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Doctor Strange (2015) (Collected Editions) #6

Doctor Strange, Vol. 1: God of Magic

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Evil is everywhere and the world needs the Sorcerer Supreme more than ever. But the Sorcerer Supreme is now...Loki?! Say hello to the Master of the Mischief Arts! The Norse lord of lies has the cloak, the spells - he's even got Zelma Stanton as his assistant (and possibly more?). Is this the chance that Loki needed to become a hero at last, or is the god of mischief dangerously close to unlimited power? And what happened to Stephen Strange, the former Sorcerer Supreme? Down but not out, Stephen may just have one last play left in him - one that could shake the Marvel Universe to its core!

COLLECTING: DOCTOR STRANGE 381-385

136 pages, Paperback

First published July 3, 2018

30 people are currently reading
518 people want to read

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Donny Cates

693 books582 followers

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5 stars
247 (23%)
4 stars
518 (49%)
3 stars
236 (22%)
2 stars
33 (3%)
1 star
9 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 123 reviews
Profile Image for Anne.
4,831 reviews71.5k followers
May 7, 2022
Loki is the new Sorcerer Supreme, which is cool.
But the art just wasn't in any way my jam, which kind of hurt. The faces were square, fugly, and reminded me too much of John Romita Jr's stuff.

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The art wasn't awful in every panel, and sometimes I even found myself thinking it wasn't so bad. But in the end, I really can't say this ever won me over visually.

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Still, I thought the story was really fun. Loki is one of my favorites to read about, Wong is back, Sentry (who I love) is in this thing, and there's a talking dog.
THERE IS A TALKING DOG. <--needed to be said 2x

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Spoilery stuff happens, there's a fight, more spoilery stuff happens, there's another fight, Doctor Strange goes to Asgard, we find out something spoilery happening with Zelma, there's another fight, and then Loki & Stephen hug it out and get BFF charms for their necklaces.
Ok, maybe not.

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I'm excited for whatever comes next in Damnation!
Recommended for Marvel Mystic fans.
Profile Image for Jeff .
912 reviews824 followers
June 11, 2019
Hey! Your hat has become a bowl of lizards and they’re hitting on you, get your demonically possessed butt to Dr. Strange’s Sanctum Santorum right away!

Wait! Dr. Strange isn’t the Sorcerer Supreme? Then who is?



Loki!?! What the #$%@ is that tricksy bastard doing there and where the heck is Dr. Strange?



Oh. Hey! Doc, my kitty is losing patches of hair on its butt…

*sigh*

So how and why did this happen?



What…

Don’t ask Donny Cates, he lost the thread mid-way through this volume, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a fun way to muddle through an hour or so…



Plus, I haven’t seen that wacky conflicted dude, The Sentry, in a while…



Bottom Line : Thanks to the merry Marvel movie thing, Strange has become a big player in the funny books.

Cates is no Jason Aaron, but this one is sort of magical – in a parlor-card-trick-pull-a-queen-of-diamonds-out-of-your-butt kind of way.

Three and a half stars.

Jackson Pollock alert: not a fan of the scribbly art or Strange's new haircut.

Profile Image for Sam Quixote.
4,840 reviews13.5k followers
August 28, 2018
Stephen Strange is no longer the Sorcerer Supreme because a giant floating tiger’s head told him so. Makes sense to me - and I’m completely brain dead! Then who’s the new big magic cheese? Loki, who just happened to be hanging around the giant floating tiger’s head when the arbitrary decision was made (a colossal HINT as to how this farce plays out). So Stephen becomes a vet… no, this is not a comedy.

Marvel these days is basically the state of California: a gargantuan out-of-control fire that nobody knows what to do with. Case in point: this piece of crap. To be totally fair to Donny Cates, Doctor Strange is not a great solo character to begin with and, aside from Jason Aaron’s first one, I don’t think there are any good Doctor Strange books.

Still, I was gobsmacked as to how ludicrously stupid and pointless God of Magic turned out to be. First off, who the fuck is this giant tiger’s head to tell Stephen what he can and can’t be? And how easily Stephen walked away from the mantle of Sorcerer Supreme without questioning it - which he REALLY needed to have done (but then there wouldn’t be a story)! And how easily Loki was offered and accepted it! Contrivance, thy name is Donny Cates.

There’s so much awfulness here. I didn’t care about the forced romance subplot with Zelma, the dog dying was so manipulative, and Marvel’s garbage Superman, The Sentry, puts in an appearance too.

