Doctor Strange: Strange Origin

Doctor Strange (2015) (Single Issues) #1

by Greg Pak, Jason Aaron, Chris Bachalo (Illustrator)

A window-crashing, high-flying, globe-traveling, ghost-battling adventure from the earliest days of Doctor Strange's training in the mystic arts! Part Indiana Jones, part Lord of the Rings, thrill to this new tale of how a selfish, arrogant surgeon collided with a hot-headed martial artist to become the greatest team the mystic arts have ever seen! If only they can stop hitting each other and figure out how all this magic stuff works anyway. Also featuring DOCTOR STRANGE (2015) #1, by Jason Aaron and Chris Bachalo.

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

144 pages, Paperback

First published September 13, 2016

About the author

Greg Pak is an award-winning Korean American comic book writer and filmmaker currently writing "Lawful" for BOOM and "Sam Wilson: Captain America" (with Evan Narcisse) for Marvel. Pak wrote the "Princess Who Saved Herself" children's book and the “Code Monkey Save World” graphic novel based on the songs of Jonathan Coulton and co-wrote (with Fred Van Lente) the acclaimed “Make Comics Like the Pros” how-to book. Pak's other work includes "Planet Hulk," "Darth Vader," "Mech Cadet Yu," "Ronin Island," "Action Comics," and "Magneto Testament."

Reviews

[Mohammed Arabey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Since Stan Lee wrote, Steve Ditko illustrated Doctor Strange in 1963, to creat a new dimension to the Marvel comics world..
The World of Magic,

And, like 53 years later, the Marvel studios add the character to enrich its Cinematic Universe,

Amazingly by Benedict Cumberbatch portraying this rich character change from selfishness and arrogance to a Superhero..
That's what literally transferred us into this amazing adventures of multi dimensions, that leaves you wanting more..

travel more between these worlds.
The problem is, if you start collecting every not-so-long-lived comics issues it'd be tediously annoying.
Well, this Stange Origin or Season One by Greg Pak is all you need to meet this story of Doctor Stephen Strange.. Man of Science and not faith. Man of Selfishness , arrogance and not a Saint.
And how he has this journey around the world to heal himself. In a quest like Lord of the Rings "nerd,moi" full of horrors and action , betrays and twists.. that will made him Doctor Strange..
The one of his kind Superhero.


I didn't like Emma Ríos arts much, it's good and fine to enjoy enough but not as detailed or fun compared to Chris Bachalo who did the later first story of the current series that started last year in still going on. Which you can check at the same volume here.

Dr.Strange #1 Review

Anyway it's really good start for this new run of comics series of Strange... Doctor Strange.


Mohammed Arabey
From 11 Nov.2016
To 13 Nov.2016

[Sud666 · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am a huge Dr. Strange fan. So while I didn't see a need for yet ANOTHER origin story I figured "hey..it's Greg Pak", so I bought it. Well Pak should stick to the Hulk. This should have been called "Pedestrian Origin" instead because it is pedestrian.

Pak's Strange just doesn't do it for me. For some reason his Wong is a Bruce Lee style mage. His Ancient One goes from being a somber font of mystical power and knowledge to a cackling old fool (who of course is smarter than he seems). His Dr. Strange does really stupid things-like punching people with his destroyed hands (why?), his Strange is barely a low level apprentice-yet he and Wong are tasked with recovering incredibly powerful magical rings. Seriously the Ancient One saying "No takesy backsies"..um yeah...sooo this incredible old archmage, that lives in Tibet, speaks like an Floridian grandmother. Lovely.

The art? Nothing great, not even that good. Couple the mediocre art with this pedestrian story peopled with pedestrian versions of popular figures and this falls in the 2 star range. his was an origin story that shouldn't have been written. It demeans the wonderful world of Dr. Strange and the practitioners of magic. It would have been no loss if this was never written.

[Renata · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was...disappointing. I really like Greg Pak and I GUESS I LIKE DOCTOR STRANGE NOW but this was not really my jam on any level. Also, the artwork made it really confusing what was supposed to be actually happening and what was maybe a magic illusion or something?! I know the Season 1 series was supposed to be kind of a good entry point for new fans but this one didn't land for me. Also honestly I know it's his origin story and character growth etc but he AND WONG were both super unlikeable for like 95% of this jeezzzz I'd rather read something where they're already bros.

[Seth Heasley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first Doctor Strange and I liked the buddy cop thing it had going with Strange and Wong.

[Erin Rose · Rating 2 out of 5]

One of the best things about reading graphic novels, is gazing lovingly at the beautiful artwork that covers the pages from edge to edge, and maybe trailing your fingers softly over them ;)
You’ll find no shortage of remarkable artwork in this origin tale about the Master of the Mystic Arts. The only issue is that, the artwork is so messy, confusing and doesn't really make sense, that some of the magic is lost in the process of trying to figure out exactly what's going on.
Overall this is short little story about Doctor Strange going on a quest with Wong and some chick to find 3 magic rings.

