Marvel Masterworks: Doctor Strange Vol. 4 is a mixed bag, but a fascinating one, showing the character in transition. It leads off with the final four issue of his first solo series (continuing the numbering from Strange Tales), #180-183, written by Roy Thomas with art by Gene Colan. Roy Thomas had begun a three-part story in #183, though, which he continued in two other titles he edited, Sub-Mariner (#22 with art by Marie Severin) and Hulk (#126 with art by Herb Trimpe).
At that point, the character lay fallow for 20 months until Marvel debuted the Defenders in Marvel Feature #1. That comic also contained a back-up story titled “The Return” (written by Thomas and drawn by Don Heck) which actually occurred some weeks before the lead story and is included in the volume under discussion.
It would be another seven months until Doctor Strange’s solo series debuted in the third issue of Marvel Premiere. The first story was plotted and drawn by Barry Smith, but Stan Lee wanted to script it himself (and reportedly handled it far differently than Smith intended). Issue #4 was written by Archie Goodwin, with Frank Brunner assisting Smith on art. The next four issues were written by comics veteran Gardner Fox, about whom Roy Thomas had this to say in his introduction: “[His] style of writings. Honed in a different age and place, wasn’t quite right for Marvel. He was aware of it, and would depart Marvel (and mostly comics) very shortly.”
The art on those last four issues was handled by Irv Wesley and Don Perlin on #5, Frank Brunner and Sal Buscema on #6, P. Craig Russell on #7 and Jim Starlin on #8. With the next issue (and the next volume of Marvel Masterworks), a new and constant writer/artist team would emerge: Steve Englehart and Frank Brunner.
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"Irv Wesley" was really Sam Kweskin, who, at the time, didn't want his ad agency clinets to know he was drawing COMICS!!!. But shortly after, he used his own name when Bill Everett recruited him to help out on SUB-MARINER. (I'm assuming it was Everett who did this, as, at the time, writers acted as "de facto editors", which included assembling their own art teams; as soon as Everett passed away, ALL the great artists he'd had doing fill-ins VANISHED from the book, and Steve Gerber got... Don Heck.)
I find it maddening that Gardner Fox had 4 different pencillers over the course of his 4 issues-- which were the MIDDLE chapters of an 8-part storyline started by Barry Smith, perverted by Stan Lee, re-interpreted by Roy Thomas, and concluded by Steve Englehart. That's NO WAY to write a story!!!
Checking the schedule, I also believe that Craig Russell BLEW the deadline on ANT-MAN so he could pencil his one issue of DR. STRANGE. I believe that was Craig's 1st brush with Doc, a character he would periodically return to, a bit here, a bit there.
Too bad they couldn't have had Frank Brunner draw the entire storyline... hmm???
Henry R. Kujawa said:
Insane, isn't it?
They don't write 'em like that anymore (and it's probably just as well).
Over at the MASTERWORKS board, there was a thread that went on for about 112 pages which consisted mostly of diehard Stan Lee FANATICS being rude & insulting to Jack Kirby and his fans, and going to insane lengths to explain or justify some of Stan's behavior over the years.
The Barry Smith-Stan Lee issue is a prime example of the kind of thing Stan did that, the more I hear about it, just drives me nuts. Barry Smith plotted that book entirely on his own. Stan really wanted to "write" it-- then, insisted on COMPLETELY re-writing the plot on top of whatever Barry intended, totally changing the thing, just for the sake of putting HIS name and "stamp" on it. In at least one intrerview, Stan happily admitted he liked to see it as a "game", to see if he could change something or come up with his own plot REGARDLESS of whatever plot & art was already there in front of him on the paper. It's no wonder he pissed off creative people like Jack Kirby, Wally Wood, Joe Orlando (the latter found it so impossible to deal with Stan, he left Marvel after only 4 stories).
My own impression is that Stan had spent so many years telling people what a great writer he was, he felt he had to "prove" it, even when it was completely uncalled for, and usually by twisting the work of his "best" people (by working with his "best" writers, naturally, it was supposed to make Stan's "writing" look good).
Since whatever Barry did was pushed aside, and Stan never thought further than that one installment, I guess it's no surprise that Roy should look to ROBERT E. HOWARD for inspiration. Although, to me, it looks and feels like H.P. LOVECRAFT... but then, I keep reading that Lovecraft took a lot of HIS inspiration from REH in the first place. Go figure.