Doctor Strange, Vol. 1: The Life of Doctor Strange

Doctor Strange (2023)

by Jed MacKay, Pasqual Ferry, Andy MacDonald

Collects Doctor Strange (2023) #1-5.

Stephen Strange is alive! Reunited with Clea and Wong, it's back to business for the Sorcerer Supreme when an unending sleeping sickness strikes the children of Bleecker Street! There can only be one culprit behind this attack - and now it's up to Doctor Strange and Clea to travel into the Dream Dimension to confront their old foe, Nightmare. But all is not what it seems, and what they discover will shock them! Then, when a cult summons the Dread Dormammu to New York, Stephen must risk everything in order to defeat his most dangerous foe! Wong takes on a new role - as an Agent of W.A.N.D.! Dark wedding bells are ringing for Clea's mother, Umar the Unrelenting - but who is she marrying?! And Doctor Strange shares a magical adventure with Sister Grimm of the Runaways!

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

137 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 4, 2023

Reviews

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

"When you are confronted with illness, you go to the doctor to find out what's wrong and to be made well again. But when you are confronted with magic . . . then it is Doctor Strange who you consult." -- the opening lines of dialogue, via our titular Master of the Mystic Arts

Lots of strongly positive reviews for this one, but I found it to be merely adequate. Vol. 1: The Life of Doctor Strange worked best when the subtle humor would sneak into the conversations of heroes or villains - like the cutaway scenes featuring the upstart and adventurous Agents of W.A.N.D. trio - or the brief early moments when some super-heroic friends such as Spider-Man and She-Hulk were requesting 'house calls' from the good doctor for his mystical assistance. Otherwise, the volume felt a bit overstuffed with the otherworldly gibberish but yet also resulted in a sort of thin storyline.

[Subham · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a fascinating read and I loved it so much.

We have Stephen coming back to life and he is going through his usual happenings and helping people and it's like a return to status quo and it feels like the start of a great run and I love it.

Here we have arcs focused on him helping children like helping a girl from her nightmare and fighting that villain, teaming with his wife to banish evil spirits and the murder of Aggamon happens and what will he do then, the parlay day story with Dormammu was interesting and then the one with the marriage of Umar and Tiboro was interesting. And who is it that's been killing people?!

This story was so good, and truly it's like the type of comic I have been wanting from Marvel and Jed excels at it. Like really utilising the rogues gallery of a hero and showing new sides to them and also focusing on their relationships and what makes them unique, actually progressing the character which feels like a forethought at marvel these days. So yeah definitely read it and you will find a twist you will love.

Also the whole stuff with Wong and Wand is interesting and a good addition to Strange mythos.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars. Doctor Strange is back in the land of the living and helping fellow heroes out tackling demons that ran wild while he was gone. Bigger mystery tho is that someone is using children shielded by mystic armor to take out magic using demons, monsters, etc etc. Nightmare has also been hemmed up in his own realm. He is afraid of Doctor Strange as he believes the doctor is the one who did this to him. However, Strange has no idea what he’s talking about. Hmmm. Aggamon, the leader of the purple dimension, has also been killed. Pandora of W.A.N.D. thinks Clea may be behind that. She has told Stephen it wasn’t her so he believes her. Then we get to the wedding of Umar, Clea’s mother. The wedding gets crashed and attacked by General Stephan Strange? Yeah I don’t know who that is either. But I’m still looking forward to the next volume to learn more.

[James DeSantis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Doctor Strange is great!

Jed MacKay is seriously putting out banger after banger here. With this Dr. Strange serious following his own with Clea I was a bit worried. That series was super fun and I've never been the biggest fan of Strange himself but luckily the married couple shine as they go insane adventures together only soon having to figure out who's killing who and by the end, it got me hooked to see where we go next.

It's just a ton of fun. The sharp dialogue, the great side cast, the awesome art that adds to the series. I really just sit back and enjoy reading this series. Death of Doctor Strange, which started MacKay's run was decent but since then it's been great. I hope it continues this way!

[Mohan Vemulapalli · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Doctor Strange: The Life of Doctor Strange" is a fun , fast paced and slightly frenetic book that follows Stephen Strange as he returns to the ranks of the living and finds that the demands for his mystical-medical services are running rampant. The antics that ensue are as zany as one would expect but eventually coalesce with Stephen and Clea focusing on astrally abducted children and a slew of recently murdered "Big Bads".

This book also has a significant focus on Pandora and Wong as they rebuild W.A.N.D., S.H.I.E.L.D.'s paranormal branch, recruit The Freaky Doctor Zee to the team and take on a backlog of whack-a-doodle magical crimes. In fact, some of the best moments of the book concern W.AN.D. and one can only hope that this team will get its own book before its storyline completely overshadows that of Stephen and Clea.

