Customer Reviews

Doctor Strange: The Oath (New Avengers)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Wonderful blend of Doctor Strange's early medical career/Hippocratic Oath with his magical destiny as the Sorceror Supreme. 'The Oath' was so engaging that I believe that it could make for a great animated DVD. I was very impressed with Brian K. Vaughan's writing. Since this is my first exposure to him, I will definitely try out some of his other projects. Hope he does another Doctor Strange mini... or better yet, and ongoing series!

I have not been an avid reader of Doctor Strange, but when I saw that Brian K. Vaughn was behind this project, I HAD to pick it up!

The Oath is a wonderful play on Doctor Strange's Hippocratic oath as a Doctor and the oath made to protect those around him.

The pacing of this book is fun and it's a great introductory read for this character. Funny, Good Action, and cool plot twists in this one! No prior knowledge is needed and the story wraps up really nicely. So if you're just looking for your one and only Doctor Strange book to check out, The Oath is the way to go.

Check out more of Brian K. Vaughn's work:
Pride of Baghdad
Running (Runaways (Marvel))
Y: The Last Man Vol. 1: Unmanned

Dr Strange discovers an elixir than can cure every disease known to man. But when a pharmaceutical company attempts to steal the magic potion, all but a drop is destroyed, leaving Strange with an ethical dilemma: should he fulfill his Hippocratic Oath by using the remaining drop to manufacture more, or administer the drop to a dear friend under immediate threat of death from a crippling brain tumor.

Under less capable hands, the story might have been a dour fable of friendship and the greater good dressed up in pseudo-Eastern mysticism. Writer Brian K. Vaughan, though, has tongue firmly planted in cheek, spicing up a fairly mediocre story with some wonderful one-liners. Brought into an emergency medical clinic after having been shot, Strange goes through an abbreviated version of his origin story, revealing himself as the Sorcerer Supreme, to which the attending physician reacts: "You're serious? You call yourself the "Sorcerer Supreme"? And you say you _used_ to be arrogant?" When Strange observes that the physician has an unusually strong interest in superheroes, she replies in reference to Strange's servant Wong: "I'm not sure anyone with his personal slave boy should be talking about other people's fetishes." Later Strange recites from a book of incantations a spell written in Latin and ending with - "Abracadabra." And these examples are just a few of the gags found in the first chapter alone.

This book reprints all five issues first published in booklet form in 2006 and features the art of Marcos Martin, a man who obviously enjoyed reading the early Dr Strange stories. In many of Strange's poses, in the framing and layout of panels, and in his depiction of the spirit worlds, Marcos lovingly evokes the charm of Steve Ditko.

Art and script work well together for an hour's worth of lightweight reading, a far better choice when compared to the hours you'd have to invest in the voluminous pretension of Marvel's Civil War.

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Dr. Strange used to be a fairly prominent superhero - not one of the "greats" like Spider-Man, but a reasonably popular, second-rung guy. Alas, in recent years, Strange's star has faded; he used to have a regular monthly comic, but lately he's been reduced to appearing in other people's comics and the occasional mini-series, like "The Oath."

To me, this is a sad state of affairs, because I think Strange is by far the most interesting superhero of all. Unlike his brawny brethren, Strange does not rely on brute force to save the day, and instead defeats far more powerful foes through clever uses of magic. Strange also inhabits a totally unique universe, inspired by psychedelia and the works of Salvador Dalí. In short, the dude is an original, miles apart from the typical superhero who beats up thugs in dark alleys.

But, for whatever reason, Marvel Comics does not know what to do with Dr. Strange. Many Marvel writers today seem to think that Strange is overpowered, with ill-defined abilities, and they joke about his allegedly effeminate costume and uncool personality. I disagree on virtually all counts - Strange's magical abilities (and limits) were clearly defined by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, and the character certainly has the potential to be considered cool (and popular) in the era of Harry Potter.

