Doctor Strange: A Decade of Dark Magic

by Stuart Moore

Explore the Stories Behind the Legends

Doctor Strange, one of Marvel's most fascinating early characters, began at the hands of co-creators Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, and his ethereal voyages through other dimensions made him an important figure in 1960s culture.

From his first appearance in 1963, Strange captivated a wide range of readers. Over his first ten years, a succession of writers and artists-including Roy Thomas, Gene Colan, Gardner F. Fox, P. Craig Russell, Marie Severin, and notably Steve Englehart and Frank Brunner-expanded on Ditko's original mind-bending concepts.

This entry in the MARVEL AGE OF COMICS explores Strange's changing roles as a mystic, super hero, and leader of a chaotic team called the Defenders, and the rise of his popularity, in parallel with the counterculture of the 1960s.

Genres: Marvel, Comics, Nonfiction

144 pages, Paperback

Published November 11, 2025

About the author

STUART MOORE is a writer, a book editor, and an award-winning comics editor.

Among his current writing projects are THE ZODIAC LEGACY, created and cowritten by Stan Lee and published by Disney, featuring an all-new team of teenaged super heroes in a series of illustrated prose novels and graphic novels; DOMINION: LAST SACRIFICE, a comic book series for Amazon/Jet City; and THANOS: DEATH SENTENCE, an original Marvel prose novel. Recent work includes EGOs, an original comic book series from Image Comics, and GARTER'S BIG SCORE, an original ebook novella for Kindle. He also contributed two series, TEACH and OUT WITH A BANG, to the launch of the online comics app Stela. Other comics work includes WOLVERINE NOIR and NAMOR: THE FIRST MUTANT (Marvel); FIRESTORM (DC Comics); assorted Star Trek and Transformers projects; and the science-fiction graphic novels EARTHLIGHT, PARA, SHADRACH STONE, and MANDALA. Prose writing includes the novel version of Marvel’s CIVIL WAR, and Disney Worldwide's JOHN CARTER: THE MOVIE NOVELIZATION.

Reviews

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks so much to NetGalley for the free Kindle book. My review is voluntarily given, and my opinions are my own.

Doctor Strange really isn't my favorite in the Marvel Universe, but then again, there are definitely worse characters. I really enjoyed this book, though, because almost everything I knew about the character came from the movies or quick Google searches. I haven't ever read any of the comics, recent or otherwise. I enjoyed reading all about the different comics and even seeing clips from the old comic books.

I definitely would recommend!

[Greg Bem · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good history of the comics. Lacks deeper analysis.

[Alex Sarll]

For my second Marvel Age book, I'm sticking with writers I have read talking about comics I haven't, though even then I've doubtless read more stuff Moore edited (he's a Vertigo veteran) than written. But for whatever reason (the acknowledgements thank a non-fiction veteran spouse for pointers), he feels like more of a natural fit for the project, perhaps less overawed than Paul Cornell was at getting paid to tell people about seventies Avengers. And to be clear, I say that having liked Cornell's book. But Moore is flashier without being flimsy, writes with an updated version of Stan Lee's conspiratorial patter, making the reader feel like they've lucked into an invite to an exclusive club, even as he heretically (though quite correctly) admits to wincing when transcribing some of Stan's riper dialogue. This survey follows Marvel's master of the mystic arts from his creation by Lee and Ditko through promotion to his own title, cancellation, the convening of the Defenders and one of Marvel's first relaunches, leaving him in the hands of Steve Englehart (who also loomed large in Cornell's book) and Frank Brunner. I'm not sure I could point to a grand thesis – though it's probably better at tying the art to the times than that Higgs Beatles misfire I just read*, especially when it parallels Ditko taking over the plotting with Dylan going electric. But Moore knows his stuff, offering solid insights on the differing approaches and strengths of the sundry writers and artists involved, and is fun to read even on the wobblier material, wrapping up with his own brief glimpses of Strange's creators, and maybe of the man himself.

*It's pure coincidence that I've been on such a sixties kick this past couple of weeks. Assuming you believe in coincidence, anyway.

(Netgalley ARC)

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

My thanks to NetGalley and Bloomsbury Academic for an advance copy of this book that looks at the origins for Marvel's Master of Magic, a look at the influential creators who helped shaped the stories, and the making of character who is still popular 60 years later.

