eye of agamotto – Coke & Comics

Strange Tales #145, Story B

To Catch a Magician!

Featuring: Dr. Strange
Release: March 10, 1966
Cover: June 1966
12 cents
Eerily edited by: Stan Lee
Spookily scripted by: Dennis O’Neil
Demonically drawn by: Steve Ditko
Laconically lettered by: Artie Simek
10 pages

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Strange Tales #145	Reading order	Tales of Suspense #77
Strange Tales #145	Strange Tales	Strange Tales #146

Am I a child, to be frightened by a mere illusion– a shadow of shadows?

Lee seems to have stepped away as the regular writer for the end of Ditko’s run. Just as well as Ditko has been doing most of the writing and refusing to even speak to Lee for a little while anyway.

Roy Thomas stepped in the last two issues, and now we have Dennis O’Neil. While for artists, Stan has been seeking veterans from the ’40s and ’50s, for writers, he has been giving new talent a try. Thomas is new to comics, and O’Neil was hired at his suggestion. This is O’Neil’s first comic work. He’ll go on to do some good things, and will perhaps be eventually better known for his work with the Distinguished Competition.

That Lee is handing off scripting duties to new and untested writers gives a hint as to how important these Dr. Strange stories are to him.

We meet a villain named Mr. Rasputin. He uses magical and scientific means to do espionage. His ancestor had been a famous Russian advisor.

Of course he runs afoul of Dr. Strange.

Strange Tales #140, Story B

The Pincers of Power!

Featuring: Dr. Strange
Release: October 12, 1965
Cover: January 1966
12 cents
Script: Stan Lee
Art: Steve Ditko
Lettering: S. Rosen
10 pages

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Strange Tales #140	Reading order	Strange Tales #141
Strange Tales #140	Strange Tales	Strange Tales #141

Only for those without faith can there be no hope! The faith of the righteous will never waver!

How does our hero fight a being of unimaginable, godlike power? That’s a hard question for a writer. And the answers don’t always satisfy me. The last time, Dormammu’s sense of honor prevented him from continuing the battle. While this can often be a cop-out, it worked well because Dr. Strange really had suddenly switched to side with Dormammu against the Mindless Ones. He truly won the day through his sense of heroism and righteousness. I liked it.

I like the answer that Stan and Jack have come up with so far when they introduced beings like the Watcher and the Stranger. When the Watcher captured the FF, what can they do? Nothing. Just go along with it. What can the X-Men do against the Stranger? Nothing. Let him do as he wills. Fortunately, what these beings willed was agreeable to our heroes. Not so with Dormammu.

Another answer is for the godlike being to agree to a duel of honor, where he doesn’t use his powers. That’s the answer they go with here. I find it unsatisfying.

Fortunately, this will not be the final battle with Dormammu. And we’ll soon see other heroes face a similar godlike power. In these battles, we’ll see other answers to the question.

That said, once I accept that Dormammu has agreed to this no-powers duel, I find a pretty cool duel. These pincers they use as weapons make for awesome visuals, befitting this series.

Also, in an interesting twist, Dr. Strange still loses the duel.

Strange Tales #132, Story B

Face-To-Face At Last with Baron Mordo!

Featuring: Dr. Strange
Release: February 11, 1965
Cover: May 1965
12 cents
Though there be many writers, none but Stan Lee could have penned this tale!
Though there be many artists, none but Steve Ditko could have drawn this tale!
Though there be many letterers, none but Artie Simek was available when we needed him!
10 pages

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Strange Tales #131, Story B	Reading order	Strange Tales #133, Story B
Strange Tales #132	Strange Tales	Strange Tales #133

Eternity! If only Strange could know of– Eternity!

Again, the splash page serves as the cover.

Again, I love the noirish atmosphere of rain-soaked desperation that Ditko creates. This is a man on the run, who feels the whole world closing in.

Oh, Stan. Stan, Stan, Stan. Four issues ago Dr. Strange encountered a minor sorcerer he knew as the Demon. Ditko has plainly brought back the same character. Certainly, Dr. Strange would remember this person. Yet he gives no hint or reference to the fact that he and this guy just fought. Who was supposed to have renounced the mystic arts at Strange’s command. But who apparently got a better offer from Mordo. Strange mentions none of this, perhaps because Stan doesn’t recognize the guy. And we’re pretty near the point where Steve stopped speaking to Stan, which doesn’t help.

Strange Tales #128, Story B

The Demon’s Disciple!

Featuring: Dr. Strange
Release: October 8, 1864
Cover: January 1965
12 cents
Written by: Stan Lee– unchallenged master of the dramatic word!
Drawn by: Steve Ditko– unquestioned innovator of the occult illustration!
Lettered by: Artie Simek– unabashed purveyor of the captivating caption!
10 pages

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Strange Tales #128	Reading order	Tales of Suspense #61
Strange Tales #128	Strange Tales	Strange Tales #129

Dr. Strange gets more cover real estate than usual.

Recall that after last issue’s epic battle with Dormammu, Dr. Strange was rewarded with a more powerful amulet and a new cape. The narrator here notes the amulet and new powers of levitation. This seems to imply the cape itself bestows the power of levitation. Dr. Strange confirms this at the end of the story.

A man comes to Dr. Strange seeking help. He had become the disciple of a magician known as the Demon and wishes to leave the Demon’s service. The Demon summons him back before Dr. Strange can help.

Strange Tales #125, Story B

Mordo Must Not Catch Me!

Featuring: Dr. Strange
Release: July 9, 1964
Cover: October 1964
12 cents
How proud we are that Stan Lee wrote this sensational thriller!
How fortunate we are that Steve Ditko drew these magical masterpieces!
How triumphant we are that Geo. Bell inked these priceless panels!
How ecstatic we are that Artie Simek lettered these deathless phrases!
10 pages

This is the actual first page for the comic, found online. The Masterworks version colors the characters white, as though both in their astral form. Marvel Collectors’ Item Classics #16, where most of the scans below come from, colors all the astral forms a weird bluish color, and the front page from that issue follows suit.

The Masterworks also colors Mordo’s disciples white. They are garbed in green in the original and light blue in the scan below.

This is the last of the “filler” issues of the Dr. Strange stories. One more issue until Ditko returns to full art duties and the series kicks into high gear. As these go, this issue’s actually pretty good. Despite the story where Dr. Strange and Mordo battle for the 77th time.

The most egregious coloring error in my reprint is the coloring of Dr. Strange’s cloak. It is quite possibly an intentional error, aimed at consistent marketing to match Dr. Strange’s cloak at the time of the reprint. But, quite obviously, Dr. Strange’s cloak should be blue, as it is in any other reprint of this story.