Doctor Strange #381

History

Doctor Strange #381 launched on November 15, 2017 as part of Marvel's Legacy initiative, which returned titles to their classic numbering. Marvel signed Donny Cates — then fresh off creator-owned breakout work at Image — to an exclusive deal and handed him both Doctor Strange and Thanos simultaneously, with #381 being his very first Marvel exclusive issue. Joining him was artist Gabriel Hernandez Walta, who had just come off his acclaimed run on Tom King's Vision, paired with colorist Jordie Bellaire; that pairing had already earned widespread praise and its visual sensibility translated directly into the grounded-yet-uncanny tone Cates sought. The issue also contains a backup strip written by Robbie Thompson with art by Niko Henrichon — a brief retelling of Strange's origin — serving as the 'Marvel Primer Pages' component required of Legacy launch issues. In pre-publication interviews Cates signaled that the how of Loki's ascension was less important than the why, teasing a reveal in issue #382 he had pitched convinced editorial would never approve it.

Trivia · 8 facts

• First appearance of Bats — a basset hound Stephen Strange adopts during his post-Sorcerer Supreme period and enchants with a translation spell so humans can understand his barks; the character later dies and returns as a ghost, becoming a fixture of Strange's supporting cast.
• Written by Donny Cates (his first Marvel exclusive issue), penciled and inked by Gabriel Hernandez Walta, colored by Jordie Bellaire, lettered by Cory Petit, cover by Mike Del Mundo; edited by Nick Lowe.
• Officially part of the Marvel Legacy initiative and kicks off the 'Loki: Sorcerer Supreme' story arc (issues #381–385), collected in Doctor Strange by Donny Cates Vol. 1: God of Magic (ISBN 978-1302910648).
• The in-story premise: following a magic tournament, the Vishanti declare Loki the new Sorcerer Supreme; Strange is stripped of his title and powers and is shown living as a veterinarian.
• Supporting characters appearing include Zelma Stanton (Strange's former apprentice, now serving as Loki's assistant), Scarlet Witch (Wanda Maximoff), Thor (Jane Foster), and Count Kaoz.
• The issue shipped with six distinct covers: the standard Mike Del Mundo cover, a Mike Deodato Jr. lenticular homage variant, a John Tyler Christopher trading card wraparound variant, a 1:10 Mike McKone Legacy Headshot variant, a 1:25 Gabriel Hernandez Walta variant, and a 1:50 Steve Ditko 1965 T-Shirt variant reproducing classic Ditko artwork.
• A backup story written by Robbie Thompson with art by Niko Henrichon provides a condensed retelling of Doctor Strange's origin, fulfilling the Marvel Legacy 'Primer Pages' requirement.
• The issue has been reprinted in at least three collected formats: the U.S. trade paperback Doctor Strange by Donny Cates Vol. 1 (2019), the German-language Doctor Strange (Panini Deutschland) #7 (Oktober 2018), and the Brazilian Doutor Estranho (Panini Brasil) #1 (dezembro 2018).

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