Doctor Strange: The Oath (New Avengers) (Paperback)

by Brian K. Vaughan (Author), Marcos Martin (Illustrator)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Doctor Stephen Strange embarks on the most important paranormal investigation of his career, as he sets out to solve an attempted murder - his own! And with his most trusted friend also at death's door, Strange turns to an unexpected corner of the Marvel Universe to recruit a new ally. Eisner Award-winning writer Brian K. Vaughan (Runaways, Y: The Last Man) and red-hot artist Marcos Martin (Captain America, Batgirl: Year One) join forces for an adventure that will take the Sorcerer Supreme from the underworld of New York City to the deadliest dimensions on the outskirts of reality - while firmly establishing him in the current Marvel Universe and setting him up to join a surprising new team! Collects Doctor Strange: The Oath #1-5.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Marvel Comics (June 20, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0785122117
• ISBN-13: 978-0785122111
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 6.5 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #344,039 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well done!, August 28, 2007

By	RXCSLC (TX USA) - See all my reviews

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!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Doctor is in!, July 24, 2007

By	Wayne Cordova (Spring Hill, FL) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Average story saved by witty script, September 29, 2007

By	ShriDurga (Japan) - See all my reviews

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 by administering 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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