Throwback Thursday: DOCTOR STRANGE #55: NEVER FALL INTO D’SPAYRE!

We’ve finally arrived at the day where Doctor Strange & the Multiverse of Madness hits theaters in the US, so what better way to prepare our avid readers for the movie than with a review of a story that’s considered one of the best Strange stories of all time? Doctor Strange #55, written by Roger Stern (Avengers, Amazing Spider-Man, Action Comics) teams up with Michael Golden (Micronauts, Avengers Annual #10) for this story about the good doctor dealing with recent losses as well as bleak periods from the doctor’s past, trying to have him give into his despair (hint, hint). This is one of those Bronze Age era issues that is a great character piece that creators would do in between the bigger story arcs  that we just don’t get as often as we used to, which is kind of a shame, because we don’t get characters that are as multifaceted as they used to be. 

D’Spayre is a demon, created to be an agent of Dweller in Darkness, a fear lord who has clashed with Doctor Strange in the past, made his first appearance during a team up between Spider-Man and the Man-Thing, since then he’s primarily been a thorn in the Doc’s side, and you’ll see the lengths that he’ll go through in order make Strange succumb to his influence, but since superheroes are built around overcoming insurmountable odds, Strange does this here as well. 

Roger Stern began his career at Marvel as an editor, editing the Uncanny X-Men during the Chris Claremont and John Byrne run, before deciding to give all that up to go freelance, and write comics full time. While Stern gained lots of accolades for his work on the Amazing Spider-Man and Avengers, his run on Doctor Strange would be regarded as a creative highlight for the character during the Bronze Age. Stern really gets the good Doc, and his world, and he doesn’t have to depower him in order to tell great stories about Stephen. Depowering Strange has become a crutch for his writers, so to read a Strange who’s capable of facing odds with higher stakes is a breath of fresh air. 

Stern took over the character after Chris Claremont had a brief stint on the book, and decided to shake things up almost immediately. One of his first moves would be to shake up the Doc’s love life, by having Clea return to the Dark Dimension to lead a coup from her mother Umar. Stern’s thoughts on the Strange/Clea relationship was that it was inappropriate, since he was her instructor. Instead he would introduce Morgana Blessing, who would go on to write a memoir on the Doctor, after he had been thought dead, and would later become a lover/food source to the Doc’s long lost brother, who became a vampire, as well as the second Baron Blood.

Joining Stern is Michael Golden, an artist who became a superstar after his run on the Micronauts series, with writer Bill Mantlo. While Golden wouldn’t provide art on many series, you’d find him as a prolific cover artist, providing covers for the Defenders, She-Hulk, Dr. Strange, and so on, so to have him on interiors for this issue was a real treat. His work here really helps to deliver the mood that Stern’s script needs to add gravitas to Strange’s past low points that D’Dpayre is hoping will break Strange’s spirit. The team really shines here, and Stern knows how to use Golden’s strengths regarding character, and energy, so it’s easy to see why this issue is constantly included in Strange’s best stories ever. The only downside that comes with and it’s a shame we didn’t see more with them on this character. Fortunately Paul Smith would join Stern after this issue, and the team would go on to have a creative high watermark for the character.