On Friday, to celebrate the start of Jed MacKay and Pasqual Ferry’s new “Doctor Strange” series coinciding with the character’s 60th anniversary, we asked you to name your favorite Stephen Strange comic book. Coming in at number one with 25 percent of the vote was Brian K. Vaughan and Marcos Martin’s 2006-07 miniseries “Doctor Strange: The Oath,” a thoroughly charming affair, in which Strange seeks to cure his best friend, Wong, from cancer.
In second place with 20 percent was Stan Lee and Steve Ditko’s original 1963-66 “Strange Tales” run. Renowned for its hallucinatory art, Strange’s initial adventures saw the introduction of Nightmare, Baron Mordo, Dormammu, Clea, Eternity, and many more integral characters – despite its age, it is undoubtedly still one of the best places for a new Doctor Strange fan to start reading.
At number three with 17.5 percent was Jason Aaron, Chris Bachalo et al.’s 2015-17 “Doctor Strange” run. The first ongoing Strange comic since 1996, Aaron and co.’s dark series explored the cost of Stephen’s magic, and pitted him and every sorcerer in the Marvel Universe against the anti-magic cult the Empirikul. It also introduced the librarian Zelma Stanton, who has since become a fixture in Marvel’s magic comics, including “Strange Academy” and “Midnight Suns.”
Thank you for voting, and be sure to check back this Friday for the next Reader Poll – until then (to borrow from the Lee & Ditko run), may the hosts of the Vishanti smile upon you, and keep you safe.