Expect a kill squad of naughty fembot nurses, lots of mystical outpatients, Hong Kong gangster vampires, the worst promotion ever, a quiet walk in the park with the dread Dormammu, In-Law problems and the wedding from hell.

[Paxton Holley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was awesome.

I love Clea and Stephen. Their relationship is like Nick and Nora Charles. It’s this wonderfully flirty back and forth. They obviously love and completely support each other. And Clea is super strong and awesome in her own right.

I love this series.

[Frédéric · Rating 3 out of 5]

A welcome return to business for the resurrected Sorcerer Supreme. Rather humorous little sketches against a darker main subplot of murder(s). The backups- notably W.A.N.D's- are as forgetabble as innocuous. Same goes for Ferry’s art, which I’ve seen more inspired already.
Light, playful and perfectly enjoyable even if it doesn't set out to be a future milestone.

[ShamNoop · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jed MacKay is officially my favourite writer at Marvel.

[Adam Fisher · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Master of the Mystic Arts returns, taking back his title and mantle from his wife Clea! Nothing is ever easy for the Sorcerer Supreme, and so he dives right back into all the craziness.
Highlights:
- After interfering with his taking of slaves, Strange and Clea speak with Aggamon of the Purple Dimension about his actions. Soon after, he is found dead, and Clea is the main suspect, though she didn't do it.
- Pandora Peters and Wong have joined together to reform W.A.N.D. and they decide to recruit a villain in the interests of helping him go through reform. Doktor Zee is a master of hallucinogens, and now will use them for the greater good .
- Time has come again for Parley Day, and so Strange must spend the day with Dormammu, which is both hilarious and weird.
- Clea and Strange attend Umar (Clea's mom) and Tiboro's wedding, which is tense anyways since they were two of his murderers.... but nothing could prepare for the arrival of a new warlord, pissed off and slightly confusing General Stephen Strange.

Overall, a pretty explosive Volume, and wonderful for new readers as well as old. Definitely will be continued on my list. Recommend.

[Alex Sarll]

Jed MacKay's Strange has now had three ostensible Volume 1s out of four volumes total, rivalling even Aaron's Thor, but it has at least left him in a good place, with Stephen back from the dead (quelle surprise) and reunited with estranged and pleasingly murderous (towards the deserving, rather than Stephen) wife Clea. The two of them ping between supernatural situations in a way that leaves each issue satisfying in itself, while also laying a trail for a larger story; this approach also enables MacKay to draw in pet characters like Black Cat and Moon Knight, as well as nodding to of all things the British government's persistent, farcical and vile attempts to deport refugees to Rwanda, not a story I'd ever have expected a non-UK Marvel writer to get involved with. Pasqual Ferry's elegant art helps lock down the vibe as somewhere near a bloodier and slightly less pissed Thin Man.

[Tyler Jenkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Doctor Strange is back from the dead and has reassumed the title of Sorcerer Supreme. And this time, his wife Clea is sticking around so they can be a proper couple. The art on this series has been phenomenal and every cover just blows me away. The story of grand multi dimensional beings being murdered and Strange having to figure out who is doing it is great. Someone is killing his enemies but he has to put a stop to it.

[Dakota Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seems like a common theme in this Jed MacKay-heavy era of Marvel comics that all protagonists must start some kind of superhero detective agency. That's the case with Moon Knight and Scarlet Witch, and it's mostly the case here with Strange, Clea, and Nu W.A.N.D. as they clean up after old W.A.N.D. and address the many issues that have arisen since Strange's resurrection.

Fortunately for Doctor Strange, his whole schtick absolutely fits "adventure of the week" mode, so the handful of little one-hitters in The Life of Doctor Strange are a total delight. The highlight: Strange and Dormammu snarkily hashing out their adversarial past for a very surprising purpose! I even enjoyed the W.A.N.D. issue, an agency which I sort of expected to forget about after Clea's run as Sorceress Supreme ended.

The overarching mystery sees numerous Sorcerors Supreme being murdered - by whom?! Strange and Clea are on the case, of course. The twist conclusion finds General Strange (a clone of our Doctor perhaps?) as the culprit. Also worth noting: the artwork here is fantastic, totally befitting the often slightly trippy Strange vibes. Can't wait to continue this run!

