Strange Tales #110-112

Strange Tales #110-112

Originally released in 1963

Written by Stan Lee, Ernie Hart (Torch #110-111), Joe Carter (Torch #112), Steve Ditko (Strange #110-111)

Art by Dick Ayers (Torch #110-112), Steve Ditko (Strange #110-111)

I picked these issues because they feature the debut of Doctor Strange, though the main focus is the Human Torch solo stories. (Those get roughly 14 pages, while Dr. Strange gets 5 pages, and issue 112 either doesn't have a Doctor Strange story or the story in question was left out of Marvel Unlimited for some reason)

Unfortunately, the Human Torch does not have the most interesting rogues gallery as a solo hero.  The Fantastic Four may have to deal with some of the Marvel universe's heavyweights - Doctor Doom, Galactus, Annihilus... but on his own, the Human Torch is up against the likes of the Wizard (who claims to be the greatest intellect on Earth, something that he is hilariously wrong about), Paste-Pot Pete (who later changed his pseudonym to the Trapster, but nobody will let him forget that he went around calling himself "Paste-Pot Pete"), the Eel, and his deadliest foe of all - the Asbestos Man. (This was before people found out about the negative effects of asbestos - in the early comics, Johnny's entire room was made from asbestos to prevent him from burning the bedsheets, carpet, etc.)

The stories are basic superhero material, not reaching the heights of Lee and Ditko's work on the Amazing Spider-Man or Lee and Kirby's work on the Fantastic Four, though those are high bars to clear.  Funnily enough, these issues aren't consistent about whether or not he has a secret identity - Johnny acts like he does, but he trains as the Human Torch in his own backyard, and Asbestos Man is able to send a letter calling the Human Torch a coward to Johnny and Sue's house, so if he has a secret identity, he's doing an awful job with keeping it that way.

The Doctor Strange stories are better, though the short length doesn't do them many favours, and Ditko hasn't quite found the series's trippy art style yet.  These two stories introduce Strange himself, along with the Ancient One, Baron Mordo, Wong (who's unnamed here), and Nightmare. Interestingly, we're just thrown into the middle of the action, with Strange already being established in New York - there's no explanation of his backstory, and he's fought Nightmare several times before.

There's a bit of an odd art decision where Strange and Mordo have their eyes closed almost all the time.  I'm not sure why that's the case; maybe it's an attempt at making them seem more "mystical", but it comes across as strange (pardon the pun). These stories show some of the potential of Doctor Strange as a character, but being crammed into the back of a Human Torch-focused magazine gives them little room to breathe.