion-ist and it was more a reminder that I didn't start at the beginning than anything else.

[Atreyu]

i liked the fight at the end

[Alex Sarll]

I know it's not news to anyone that Big Two superhero comics tend to run in cycles, but it still surprised me how familiar this late eighties run was. It begins with Strange's power weakened, and terrible costs incurred by the decisions he must take to safeguard the world from the terrible things beyond it – you know, just like the recent Jason Aaron run. But the artists here all play the horror and the noir much straighter than Bachalo et al did that, and where the recent version found comedy in the awful meals Strange had to eat, and the terrifying fridge which housed them, here Strange's renunciations are straight tragedy – starting with his early insistence that he cannot love (which either plays against his occasional Matt Berry-esque portrayal as a serial shagger, or if it's only love and not sex that's off the table, could equally explain it). One of the supporting roles, at least initially, is his secretary, whose successor would play a similarly important and intermittent part under Aaron. And so forth. But this goes further, darker, stranger, more, with Stephen obliged to make genuinely unsettling decisions to save Earth from the Old Ones his own earlier actions freed, gradually losing his humanity, at first figuratively and later literally. The abiding tone is not anything one could plausibly call 'realism', but compared to some of the nonsense in earlier Strange runs, the characters are definitely recognisable as human (or at least, the human ones are). Call it superior cosmic melodrama, a torch since taken up by Gillis' fan and evangelist, and Marvel's best writer of the moment, Al Ewing. Fingers crossed that, once he's done turning the Hulk into their best book, Al likewise gets the keys to the Sanctum Sanctorum.