Fast-Paced & Amusing

[Artur Coelho · Rating 3 out of 5]

Se há coisa que não falta na liturgia do Doutor Estranho são regressos à sua história de origem. O notável nesta é o tom mangá do visual de uma aventura que levará Estranho e um Wong bastante mais cabeludo do que o habitual a ajudar uma arqueóloga italiana que busca artefactos de poder que poderão cair em mãos perigosas. Não se ficando por aí, o livro encerra com uma história de arranque de uma série de aventuras de Strange, em que terá de enfrentar forças interdimensionais de razão pura, apostadas em exterminar todos os requícios de magia. Visualmente, nesta história onde Nova Iorque começa a ser invadida por criaturas mágicas em fuga, Chris Bachalo dá-nos um espanto de fantasia gráfica nas vinhetas.

[B. Rule · Rating 1 out of 5]

Basically terrible. Starts with a rushed retelling of Strange's original origin that really adds nothing of interest, and quickly devolves into a rote MacGuffin chase. It's written like an 80's action movie where the two male leads initially hate each other and are only brought together by a sexy lady in a love triangle and their eventual, begrudging respect. Blargh. Further, the scripting is so basic that it reads like an outline. It lacks any personality. Many have said the artwork is the best part of this, but I found Rios' art to be muddled and confusing. It's more of an anime style and it just doesn't do it for me. This was one more disappointing entry in the seemingly endless library of mediocre Doctor Strange books. Pity.

[Michael Giuliano · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice new paperback re-release of Pak and Rios' out-of-print Doctor Strange: Season One graphic novel. A cool, in?/out? continuity origin story just in time for the upcoming movie, and it's filled with everything you want in a good Doctor Strange story. Mysticism, mixed with snarkiness, laughter, and a bit of Dormamu make for a solid book. Plus, as an added bonus, they threw in issue #1 of Jason Aaron's new ongoing Strange series, which gives you a nice introduction to where the character is now, in case you're interested. Good marketing move all around!

[Kenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Greg n Emma rocks. Her fluid lines make her a worthy successor of Colan and Brunner.

[Sebastian · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story is ok, but the art of Emma Rios is horrible.

[Jacob Rayburn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Doctor Strange: Season One (2012) was part of the Season One series that Marvel produced in the early 2010s where they tried to retell the origins of iconic heroes and teams to try and get new readers into their legacy characters whose backlog of comics can be seen as rather intimidating to the average person who is not already fully invested into these characters.

As stated, this is a retelling of the origin of Doctor Strange and his first run against the vile Baron Mordo. But this is also meant to be a quick catch-up point or a supplement to the newly initiated. This is all to say that this a very condensed adaptation of the strange origin of Doctor Strange, a crash course if you will, but should not be seen as a full replacement for some of those stories. Though depending on how you look at it and who you ask, you might be dodging a bullet by allowing this to replace some of those older issues. That would be my main downside with this comic is that it tries to squeeze an entire original series in 1 issue that is roughly 120 pages in total. While I personally would not recommend reading this then immediately jumping into the newest Strange comic, comics are as always what you make of them and therefore if that is the way you are going to enjoy this amazing character than that is the way you should do it.

My main compliment of this book has to be with the art. The art shows the absolute contrast of this character from the beginning of his journey to where he ends up. Before Strange gains his magic and he is just a disheveled man looking for a way to fix his hands, the art imitates his life by being much darker and rougher looking than we have come to expect from stories involving Strange. However, the moment he gains the use of his magic the art returns to a style that many fans of the character are use to, employing the use of bright colors all over the spectrum to really emphasize whimsical and fantastic nature of the magic he uses.

Overall, I would recommend this book to just about anybody interested in Doctor Strange. This is a good jumping on point or crash course to the origin story of Doctor Strange. This series can please fans, both new and old, of the character by introducing him to a broader audience or by giving diehard fans another story of Strange before he became the Sorcerer Supreme.

Overall Score: 8.5/10

[Bradley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ehhh.

Normally the art is a redeeming quality of flip floppy stories. It was hard to disentangle the pages among the garbled writing. I admire that it isn’t too similar compared to others, I just couldn’t follow. The colors are blinding. I’m sure the shoe fits for some, but there’s not much I can say that will resound positively on this comic. I’ll keep it brief.

I don’t know much about Marvel besides what I’ve inferred playing and watching what we get in pop culture. I’m talking Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 and 3, the MCU movies, the pre-MCU movies, animated movies and more. I never dove into the comics. I saw this title and besides the Doctor Strange movies (both 2007 and 2016) I have not met with the character. I suppose it would be like hearing about one of the more powerful Justice Leaguers and just accepting their presence until you get around to them. But you’re still familiar with them in a way.

The comics have a tough show now. With the success of the MCU movie, and the Avengers beyond that, these comics are going to see a few more sales than normal and most people will be expecting something. I suppose I was expecting that something. I know it’s unfair and maybe the comic isn’t that bad…This comic isn’t anything new. It’s cliché. It can’t, in its very limited number of pages, bring the same emotional depth and character development as the movies. It may have had the possibility, but it did not deliver.