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

As much fun as it is to see Stephen and Clea get to be a fun, magical power couple and solve issues, there isn't enough meat on the bone here, but maybe it doesn't need to be. The issue of him parlaying with Dormamu was actually great, some good zingers in there, even if it kept bringing up old stories.
Ends on enough of a enticing cliffhanger to keep me reading. Art ranged from good to meh.
Love the little recurring bit of the Eye of Aggamoto just LEERING at Dormamu or his enemies.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Strange x Clea finally under my gaze, I love my parents so much 😌🙌🏻

[Elisha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m excited for this new Doctor Strange storyline! I like how Doctor Strange and Clea are truly a good match for each other. It’s awesome seeing a healthy relationship portrayed in the comics.

[Tyler · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was not a Doctor Strange reader before this run but picked up the first issue. Read as individual comics, ratings below:
#1= 4 stars
#2= 3 stars
#3= 5 stars
#4= 2.5 stars
#5= 4 stars
Overall rating of 4 stars

[Lenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yes folks I still read comics sometimes. This one was mostly entertaining! I like the balance of adventures in the cosmic universe while grounding it in Stephen and Clea's relationship. It's great that Clea is more dangerous and mysterious, with wacky family dynamics that I wanted a lot more of. I wish their long-term married relationship was given more complexity & depth like Scott and Barda of Mister Miracle. The third issue could have been an email. The art was messy the first two issues, guest artist was unremarkable, but things felt cleaner in the final two issues, and I loved the use of color. Big reveal was kind of a dud, but I'm not a faithful Strange reader, so maybe it had more impact on folks who know things. Looking forward to volume two.

[Timothy Grubbs · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wedding and multiple funerals spell dark times for the return of Stephen Strange…

Doctor Strange By Jed Mackay Vol. 1: The Life Of Doctor Strange by Jed MacKay see the return of the Sorcerer Supreme…this time working in tandem with his wife and love Clea…

Stephen and Clea Strange are working together both in New York and abroad to deal with magical threats (and the occasional house call)…

Meanwhile Wong agent of WAND continues his new work as a secret agent of the magical world, only to find unusual cases of evil magical monsters and sorcerers turning up brutally killed…and the list of suspects continues to decrease as more malevolent victims turn up…

Lastly…are those wedding bells? Stephen Strange is only recently returned to life to find his mother in law (Dormannu’s sister) getting married…to an arch lord of another dimension…and of course any good wedding is gonna have wedding crashers…

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have not read the Death of Doctor Strange yet, but I do not feel like I am missing much as far as this story goes.
The art is very not good. Low detail, dark or light, and kind of cartoony. It's not bad for some of the landscapes and creatures, but the people are lacking.
They story is that Doctor Strange has (shockingly) returned from the dead (such an original idea). Now, magic users are turning up dead, including several who participated in killing Doctor Strange. So basically, Strange, and especially his wife, Clea, are suspects.
Wong now works for the W.A.N.D. agency that is investigating the murders. W.A.N.D. is new to me, and must have been featured in the previous volume or two of Doctor Strange. I probably should have read these in order, but this is not a bad jumping on place for new readers as anything is going to be somewhat incomplete for a 60 year old character.
I just wish the art was better.

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Newly returned to life, Doctor Strange reunites with his wife Clea and best friend Wong (plus Bats, the talking ghost dog, everyone's bestest boy) just in time for mysterious murders to sweep the magical worlds of the Marvel Universe. Has Clea gone off the rails, or is something worse afoot?

Jed MacKay's Doctor Strange run continues nicely, growing out of the Death Of Doctor Strange and his Strange series. Clea remains at the forefront, which is good news as I was worried that she might be pushed aside now that Stephen is back, but they're co-leads in every sense of the word. The mystery of the story unfolds neatly, with enough references to the ultimate reveal that it's not a complete surprise, but still has enough twists and turns to be unpredictable. Plus Wong and WAND's story is still unfolding, which could honestly support its own book with the amount of story potential going on there.

Pasqual Ferry takes over art duties, and his style has always lent itself to the ethereal and mystical. Andy MacDonald also shows up for an issue, but it's the one that moves the focus over to Wong, so it feels right to have someone else at the helm for that.

MacKay may be relaunching, but his story doesn't miss a beat. Magical stuff.

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very strong start to the new series. Clea is an equal partner as she and Stephen Strange go about dealing with all manner of magical threats. Wong has become an agent of W.A.N.D., a SHIELD-like organization that deals with magical problems. When someone starts killing Dr. Strange's enemies, the two story strands start to come together, as everyone suspects it might be Stephen's wife behind the murders. Some excellent artwork throughout this volume as well. About the only misstep is a strange, short little vignette that features Nico Minoru from the Runaways--I don't know what that's shoe-horned in near the end, but it kind of detracts from everything else. Jed MacKay is proving himself to be one of Marvel's best writers.

