Doom.
Strange.
In the lexicon of Marvel Comics, these simple words can only evoke two of the company’s greatest characters, both of whom are doctors. One is a doctor specializing in mastery of the mystic arts, and the other, excels in the crafts of doom and ruination. Way back in 1989, writer Roger Stern and a young artist named Mike Mignola put the two of them together in a story that took the unlikely duo to hell and back.
If you’ve never read ‘Triumph and Torment’, allow us to explain why you should.
I worked my way through college counter jockeying for a local comic shop, and as anyone who’s done that job before will attest, you get just about as many recommendations from the customers as you give. One day, while I was working my way through the first Essential Doctor Strange, a friend walked up and asked me if I’d ever read Triumph and Torment, and I had not. In fact, I had no idea what it was. Well, as it just so happens, we had one in the store and I took it home that night and read it. Twice. And then I read it again the next day.
“Doctor Strange / Doctor Doom: Triumph and Torment” opens with the Aged Genghis providing a deft retelling of both Doctors’ origins, and of a missed chance encounter that might’ve changed the Marvel Universe as we know it. Soon after, the normally demented Genghis experiences a moment of clarity and rushes to a secret and sacred temple and puts out a summons to Earth’s mightiest mystics, including both Doctor Strange and Doctor Doom. The Genghis and the literal Vishanti initiate a contest between the magic elite, with the winner claiming the title of Sorcerer Supreme, and if you think you know where things go from there, well you’re both right and wrong.
‘Triumph and Torment’ was written by one of my all time favorite storytellers, Mr. Roger Stern. If you’re unfamiliar with Mr. Stern’s work, shame on you, but I’ll be happy to catch you up to speed. In what is probably one of the most respected and valued careers in comics, Stern’s written for Marvel and DC and had fan-favorite runs on both Spider-man and Superman. And while I love just about every story he’s ever been involved with, ‘Triumph and Torment’ is his masterpiece. Here, Stern tells a highly-charged story or magic, emotion and destiny, and makes it look effortless. His love for these characters, their histories, and more importantly, their creators really comes through on every page, and in the end, you’re left absolutely heartbroken and in awe.
But for a lot of folks, the big draw here is probably Mike Mignola. While this is still pretty early on in his career, it’s kind of impossible to not see this as one of his most gorgeous and brilliantly rendered projects. There’s quite a bit of globetrotting in this story, giving Mignola the opportunity to draw everything from castles, to rain forests, to jetplanes, and of course, demons and Hellboys.
Unfortunately, ‘Triumph and Torment’ is currently out of print, but it’s not too hard to find. If you’re a fan of Marvel Comics, or Hell, if you like comics period, do yourself a favor and track this one down. HERE, we’ll even help you out! But we would like to suggest you keep a few Kleenex around. Or maybe you can learn how to cast an anti-tears spell. Whichever you prefer, but plan accordingly, because, baby, this one’s gonna hit you in the heart!