"The Oath" was an honest attempt to recast Dr. Strange as a "cool" character, with the help of a suitably trendy writer, Brian K. Vaughan. The results, to me, are mixed. Vaughan clearly respects some aspects of the Dr. Strange mythology; he provides interesting character development for Strange and his servant, Wong, and he sticks to using Strange's traditional abilities instead of "modernizing" the character by making him use an energy sword or something stupid like that.

However, Vaughan also seems to buy into the criticisms that Strange is overpowered and uncool. He attempts to compensate for this by contriving various ways to weaken Strange, and by giving Strange very bizarre and uncharacteristic macho dialog; for example, Strange routinely threatens the main villain with various forms of physical violence, and he curses at one point for no apparent reason. Call me reactionary, call me narrow-minded, but I don't like any of that stuff. I also dislike that Vaughan sets almost the entire miniseries in New York City, all but ignoring the weird alien dimensions that made Strange's 1960s comics so memorable and unique.

In short, this is a series that see-saws in quality. In the final analysis, despite its surface sophistication, I think "The Oath" is no better than the old Lee/Ditko comics, and may in fact be significantly weaker; indeed, the pointless opening scene of this miniseries is sillier than anything Lee ever wrote. Sometimes, nostalgic old pop culture really is better than modern pop culture, no?

OK. I've been reading Dr. Strange off and on for over 30 years; and I found this to be just about the BEST Dr. Strange I've ever seen. Beautiful artwork by Marcos Martin; nice story by Vaughan with a touch of humor.

If you enjoy this title I'd highly recommend Batgirl: Year One (Batman) also amazingly illustrated by Marcos Martin. And winner of Wizard's Best Mini-Series of 2003.

Dr. Strange is like Superman or Dr. Manhattan in that he's so all-mighty powerful that it poses a challenge each time the writer tries to come up with a worthy foe. Happily, DR. STRANGE: THE OATH's approach is from an unexpected angle. Brian K. Vaughan dispenses with the Sorcerer Supreme's familiar rogues gallery. Savvy storyteller that he is, Vaughan also opts to focus more on Stephen Strange the man rather than the mage. The narrative organically loops back to Strange's origin story. And we rapidly learn that even though this contemporary Dr. Strange is more humble than the jerk surgeon he once was, the dude is still pretty arrogant. This trait provides for more interesting character conflict.

It's always cool when Wong, Strange's invaluable wushu manservant, gets more screen time, and Vaughan does a nice job of presenting Wong as much more than this subservient lackey. When Wong reluctantly reveals to Strange that he's incurred an inoperable brain tumor, Strange vows to move heaven and earth to find a cure. He beards the otherdimensional lair of an ancient god of suffering who is also guardian to a potent elixir. The Master of the Mystic Arts comes away with the elixir, and we get to the crucial plot point. This elixir turns out to be the cure for cancer. Which then is promptly stolen from Strange's Sanctum Sanctorum. With Strange getting shot with a handgun, to boot.

Vaughan spins an engaging, thought-provoking tale, and it's also a surprisingly funny tale, thanks to the inclusion of the enigmatic Night Nurse who, as it turns out, is a cornucopia of sarcastic, deadpan one-liners. I never pass up a chance to explore the more obscure nooks and crannies of the 616 universe, and the Night Nurse's hospice qualifies as such. We don't learn that much more about the Night Nurse's backstory other than what's already known, that she was once saved by a superhero and that that act of kindness inspired her to become caregiver to superheroes. (I dunno, it might be worth mentioning that, before all that, back in the early '70s, she was featured in her own short-lived medical drama/romance comic book.) But it's interesting to learn that there are such things as medical insurance within the superhero community.

Amidst all the mystical duels and the hellish Lovecraftian beasties and the tracking down of the thief what shot him and stole the cure, Dr. Strange finds himself caught on the horns of dilemma, as he weighs the pros and cons of administering this panacea to the world. Meanwhile, Wong's time draws ever short.