My Grandmother was my hookup to the world of comics, buying one or two issues for me everytime I went to visit her. My Nan had nothing in the way of bias towards DC nor Marvel, I would even find copies of Harvey comics occasionally. I also never got complete story lines, but that is another story. Something else I never read was Doctor Strange. I don't ever remember stories featuring the Sorceror Supreme and his adventures. I don't know why, as I do remember getting Ghost Rider, and I think if she was getting characters with their heads on fire, Nan wasn't that picky. My knowledge of Strange came from his role in the Defenders, but even then he was not a character I cared much about. Later on my own buying back issues for everything I could I found Strange to be fascinating, mostly because of the Steve Ditko artwork. Reading this book makes me want to go back and read all those back issues again. Doctor Strange: A Decade of Dark Magic by writer comics creator and editor Stuart Moore is a history of the beginnings for the Mighty Master of the Mystic Arts, focusing on his origins, the cast of characters both good and evil and the many tribulations the comic faced both off and on the pages.

A down and out man appears in a comic panel, face grimy, with stubble, a cigarette and an aura of failure all around him. This was the introduction to Doctor Stephen Strange to the Marvel Universe. Once a famed surgeon with an ego to match, an accident took away both Strange's confidence in being a surgeon, and crippling his hands in way that he can never hold a scalpel. A visit to the mysterious Orient taught the good Doctor about a new world, a world of magic and mystery and many, many Marvels. Written by Stan Lee and a lot by Steve Ditko Strange started as a fill in issue, with nine page stories introducing him to readers, both mystical and all too human. Moore looks at the early stories, the importance of Ditko to the shaping of the character and the wonderful trippy art work. The adding of a supporting cast, Wong a servant who is more of an equal, the beautiful Clea and the evil foes he must face. The book follows Strange from supporting to starring role, starting his on self-titled comic, the leaving of Steve Ditko and the addition of various creators, joining the Defenders and much more.

Stuart Moore has been writing and editing comics for quite a while and is comfortable telling the story of the characters, and dealing with the behind the scenes problems. Why Ditko left the comic, the starting of the Strange series, the appearance of Spider-Man to get more people to read. Moore is quite good at this and makes for not only entertaining reading, but informative reading. The early stories are trippy, quasi-mystical and out there with characters like The Living Tribunal, Eternity and the Dread Dormmau. One gets a good sense at how seat-of-the-pants early Marvel comics were, the trust that Stan Lee had for his artists, and the fact that these crazy stories were aimed at children, with dialogue that might seem over-the-top today. However there is a freedom, an innocence and a feeling that anything can happen, something missing from many titles today.

I am enjoying this Marvel Age of Comics series quite a bit. This is only the second, but the respect, the knowledge, and well acknowledgment when things get goofy is realy quite good. And make for fun reading. I have enjoyed a lot by Stuart Moore over the years, I hope he writes more histories in this series. A series that will be of much interest to fans both new to comics, and for those old enough to remember to make mine Marvel.

[Justin Soderberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lastly, in the first entries into the Marvel Age of Comics , Stuart Moore deep dives into Doctor Strange.

Enter a world where reality bends, and magic reigns supreme. From psychedelic dimensions to counterculture cool, Doctor Strange was unlike anything else in comics. One of Marvel's most fascinating early characters, he began at the hands of co-creators Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, and his ethereal voyages through other dimensions made him an iconic figure in 1960s culture.

From his first appearance in 1963, Strange captivated a wide range of readers. Over his first ten years, a succession of writers and artists-including Roy Thomas, Gene Colan, Gardner F. Fox, P. Craig Russell, Marie Severin, and notably Steve Englehart and Frank Brunner-expanded on Ditko's original mind-bending concepts.

This entry in the Marvel Age of Comics explores Strange's changing roles as a mystic, super hero, and leader of a chaotic team called the Defenders, and the rise of his popularity, in parallel with the counterculture of the 1960s.

While there are a bunch of unique characters in the Marvel Universe, there is none quite like Doctor Strange. This is why Moore's deep dive into the early years this character is so important.

Doctor Strange has never really been one of my favorite characters in the Marvel Universe, but that is why this book was a lot of fun to read. Learning more about someone you are little less knowledgeable about is always fun in my book. Moore gives us just enough information as to not overwhelm us along the way.

Marvel Age of Comics: Doctor Strange: A Decade of Dark Magic hits bookstores everywhere on November 11, 2025 from Bloomsbury Academic. The audiobook, narrated by Jason Lasky, lands on Libro.fm on November 13.

NOTE: We received an advance copy of Marvel Age of Comics: Doctor Strange: A Decade of Dark Magic from the publisher. Opinions are our own.

[Bear Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great thanks to Bloomsbury Publishing, Libro.fm, and the American Library Association for the advanced listener copy. Please note that this was an audiobook, the information for which is not currently on Goodreads.

A fun little overview of the first 10 years of the character's publication history that occasionally provides some behind-the-scenes stories or historical context. The plot summaries are fine for what they are, but it did feel a bit light and I ended up craving more of the contextual information that informed the choices made both for creative and business purposes. While I suppose a history of Marvel Comics would cover the business side of things, something specific to the choices made with this character would be very interesting indeed.

