Doctor Strange Epic Collection, Vol. 2: I, Dormammu

Doctor Strange Epic Collection

by Stan Lee, Roy Thomas, Bill Everett

Doctor Strange is back - brought to you by the occult imaginings of Stan Lee, Bill Everett, Marie Severin and Dan Adkins! With a roll call of classic creators like that, this Epic Collection is anything but cursed. Doctor Strange's adventures will take him across the cosmos and into new dimensions as he struggles to save Earth from Kaluu, Umar and the judgment of the Living Tribunal! Then, in his own solo series at last, Doctor Strange gains one of his greatest creative teams of all Roy Thomas, Gene Colan and Tom Palmer! This trio of talents will pit the Master of the Mystic Arts against Eternity and Dormammu - with the lives of Clea and Victoria Bentley hanging in the balance! Collecting DOCTOR STRANGE (1968) #169-179, AVENGERS (1963) #61, and material from STRANGE TALES (1951) #147-168 and NOT BRAND ECHH #13.

Genres: Comics, Marvel, Graphic Novels

504 pages, Paperback

First published January 9, 2024

About the author

Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber) was an American writer, editor, creator of comic book superheroes, and the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics.

With several artist co-creators, most notably Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, he co-created Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, Thor as a superhero, the X-Men, Iron Man, the Hulk, Daredevil, the Silver Surfer, Dr. Strange, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Scarlet Witch, The Inhumans, and many other characters, introducing complex, naturalistic characters and a thoroughly shared universe into superhero comic books. He subsequently led the expansion of Marvel Comics from a small division of a publishing house to a large multimedia corporation.

Reviews

[Sean Gibson · Rating 4 out of 5]

He's not THAT Strange. Dr. Bit Odd, maybe.

I'm kidding. This is a wildly uneven collection, but once Roy Thomas and Gene Colan hit their stride together, things get, well, magical.

[Gary Sassaman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve been waiting for this volume for a long time. Marvel’s Epic Collections are not published in numeric order, so volumes 1 and 3 of Doctor Strange have been out for a few years. This volume bridges the gap between all the Steve Ditko stories (Volume 1) and the start of the Steve Englehart/Frank Brunner run (Volume 3). It contains the DS stories from Strange Tales #147 through #168, and the Doctor Strange title from #169 through #178, plus Avengers #61, which concludes the story from DS #178. It’s another mixed bag, with various artists—including Bill Everett, Marie Severin, and Dan Adkins—trying to emulate Ditko with their depictions of the various dimensions ol’ Doc has his adventures in. I’m actually very fond of Adkins’s art, even though it’s filled with some very recognizable swipes (the cover to EC Comics’s M.D. #1 immediately springs to mind). Things calm down a bit when Gene Colan takes over and with Tom Palmer’s inks, Doctor Strange settles into a comfortable groove written by Roy Thomas. Palmer even pencils and inks one issue, a rarity indeed. The stories themselves are decent, getting Doc out there into those dimension-spanning adventures that Ditko made famous, but he’s a tough act to follow. I think Ditko’s Doctor Strange is pretty much the high-point of his career, at least at Marvel, admittedly over-shadowed by Spider-Man, but that might just be me.

[RunningRed NightBringer · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of Doctor Strange stories from the 1960s Strange Tales when Doc shared the title with Nick Fury through it's rebranding as Doctor Strange (keeping the existing numbering, cause who cares). This is back before Stephen earned the title of Sorcerer Supreme, being a mere Master of the Mystic Arts.
Stephen faces various threats, visits various dimensions, briefly tries on a blue mask.
It's a fun little collection.

My only dislike, which I guess could be directed to the style of of the times, is the comic is too wordy. So much "Tell, don't show." Not just Strange, but every character, seemed to have this need to narrate the hell out of what they were doing or thinking. It really, really slowed the pacing down.

[Clayton Dana-Bashian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dr Strange is my favorite Marvel character by a country mile, but this is one of the weaker early collections. The Umar and Zom are pretty poor filler arcs that end with a deus ex machina, and Victoria Bentley/Clea is a contrived conflict. That being said, Strange’s origin and the return of Dormammu are narratively and visually arresting, respectively. The fight against Surtur and Ymir with the Avengers is only okay, but the rest of the Sons of Satannish storyline is excellent.

An uneven collection, but all my homies love Dr Strange.

[Lee Bright · Rating 5 out of 5]

A truly epic collection indeed! I love these early Doc Strange comics, I was slightly worried after Stan stopped writing them and Ditko stopped drawing them, but I needn't have worried, the issues contained here are excellent and the longer story format when Strange gets his own mag really expands on the character and his world.

[Al McCarty · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did not read ever word of this volume. The verbiage, by Lee and then Thomas, is nearly unreadable. Like much of their work. The art, by Severin, Everett, Adkins and Colan/Palmer is pretty darned good.

[Lee Boyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read via Marvel Unlimited app

[Gabriel Rojo · Rating 4 out of 5]

5 stars for the artwork, 3 for the stories. Not even close in story quality to volumes 1 and 3, but still enjoyable.

[Chad Olson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Doctor Strange deals with the aftermath of previously defeating Dormammu

[Doug Duncan · Rating 4 out of 5]

the first part of this book is solid but nothing crazy, but I found once it became a solo series that I liked it a lot more.

[Bob Wolniak · Rating 3 out of 5]

OK, I bought this because I am a sucker for the early career of Gene Colan's whispy, fantasy ladened penciling in several series, especially well suited to Dr. Strange. But actually, a lot of this volume is really Dan Green's artistic vision too, and I have to say he did a stellar job.

[Bob · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gems include the debuts of Cosmic Cauldron, Conquering Kaluu, Demons of Denak, Unspeakable Umar, Unliving who Live, Veritas, Zom the Destroyer, Living Tribunal, Circle Sinister, kaiju ant, Nebulos Lord of the Planets Perilous, kaiju slug, Yandroth the Scientist Supreme, Votorg the Lightning Robot, Dykorrs, Faceless Herald of Satannish, Lord Nekron, & Supreme Satannish, 1st Strange v. Mindless 1s, Ancient 1 betrays Strange, Strange scalps Zom at Stonehenge, Strange slays Nebulos, & Dormammu summons Mad Maelstrom.

Lowlights include, despite the amazing Gene Colan art, the resurrection of Ancient 1, & Strange’s blue costume