First and most important: This is a magnificent comic.
The creative team is excellent, and it’s one of the 10 best Brian Vaughn comics of all time, according to this objectively accurate list.
Here’s the story: A thief shoots Stephen Strange and steals a few magic items from him. Wong gets Night Nurse to help patch him up. Strange was out working on finding a way to cure Wong of terminal cancer. The story opens in the Night Nurse’s waiting room…
Classic.
After patching him up, Strange returns to the laboratory of Dr. Hilt, who he’d been working with on the cancer cure, to find the doctor dead–killed by the same gun that shot Strange.
As it turns out, the man behind it all is a surgeon from Strange’s own past named Dr. West–the same one who had been unable to cure his hands after his accident, years ago, that led him to seek out the Ancient One.
West killed Dr. Hilt because, hey, a cancer cure is worth a lot of dough.
Fun fact: Dr. West works for “Timely Pharmaceuticals,” an obvious reference to Timely Comics–the company that preceded Marvel and published “Marvel Comics #1.”
It also turns out that West also studied under the Ancient One, so he and Strange have some magic battles before Strange is forced to decide between saving an elixir that can cure cancer but losing Wong or giving Wong the last drop of the elixir and losing the recipe forever.
Of course, he chooses Wong. (Although really that’s the obvious wrong choice because many people die of cancer every day.)
But perhaps my favorite aspect is the reexploration of Strange’s origin and motivations, down to the added details of how his hands are still scarred from the accident that destroyed his ability to continue to be a surgeon and ultimately led him down the path to becoming Sorcerer Supreme.
We dont’ see that in the 616 Strange books.
Guns also play a major role, starting with Strange being shot and also including sequences where he himself does the shooting. Strange is a badass in this book.
Along the way, Vaughan and Martin skillfully weave in some a wonderful Ditkoesqe Nightmare scene…
The series is dedicated to Steve Ditko, and you can see, especially in that panel above, how much Marcos Martin admires him.
Interesting story made better by all the ties to Strange’s origin story. Several elements and scenes are direct inspirations for the (excellent) Doctor Strange films. Like when he rises out of his gunshot body to speak with his medical team.
Martin’s art is phenomenal, as always.
The books also include something pretty rare in Dr. Strange comics: Humor. And not just jokes, but funny situations that help explain the character better, like here when costar Night Nurse tries to help him and ends up making the situation worse….
Oddly, it ends with Strange and Night Nurse gettin’ it on.
I forget sometimes that Strange has quite a history with hotties.
English (US) · 