The absolute nadir of shite though was the ending where you can literally see Cates trying to give some kind of meaning to the preceding crapfest - and completely failing. It’s basically one big shrug and is one of the worst pieces of writing I’ve seen in a Marvel comic for some time. Not that any of it was entertaining anyway but the ending really underlined just how worthless this book is.

Doctor Strange, Volume 1: God of Magic is horrendously boring, useless bullshit, aka Donny Cates’ speciality!
Profile Image for Calista.
5,438 reviews31.3k followers
October 11, 2019
This was much better than the other Doctor Strange story I read. I do enjoy Doctor Strange. I'm looking forward to the next movie

The mystic arts are where it's at. Loki has been instated at Sorcerer Supreme. No one can believe it. Stephan must fight to get his title back. He won the tournament and they still didn't give him the title. Stephen will do anything to get back his position and house.

I don't know what I think of Loki being Sorcerer Supreme. He does seem to have reformed, but you can never trust him

I had fun reading this.
Profile Image for Chad.
10.6k reviews1,080 followers
February 14, 2019
Loki is now the Sorcerer Supreme while Stephen Strange is a veterinarian? What? It takes Cates a while to explain what's happened but once he does it's Loki versus Dr. Strange, mano y mano. I really like the interactions here between Loki and Strange. This is maybe the best use of Loki since Keiron Gillen was writing him in Journey into Mystery and Young Avengers. Cates also gives the doc a pit of pathos as he continually screws his friends over. Donny Cates swoops in and fixes everything Jason Aaron screwed up about magic in the Marvel universe. Cates does pull a lot from previous Dr. Strange history so be forewarned if you don't know who the Vishanti and the like are.
Profile Image for Jim Ef.
454 reviews106 followers
February 1, 2026
6.4/10
Doctor Strange the veterinarian. That's right, for reasons unknown (at first) to him and us, Stephen Strange couldn't be the Sorcerer supreme anymore. Who took over? None other than Loki.

The best thing in this book are the interactions between Stephen and Loki. Every time they meet, the level of tension gets higher and higher. Strange doesn't trust Loki ( who can blame him? ) and Loki has had enough of Stephen snooping around in a place he no longer belongs.

The end was a big let down for me. I won't spoil it. I will just say that, for a bit, it looked like they will do something different from what i thought since the beginning. But no, same old same old.
Profile Image for Sud666.
2,376 reviews200 followers
May 2, 2019
Loki is Sorcerer Supreme now. Dr. Strange is not. Strange is now a veterinarian and Loki is going to be dating some mousy girl that lives in Dr. Strange's mansion. For some reason Dr. Strange decides the mousy girl being dated is beyond the pale and decides to take back his mantle of Sorcerer Supreme.

Sounds awful? Yeah..but somehow it isn't. The writing of the dialogue is dry and funny. The whole situation with Strange-Loki is interesting. I won't ruin anything but even the Sentry makes an appearance. So the story ends up being rather interesting and somewhat amusing. Loki is a great character and this Dr. Strange has a sense of humor. The artwork isn't bad either. So decent artwork, likeable characters and an interesting story all caused me to like this volume. Loki makes a good Sorcerer Supreme.

I would recommend this to any Loki or Strange fan. If this series sticks with the dry humor I may check out more volumes of this. But volume one was amusing and entertaining. Just what I am looking for in a comic.
Profile Image for James DeSantis.
Author 17 books1,215 followers
May 16, 2018
Donny Cates is here to save the Marvel Universe!!!

Just kidding. I actually enjoy a lot of Marvel titles still. But hearing Donny was coming into to write a lot of marvel series I was excited. I mean I loved Redneck and Babyteeth so I was ready to check out more from here. So, Doctor Strange, was his first big title. Does volume 1 live up to his previous work? You damn right!

So there's a new Sorcerer Supreme in town. Loki, you know that fun loving God who always fucks up Thor's plans? Well now he wears the cape! And Strange is just trying to sit back and talk to animals and heal them. He has become basically Dr. Dolittle or however spell his name, but with a little magic on the side. What happens when shit goes wrong? The spells Loki is trying to get are against the rules for Strange, and then shit gets crazy intense when the story unfolds.

Good: Love, love, LOVE the dialog here. Sharp, fun, crazy, witty, all of those things. I also really enjoyed Loki and Strange's interactions, a old face coming back into the fray, and that ENDING. I also thought the art was really solid when it came to fight scenes because everything flowed so damn good...

Bad: ...but sometimes when people were standing still the art got a little ugly. Also, this isn't for non-marvel fans. A lot of stuff I enjoyed in this is because of reading past marvel stories.