[C.J. Edmunds · Rating 5 out of 5]

You can’t keep a good, or should I say, kick-ass Doctor down. Not when he’a this “Strange!”

Back from the Dead, Stephen Strange is realizing the changes that have happened while he was gone and left for dead. And more changes are coming his way.

From the newly revitalized relationship with Clea, the murder of another Sorcerer Supreme from
Another dimension, to his foe Nightmare pinning his circumstances on him and Umar getting married to Tiboro (say what now?), it’s never a dull moment with Dr. Stephen Strange!

A deepening of the lore.

Best read after you’ve read, “The Death of Doctor Strange” and the 2 volume collection of Clea taking on the mantle of “Strange”!

[Raul Reyes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maybe this is more deserving of 3.5 stars but after the mess that was the Jason Aaron run I’m happy this was as good as it was, I’m probably going to the read the death of doctor strange and strange since I enjoyed it so much.

This had enough setting up of the plot so the volume didn’t feel pointless, but it still had enough filler/fun stuff to keep me entertained, I’m sad that nightmare wasn’t the main villain since I read it for him, but I really liked the dynamic between clea and strange. The back up stories weren’t the best tho, although as long they info dump on there and not the main story I’m ok

[Rocky Sunico · Rating 4 out of 5]

MacKay also worked on the Moon Knight series I just started reading and both titles are surprisingly good! This new iteration of Strange is a nice celebration of the legacy of the character down to bringing Clea back into the picture. Sure, there was the little bit about dying, but the Doctor is back now and he has a lot of problems to clean up given his absence.

There's a bigger plot brewing, of course, because these books always need that sort of thing. But I appreciate how they made sure to give us time to get to know how this Doctor Strange will handle things. And there's something about him that feels very classic in tone and yet the stories are a lot more dynamic.

[Khurram · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good book. Doctor Strange is back. Good artwork, great characters, and a good story. I really like how everything comes together at the end.

Doctor Strange is grateful to be back, with the pleasure and pressure of life as the Sorcerer Supreme. However, he is not alone his wife Clea Strange is the Warlord of Manhattan, and Wong is part of the new Agents of W.A.N.D. As much as he appreciates her support, he sometimes needs to curb her more violent tendencies. Especially as many magical villains (especially those involved in Doctor Strange's death) are dying. Who is responsible?

A great start to the new Doctor Strange series. Jeb Mackay is working his magic the same way he did for Moon Knight (who might make an appearance here). I just don't know why he hates Spider-man? The book finishes with a varient cover gallery.

[Sesana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic. I love how this grows naturally out of the whole Death of Stephen Strange stuff, not just brushing it aside. Clea is a co-lead, so much so that this book might as well be called The Stranges. I liked that, Clea is an interesting character and makes a good contrast to Stephen. I also love Wong and WAND as a concept, so much that I really want a spinoff series. The story starts off a little slow but quickly turns into something that I'm excited to see play out in the next volume. Yet another fantastic title from MacKay, who I think is my favorite Marvel writer now.

[Joey Amorim · Rating 4 out of 5]

As someone who’s read very little Doctor Strange, I found this volume very solid and easy to follow. I appreciated the very casual slice-of-life tone the beginning issues go for, and even the W.A.N.D. focused issues had a fun wacky energy to them that keep you from begging to get back to the main plot. Now that I’m getting more familiar with his work, I’m starting to see why Jed MacKay is getting such a big push at Marvel.

[Timothy Pitkin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A more chill Dr. Strange story as we just follow Dr. Strange who just came back to life on some mini adventures that while some are still him dealing with world ending threats to him it is just another day in the week. And I do like seeing what a week looks like for Dr. Strange one day he is helping Spidey, next he is dealing with a man possessed by Dormammu. It is not like an amazing read but it is a different type of read as it just has this relaxed feel to it.

[Travis Duke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Doc Strange is back from the dead. Now he has Clea by his side and is ready to work again. After some house cleaning, we get to the story and it was pretty good. Dark sorcerers are getting murdered and one sorcerer supreme is already dead. Everyone is pointing the finger at Clea but Strange trusts her....until we find out who the killer is at the end. Cool twist that will push me to read vol.2

[Myles Gerber · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first Doctor Strange book, and I really enjoyed it! Strange has such a fascinating skill set and array of enemies and I loved learning about them. Seeing his daily life was so much fun, I’m really enjoying the agents of W.A.N.D. and some of the art is awesome! It wasn’t the most new reader friendly book, which is why I’m docking points, because I believe volume ones should be like that, but I still enjoyed this read quite a bit!