Marvel 1975.02 - Doctor Strange #6

Doctor Strange #6

Title: Lift high the veil of fears!

Writer: Steve Englehart

Artist: Gene Colan

Villain: Umar, Dormammu

Regulars: Clea, Wong

Before you carry on reading, take another look at the cover of this issue at the top of this post. In my opinion it's the best cover of any Marvel comic ever. Frank Brunner was an incredible artist. He drew the last ten issues of Doctor Strange's comics (five in Marvel Premiere, five in Doctor Strange's own title). Now he's passed the torch to Gene Colan, except for the cover. Frank Brunner had problems drawing complete comics. He was a perfectionist, delivering the best artwork possible, but he was too slow. He couldn't manage a whole comic every month, so he was better suited to providing occasional covers. Like this one.

Now for the recap. Doctor Strange became the Sorcerer Supreme after the death of the Ancient One in Marvel Premiere #10. Don't worry, the Ancient One might be dead, but he's not gone. His death means he's become one with everything, so he's still able to give Doctor Strange advice. In Doctor Strange #4 Doctor Strange himself died, but he returned to life, having conquered death. He's now become immortal, and he can only die in battle, not from natural causes. He has an Ankh on his forehead that appears whenever he enters a situation where he could theoretically die.

Added to this, in Marvel Premiere #14 Doctor Strange met God at the dawn of time. Not just a minor God like Odin or Zeus, he met God the Creator of all. I wrote a lot about this story in my review of Marvel Premiere #14, in case you want to go back and read it.

Now I'll finally get to writing about Doctor Strange #6. In many ways it's a new start. There are no direct connections with what went before. It all starts with a walk in the park. What could be more harmless than that?

Doctor Strange encounters Umar in the street outside his sanctum sanctorum. He easily banishes her, but it's a trick. She wanted to give him the impression that he'd defeated her. Doctor Strange travels to the Dark Dimension (the home of Umar and her brother Dormammu) to investigate. While he's gone, Mother Nature appears to Clea and asks for help, claiming that there's an unnatural object growing underground. Clea descends into the bowels of the Earth and finds Dormammu.