DR. STRANGE: THE OATH collects the mini-series' five issues, plus "Fahrenheit 666," the four-paged bonus prequel from the Dr. Strange animated feature DVD tie-in comic. There are also four pages of Marcos Martin's character designs and promotional art. Mad props to Marcos Martin, by the way, for channeling Steve Ditko's style and weaving it into his own and creating this pleasing, dynamic look. I also enjoyed how each issue's recap page is presented, innovatively using gimmicks such as a hospice chart from the Night Nurse, observations from the Eye of Agamotto, and even a page from the Book of Vishanti to catch the reader up.

This didn't get a lot of press when it came out, which is unfortunate, because this is an excellent take on Doctor Strange, Master of The Mystic Arts. Strange's faithful servant Wong is stricken with cancer and the Doctor searches for an elixir in a far dimension to cure him. Brian K. Vaughan does an excellent job showing us a hero with a lot of mileage on him, but not afraid to expand his talents in new ways if needed. Vaughan's writing is deft and sure. This book leads directly into Doctor Strange joining the New Avengers.

The action takes place almost exclusively in this dimension (too bad if you wanted to see Ditko-esk dimensional wildness) but the storyline and antagonists are very strong. The Doctor comes up against another mystic who is very nearly his equal, a worldly assassin who very nearly does him in, and a Big Pharma company that would rather not have cancer cured, thank-you-very-much.

On Strange's side, Wong manages to kick a few butts although he's got a steadily-worsening brain tumor, and the Doctor makes the acquaintance of "The Night Nurse" Linda Carter, a character from the nineteen-seventies who isn't retconned, but has been secretly ministering to injured superheroes on the sly all along.

The art by Marcos Martin is very nice and it does evoke the hallowed Ditko quite a bit without being slavish or xeroxed. It looks kind of like what Ditko would be is he appeared on the scene now, instead of fifty-odd years ago.

Brian K Vaughn really brought Doctor Strange and the people around him to life in this story. From the beginning to the end, this book is a fantastic read that definitely goes down as a classic story in true comic book form. The art also seems to fit the story as well, and really places you in the scenes of each page. It was a nice complete all around story that I truly recommend to not only any Doc fan but also to any comic fan.

I picked this book up mainly because of Brian Vaughn, and as always he delivers. The story is fun and well-paced, and there is of course lots of humor. For once Dr. Strange is actually fun to read and not stuffy and boring as he tended to be in the past. The art is certainly servicable, and there are some cameos by a few other Marvel heroes. All in all, this is quite a good read.

Every so often companies take a stab at reintroducing a comic character to readers. Sometimes the right combination of talent turns a lackluster character into a star.

This is not one of those times.

I bought Dr. Strange: The Oath because I like writer Brian Vaughan and artist Marcos Martin. As usual in these 'reintroduction' series they retell the main character's origin, have him do his usual shtick but also shake up the status quo a bit. In this case we have Dr. Strange; once a famous surgeon until an accident damaged the nerves in his hands. Seeking a magical cure he travels to Tibet and instead becomes Earth's sorcerer supreme.

Now he learns that his faithful manservant Wong is dying of cancer and, as a former MD, vows to find a cure for him. He is accompanied by Night Nurse (actually a doctor and surgeon but Night General Practitioner didn't sound as good) and opposed by an evil drug company that seeks to prevent him from curing cancer as well as a foe from his past.

It's a fine idea for a story, and it's done reasonably well but there's nothing really great about it. The stakes are nonsensical; readers know the book will not end with Dr. Strange curing cancer world-wide, so a lot of suspense is lost. The sort of cosmic events we expect from a book like Dr. Strange are lacking. A battle with an evil god - which Strange describes as one of the fiercest he had ever been in - happens off-camera. Vaughan tried to make the evil drug company interesting but in the end they are just as one dimensional as they sound.

Even Strange's character is inconsistent. Early on he is shown to be absent-minded, he does not even notice Wong is fighting off a pack of muggers behind him. But later Strange is martial arts master as well as a wizard.

It's still a decent comic but not as good as I hoped or expected from these two creators.