Jason Lasky does a fine job with the narration, keeping the tone mostly conversational and inflecting voices for the sporadic character quotes. Your mileage may vary on how amusing you may find that; his "Hulk voice" amused me, his "Ancient One" voice not so much, but I enjoyed the effort all the same. One thing of note, though - he pronounced Dr. Strange co-creator Steve Ditko's name as "Deet-co," and not the traditional "Dit-co." That tripped me up a lot

Still, a decent and quick read. I'd love to see more of this sort of thing from Marvel, and hopefully it leads to more in-depth books as well.

[Theediscerning · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the three launch titles in a building series of academically-minded looks at Marvel comics of old, this is a good sign of great things. Even if I really dislike the heady nonsense of Doctor Strange and stories of that ilk. While other volumes will look at more or fewer original Marvel releases, this sticks to the first decade in Doctor Strange's career – including the ins and outs of the office responsible, the headlines of the day (Dylan, Altamont, Vietnam, etc), and just the barest smidgen of personal reportage.

In covering that decade, however, it covers more time than the rest of the volumes will ever hope to do – here we dash from 1973/4 to the dawn of time and back, making this an all-encompassing read. Yeah, the plot summaries here can be as succinct and dramatic as all that, and remove the bluff and bluster from Stan Lee's verbiage (or is that STAN!!! LEE'S!!!! VERBIAGE!!!!!!!!?), but the stories still pack too much nonsense in for my taste. But what is to my taste is the friendly approach at summing it all up and packaging it with the lesson of what it meant at the time and how it's fondly admired even now, by many. With fine and judicious visual samples of the originals, this is a healthy four stars, and I'd happily clock in for more of the same.

[Shanya Putri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, thank you for your service.

This book is a recap of impactful events from numerous issues of the comics, which created Doctor Strange’s lore. His story is more than a genius surgeon who gets humbled by an accident and then learns the mystic arts, beginning to see a different reality. It’s a great addition for anyone who is already interested in the MCU (if you’re okay with possible spoilers!).

I read the book (honestly for work) and listened to the audiobook at the same time! Thank you, Libro.fm and Bloomsbury Publishing for the ALC 🫶🏼

[Zachary · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Marvel Age of Comics is series of short books on specific topics, like the 33 1/3 series. This one is mostly a recap of the first ten years of Doctor Strange comics, without much in the way of commentary or behind the scenes info. As such, its pretty dull. It's like having someone tell you their dreams. If I want to know what happens in a Doctor Strange comic, I'll just read the comic, thanks.

[Gene · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great at both background and history, if you have any interest in comics, a.especially Dr. Strange. Fun illustrations that are almost large enough to read comfortably. More information than anyone other than comic nerds would ever want, but lots of fun anyway.

[Egghead · Rating 4 out of 5]

ditko was magic
stan was the worldly surgeon
blended, they were strange

[Katy Lovejoy · Rating 2 out of 5]

wish I didnt read this

[Monika · Rating 4 out of 5]

Did you ever wonder how the character of Doctor Strange was created? Was he always a doctor? Who was his first enemy? Well, this book will answer all of your questions.

Marvel Age of Comics: Doctor Strange focusses on the first decade of Doctor Strange comics. His first appearance was in Strange Tales, a comic book containing different stories and often used to introduce new characters to the Marvel universe. This book explains not only the comic book origin story of Stephen Strange but also who created him and how writing comics worked in the 60s. There's also a great analysis on how the psychodelic 60s influenced the stories. And how, in turn, Doctor Strange influenced culture.

That's my second title in this series and I really appreciate the idea for it and can't wait to read more.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a digital copy of this book.

[Shevalda · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book discusses more on the background of the creators of Dr Strange and the turmoil of creating and maintaining the character. It is quite a pleasant trivia.

The downside is that the book makes me realize that I’m living in the wrong era because what do you mean there was a time where Dr Strange was a pop icon almost as popular as Spiderman?! On a serious note, the flow of book is too jumpy and the end feels too abrupt.

[Jem]

Thank you to Bloomsbury Publishing for sending me a copy of this book!

This was such a fascinating exploration of Doctor Strange and the darker, more mystical side of Marvel. It dives into the evolution of his character over time, highlighting key moments and themes that have defined his story.

I especially enjoyed how it captures the complexity of his world - the magic, the morality, and that constant balance between power and consequence.

It’s a great read for anyone who loves the more supernatural corner of Marvel and wants a deeper appreciation of what makes Doctor Strange such an iconic character.