Comic Info
Comic Name: Doctor Strange: The Oath
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Writer: Brian K. Vaughan
Artist: Marcos Martin
# of Issues: 5
Release Date: 2007
Doctor Strange: The Oath #2
Reprints Doctor Strange: The Oath #1-5 (December 2006-April 2007). Doctor Strange’s faithful companion Wong is dying. A terminal brain tumor is threatening his life, and Doctor Strange has vowed to save him by any means possible. When he finds a drug capable of curing Wong’s ailment, he makes himself the target of a mysterious corporation. Teaming with Night Nurse, Doctor Strange must recapture the cure and discover its true powers.
Written by Brian K. Vaughan and illustrated by Marcos Martin, Doctor Strange: The Oath was a five issue limited series. The series was collected in a trade paperback which was released in 2007.
I am not the biggest Doctor Strange fan though I want to be. I often find that his comics get bogged down in made-up languages and that his scores of Lovecraftian enemies become redundant. As mentioned, I do wish I liked the character more and if more of Doctor Strange was like Doctor Strange: The Oath, I would be a big fan.
This is a great comic book series. It has what Doctor Strange fans like about the character, but also has enough clever writing to bring in the fringe Doctor Strange fans like myself. The story is clever and the writing is clever. Though it is dead serious, Vaughan manages to weave in a hint of humor and laughs to the story which does turn out to be surprisingly deep.
Doctor Strange: The Oath #3
I could read stories surrounding the three protagonists in this story all day long. Doctor Strange has always come off as pompous, arrogant, and infallible, and the resurrection of Night Nurse by Vaughan for the comic is a great addition. Night Nurse provides science to Strange’s magic and more of a foil (as he labeled her “Watson”) that Clea didn’t provide since she admired him so much. You add Wong to the mix and his weird relationship with Strange and you have a fun group…Kind of a Planetary with magic.
The writing is aided by fantastic art. Marcos Martin is one of those throwback artists that really gets it right. The characters aren’t a natural style, but they still have depth and feel alive with the writing. I love Martin’s version of Doctor Strange and I wish he’d return to the character.
Doctor Strange: The Oath is a great, quick read. With plans for a major Doctor Strange movie, I hope that producers look at this storyline as a possible means to set the tone of the character. I wish Vaughan would consider coming back to Doctor Strange someday because I’d love to see where he would go with it.
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