Overall this was a freaking blast. While not the best book of the year or anything it's fun from start to finish. I'm so glad Cates is writing a ton for Marvel. This is exciting! A 4 out of 5.
Profile Image for Malum.
2,907 reviews174 followers
July 6, 2018
We are finally getting back into Dr Strange stories that are fun without being completely stupid. We also get a little preview of what's to come in the Marvel universe thanks to Loki.
Profile Image for Frédéric.
2,128 reviews88 followers
July 6, 2018
By Vishanti, that was good!

Donny Cates takes the reins of the Sorcerer Supreme and does one damn fine job it.

Introducing Loki as the new Doctor Strange because of spoiling stuff while Stephen is a depressed veterinarian with a talking hound dog. Eh, quite a way to start a new run.

Beyond that Cates does good use of Aaron's former storyline as well as older stuff and characters- which means it's not exactly new reader friendly btw-and writes some witty and cool dialogues.

Stephen Strange becomes more interesting than ever. Out of sorts, out of league, he feels very humane, depressed, vengeful, jealous, as opposed to the inscrutable hieratic figures he usually shows.

And there's a good twist in the end. Shoulda seen it coming but didn't. I like that.

Very good art by Gabriel Hernandez Walta. His style really makes me think of the early Mignola, notably Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser. All the more with his inking line close to Al Williamson's. Clearly he could have picked worse influences. His narration is fluid and serves the plot well. Add Jordie Bellaire's colors and you get one damn fine book.

On to Damnation, then!
Profile Image for Benji Glaab.
783 reviews63 followers
July 8, 2019
3.5🌟

A fun little romp with many a twist and turn. I believe the Doctor Strange character is in safe hands with Cates on board.

So how about Loki tries his hand at being the sorcerer supreme for a few weeks, while Stephen Strange does the Dr. Doolittle talking to animals in his veterinarian clinic.

Strange and Loki will battle it out Loki has many tricks up his sleeve, but turns out the doctor is evenly a sneaky little SOB.

The art is suitable, but I'm not overly impressed

On to the next one

Vol.2 City of Sin 3.5🌟
Profile Image for RG.
3,084 reviews
July 3, 2018
This was so much fun. I loved the element of loki as sorcerer supreme amd Stephen being a vet. Great dialogue and action. The art at times was weird especially when limited action. Also the plot or conclusion was a bit abrupt.
Profile Image for Chris Lemmerman.
Author 7 books123 followers
June 19, 2018
[Read as single issues]
Donny Cates swoops onto Marvel titles, delivers superb stories, and then runs away again. But I'd rather six issues of awesome than twelve issues of okay, so I'm happy to get this arc from Cates (He did Damnation too, yeah, I know, but that doesn't count).

He examines Doctor Strange in six short issues to a degree that took Jason Aaron twenty plus, and he picks up on both Aaron's continuity and that of the rest of the Marvel Universe very easily, bringing back a character I really don't like and actually uses him in a way that doesn't make me want to hit people, so that's a plus too. Oh, and there's a talking ghost dog, and Loki being Loki. This one has everything.

Gabriel Hernandez Walta is the perfect partner in crime for Cates, giving Strange's world a gritty grounding that makes the magic really sparkle, and suits the more depressed side of Strange that's been lingering for the past few years.
Profile Image for Jessica.
Author 33 books5,950 followers
September 18, 2018
Interesting and really cool. Showed Loki from a more nuanced angle than I've seen previously. And made Dr. Strange more vulnerable, which I also liked.
Profile Image for Kristen.
433 reviews66 followers
February 27, 2018
Ehhh 3.5 maybe? 3? Idek.

Y'all, when patrons ask me if I think they can read a series out of order and not get lost (no really, they do), I always say no. Read them in order.
I, UH, read the series out of order. But! I did ok! Still don't recommend it, but, you know.

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl got me super curious about the whole "Loki has Doctor Strange's job now for some reason??" concept. Hilarious Shenanigans will surely ensue, right?? Eh, there were Shenanigans, but mostly it was really Serious Business the whole time. Boo.