I think the only thing that I could list off as being better here is the sorcerer supreme. An old guy who has humor, seems bonkers and is extremely powerful. I think the comic relies too much on the relationship between Wong and Strange with a third party to temper it, and it simply does not work. At least for me.

This was an off-the-wall grab for me. If anyone can recommend a title from Marvel that will leave me picking up my jaw off the floor I would appreciate it. I ask because at the bookstore the section is way too large to go fishing in. Especially when the fish look like this.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

As evident in the title, this is an updated take on Doctor Strange’s origin — although the beats remain largely the same and the largest change is Wong, where now he’s the Ancient One’s other apprentice forced to learn alongside Strange, which turns them into the familiar trope of squabbling rivals. Wong is like a long-haired manga pretty-boy, which is weird for my brain to process; their bickering obsessive competitiveness toward each other would probably make Strange/Wong the main fandom ship if this were a more popular book.

The update is far better than him being Strange’s manservant, but their relationship isn’t really all that earned by the end either; the plot is all one madcap headlong rush on a fetch quest to gather three magical rings, and so there’s not enough time for quieter conversations or fleshing out their dynamics. Mordo just randomly appears in the first few pages, too, so he’s not a very compelling villain for this journey.

The best sequence, imo, is when Strange meets another surgeon whose hospital is swamped with patients, and so Strange spends an all-nighter assisting the other man — not doing the surgeries himself, because of course he can’t, but setting his ego aside and being the assistant for once.

It sounds like Emma Ríos’ art is really divisive, but personally I loved the flourishing sketchy lines and the vibrant rush of colour throughout this book, the magic of each ring having a different key colour, the pages exploding with chaotic magic and spells and spirits. I didn’t really see the need for this origin retelling, but it’s still a fun, quick read.

[Bekka · Rating 3 out of 5]

This just did not work for me as an origin story, I understand the need to modernise Stephen's origins because there are a LOT of racist overtones in the original, but none of it made much sense. And the artwork did not work at all, it made everything confusing and I felt like I had no idea what was going on for 90% of the book.
TW for violence, death, fighting, mentions of car accidents, nerve damage.

[The Nerd Herd Comic Book Club! · Rating 1 out of 5]

You can listen to and watch our review here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPSN1...

[¥uri ݁˖☘︎✟⚚☕︎݁˖ · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is great even if you already know doctor strange's origins, the art was a bit confusing at the very start of the book, but in the rest of it it's really gorgeous I just trippy enough to not be too confusing

I also loved the Kirby crackle in the art ;)

[Ross · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a fan of the art, but the updated origin was good...

Nice spin on Strange's origin and the inclusion of Wong. They laid out Stephen's growth as a human pretty well. Egotistical before his crash. Petty and selfish in his search for the Ancient One as well.

[John · Rating 2 out of 5]

not a fan or re-telling an established origin.
Plus it changes Wong from a manservent to an apprentice. He was awesome as a manservent.
Still, this did a nice slow build up to Stephen learning his way.

[Mattthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Controversial opinion: Thought this was really great. Fun take on Strange's origin story. The art was really interesting and suited the story well. The issue at the end was excellent, too, and had beautiful art and colors.

[Maria Caritas]

first comic i ever finished reading. ever.

[Megan H. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was excited for this, but unfortunately the art style made it really difficult to figure out what was going on— even characters change drastically from page to page.

[Esraa Galal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kinda regrets starting this version first

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Damn impressive artwork!

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Emma Rios's work!!

[Brad McKeehan · Rating 3 out of 5]

An origin story for Dr. Strange with a few new and interesting pieces.

[Nagic · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was a very well put together retelling of Doctor Strange’s origin. A good read but it isn’t anything amazing. It’s just great.

[Elisha · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5⭐ rounded down.

This was an interesting tale on the early career path of Doctor Strange before he became the Sorcerer Supreme. I wasn't a fan of the art style though.

[Tobi ﾄﾋﾞ · Rating 5 out of 5]

great comic- refreshing. i recommend especially if you’re new to doctor strange. the art was amazing too.

[Alton Chaney · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fitting introduction to the Sorcerer Supreme. The sketchiness of the artwork is befitting for the depictions of magic on display in Stephen's origin story, which take him and some fellow pupils of the Ancient One on a global adventure in search of three rings which together call upon the powers of an ancient evil. The character work really shines during the slower moments of this volume where the pupils gradually come to terms with their respective strengths and weaknesses, and I particularly like that all of them felt far from perfect, even with powerful magics at their disposal. The art itself leaves a bit to be desired at times, as at too many moments it feels more like our characters are (literally) tripping into these immense spells rather than calling upon them with some dignity, but overall I found this to be a great intro into Marvel's world of magic.

[Dylan · Rating 3 out of 5]

After watching the movie, my girlfriend tasked me with finding a place to start reading Doctor Strange. I did a bit of research and learned of the character's origin and visited my local comic shop where this slim volume was recommended as a good origin story.

It wasn't all that great but it is what it claims to be: an origin of Doctor Strange.

The script occasionally induced chuckles and the art, while usually very good, sometimes caused me difficulty in understanding what was going on. Overall this book isn't especially compelling - just a simple place to start.