First Look Review Of Doctor Strange #1

In an interesting twist of things I watched Doctor Strange this weekend before I read this comic. I actually had forgot that I was going to read this title during the week but it’s kinda cool since I had Stephen’s origin story fresh in my mind when I jumped into the book and I also had some insight into his abilities. See, while I liked the idea of Doctor Strange as a kid I never really got into his comics. I was more of an X-Men and Justice League type of kid with punches, claws, and eye beams rather than magic, even though I was an avid fan of Dungeons & Dragons.

Doctor Strange #1: Sorcerer Supreme of the Galaxy, Part One by Mark Waid and Jesús Saiz. Published by Marvel Comics, 2018.

This story starts out with a bit of a prologue in which the Sorcerer Supreme faces off against the elder god X’axal. Considering he’s facing a god, this little episode shows just how powerful Stephen Strange has become and how much knowledge he has to wield his magic.

But then the great magics that the Doctor can throw around only serve to highlight how far he falls in this issue as he soon loses everything. No more Eye of Agamotto, no more Cloak of Levitation, no more Book of the Vishanti. Nope, Stephen Strange is reduced to being a mere mortal who has to seek out Tony Stark, of all people, for help.
Tony convinces the Doc that since he’s exhausted all Earthly options, he should look outside his normal resources in order to regain his mojo. Tony offers Strange the use of his new space ship to see if he can enlist aid from outside the galaxy.

Heading to the Shi’ar system where Iron Man had encountered humanoid life previously, Doctor Strange runs into problems. His ship is crippled by a collision with an asteroid and as he crash lands on a planet, he’s reliant on technology to communicate and survive but all it does is result in him being called an invader and taken captive. All he wanted to do is find a way to get his magic back and now he’s a prisoner trillions of miles from home and no closer to figuring out what happened to his abilities.

To me, this is a pretty good set up for a story and I’m dying to find out how he escapes and what he has to do to get his magic back. What kind of wizards is he likely to encounter out in the galaxy and who will he have to fight to prove his worthiness?

The story is cool, the 4 armed aliens are neat, and I am digging the art. What’s not to like in this one?

I give this issue a First Look Rating of a B+.

This comic can be found on Marvel Unlimited, Comixology or at your local comic book shop.

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