This story arc was A Lot, and I couldn't really doooo updates because I don't know how a page number in an individual issue is going to translate to a page number in the trade, etc., but have some bullet points instead: (also, while all spoilers are marked accordingly, if you want to go into this knowing ABSOLUTELY NOTHING about it, now is the time to bounce)
• The first bit made and kept me curious. Each issue did, really. Despite any annoyance I felt I was always interested in finding out what was going to happen. Heck, I’m STILL curious.
• Everyone was an Extra af BABY, except for Zelma, who was the only adult and who just wanted to do her gotdamn grocery shopping and also for all these grownass magical beings to USE THEIR WORDS FFS
• Almost every issue ended with me muttering “boy, you done fucked up again” to myself, and, while the boy in question varied (sometimes it was two boys!), there was always fuckery.
• “Stephen NO.” “Stephen YES.”
• Y’all we came so close to hitting at least two of my shipping “NOPE” buttons, but
• Stephen…my guy. My dude. Why did u think it was a good idea to pick a fight with ?? Like…ALL OF IT???
• All you had to do was have Nancy Whitehead put him in timeout ok.
• Speaking of whom, Squirrel Girl could have fixed this in two issues, just saying.
• Or what’s Verity Willis up to?? Come on, bro. Bro. Come on.
• Let me have nice things.
• Have fun in jail, Stephen.
• Omg but do you know how many times I (more or less) internally screamed at Zelma to LOVE HERSELF??
• The end was actually pretty good?? I don’t think I’ve ever said that before lol. Or maybe it wasn’t?? , I mean. Might be setting up for something bigger.

Tl;dr: Everyone but Zelma needs to sit in the corner AND THINK ABOUT WHAT THEY DID.
Wait for the trade if you want, or pick up the individual issues. You do you.
I'll come back to this review if reading the rest gives me any thoughts worth adding. Ok, back to Vol. 2.
Profile Image for Craig.
2,971 reviews31 followers
January 23, 2019
This was a whole lot better than the second volume (which I inexplicably read first)...
Profile Image for Judah Radd.
1,098 reviews15 followers
December 4, 2020
Literally everything Donny Cates writes is incredible.


This was awesome. One thing Donny consistently does well is set up an awesome moment and then pull the trigger right at the perfect time. He did it here, and it was epic.

The art wasn’t my fav, but I really liked certain panels. I also love seeing the different Marvel ingredients mixed, matched and combined in different ways. Sentry, Strange and Loki? Hell yeah. Can’t wait for Damnation.
Profile Image for J'aime.
812 reviews29 followers
July 6, 2018
I ordered this because Loki is my favorite Marvel villain, and I have been enjoying his new "antihero/not quite a villain" status in the last few years (since being reborn after Siege). I had every intention of reading this later, but when I opened the first couple of pages I was immediately hooked and read straight through. It was fantastic!

The Vishanti have taken the mantle of Sorcerer Supreme from Strange and given it to Loki - how, why?! The story is told from Strange's POV as he initially accepts his ouster, but then realizes that could be disastrous. And, there's his new apprentice Zelma to consider. She's working for Loki now, but is she in danger?

I loved the writing. Sadly, I cannot say the same for the art. As per usual, the cover art is done by a different artist than the interior. And the interior art is ugly (imho). It looks like bad cartoon art, with characters disproportionate at times and muddy backgrounds. I much prefer "clean" lines. Still, the story is absolutely worth the purchase.
Profile Image for Carol Rodríguez.
Author 4 books37 followers
December 29, 2018
Me he quedado un poco con este tomo como que sí pero no... Tiene cosas interesantes, Loki siempre es bienvenido, un personaje nuevo (Bats) que me ha caído genial... Pero la historia no me ha convencido del todo, me ha parecido algo vacía y un pelín aburrida. La verdad es que a las pocas páginas estaba deseando acabarlo.
Profile Image for Renata.
2,981 reviews447 followers
August 27, 2018
I'M SO HERE FOR DOCTOR STRANGE, UNLICENSED MAGICAL VETERINARIAN WITH A TALKING DOG SIDEKICK

I'm ambivalent about Loki making moves on Zelma but whatever
Profile Image for Guilherme Smee.
Author 28 books197 followers
January 17, 2019
O legal desta nova leva de histórias do Doutor Estranho, surgidas por causa do seu filme, é que, por mais que você pense que elas poderão te decepcionar, elas não te decepcionam. Isso porque o personagem rende. E isso porque os escritores que assumem a sua revista não apagam o legado deixado pelos escritores atuais anteriores. Neste encadernado vemos o deus nórdico da mentira e da trapaça, Loki, assumir o manto de Mago Supremo da Terra, querendo fazer as coisas de forma diferente das que Stephen Strange fazia. Enquanto isso, Stephen, que não pode mais ser médico, está atuando como Veterinário e está conversando magicamente com os animais para saber o que lhes aflige. Um a trama bastante inusitada e, por essa razão, acaba conquistando os leitores. Além de inusitada, é uma trama bem construída, em que os elementos não são apresentados por uma mero acaso. Todos eles têm uma função na trama e isso também é recompensador para quem está lendo a história: ver que as peças colocadas vão lentamente se encaixando. Os desenhos de Walta, como sempre, competentes e que combinam com esse clima mais dark do Doutor Estranho. Agora vamos na estrada rumo à Danação. Sim, esse será o próximo grande evento do Doutor Estranho.
Profile Image for Bex (Bexnbookx).
261 reviews94 followers
November 20, 2018
Want to see me talk about books? Check out my Youtube Channel: Bexnbookx

Doctor Strange, Volume 1: God of Magic did not live up to my expectations for the Sorcerer Supreme and my favourite God of Mischief.

Evil is everywhere, and it's in times of need that the world looks to the Sorcerer Supreme... Stephen Strange is missing and now the God of Mischief has taken his place. Loki has the cloak, the spells and Zelma Stanton by his side. He is becoming increasingly close to unlimited power, and where is Stephen Strange you ask? He has a new career choice.

Artwork
The only words I have for the artwork in Doctor Strange is average. It wasn't pleasing nor offensive to the eye, so basically a whole pile of average up in here.

Plot
Interestingly enough I didn't hate the plot of Doctor Strange, Vol. 1: God of Magic... It didn't make a whole lot of sense and definitely shouldn't be read if you are new to the universe but it wasn't a plot that bored me to tears.

Characters
I thought I would love these characters... Loki is one of my favourite misunderstood villains, and Doctor Strange he's OK. I enjoyed the dialogue in this story I think it was witty and entertaining, but this story did nothing to spur my love of these characters along. Also weird love triangle was just awkward and made me scrunch my nose up.

Hint to the MARVEL Universe... Don't put dogs in your stories because if you kill off said dog or injure said dog, I am not only angry but in tears and ready to deduct stars.

Overall
Doctor Strange, Volume 1: God of Magic was OK.

Rating: 2.5/5 stars

Purchase Doctor Strange, vol. 1: God of Magic by Donny Cates from BookDepository and receive FREE SHIPPING: https://www.bookdepository.com/Doctor...
Profile Image for Sarah.
1,746 reviews35 followers
August 26, 2018
I really enjoyed this graphic novel--mostly just because I'm a Loki fan. I like stories that delve into Loki's good side... but then, inevitably remind you that he is, of course, the God of Mischief. This story does all of that, while still having all the bizarre-ness you'd expect from a Doctor Strange story. It's an interesting character study into Loki that also dives into Doctor Strange's vulnerabilities and shortcomings as a person. And then, of course, it also delivers some pretty great mystical action. All in all... I'm excited to see what else is coming from this series and also to see what else Marvel plans to do with Loki in the future.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Subham.
3,080 reviews104 followers
October 16, 2020
This was a fun book. We pick up with Stephen no longer the Sorcerer Supreme and Loki has taken his place and him on the lowest he has ever been. His house, his GF Zelma, his title of SS has all been taken from him by the God of Lies and he wants to get it back and has his dog bats. He enlists the aid of Sentry and wants to get power through Yggdrassil and defeat Loki but that unleashes new horrors in the form of Void and has an amazing battle filled with good moments! I loved this story!! Donny begins his Marvel tenure with a bang with amazing writing, good art and humble moments and setting the scope for next event already!
Profile Image for Dubzor.
836 reviews11 followers
November 2, 2018
This was better than I expected it to be. The biggest detriment is that it doesn't do a lot to explain Sentry and The Void to new readers. Considering this is the beginning of a new volume, that's a big no-no in my book. Hell, I've been reading Marvel for years now and I only have the vaguest understanding of who Sentry is.
Profile Image for Dev.
2,466 reviews187 followers
July 31, 2021
A decent volume but it's definitely still more about Doctor Strange than Loki and since I've never read a Doctor Strange comic in my life [or even seen the movie] so that wasn't exactly what I was hoping for. Still some interesting stuff overall and it was a pretty quick read, but if you're just reading it for Loki it's kind of meh.
Profile Image for Blindzider.
973 reviews26 followers
August 20, 2018
So far so good. Cates maintains the brevity featured in Aaron's run, while righting some of the previous events in this series. There are some surprises too which is always a plus. The art isn't terrible, just doesn't feel like a good fit for the book.
Profile Image for Sesana.
6,413 reviews329 followers
August 11, 2018
Way better than I'd been afraid it would be. It's a good read of both Loki and Strange, it cleans up some of the dangling threads from Aaron's run quite tidily, and it almost made me cry.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 123 reviews