Strange Tales #169
Strange Tales #169 introduced Jericho Drumm — Brother Voodoo — one of Marvel's earliest Black superheroes to headline his own series, and the first to center Haitian culture and Vodou spiritual tradition at the heart of a superhero narrative. The issue debuted a genuinely novel power concept: Jericho carries the fused spirit of his deceased twin brother Daniel inside him, giving him a literal two-souls-in-one-body dynamic that set him apart from every other Marvel mystic of the era. It also served as the vehicle that revived the Strange Tales title after a five-year absence, positioning the Bronze Age supernatural boom — sparked by the 1971 loosening of Comics Code Authority restrictions — as fertile ground for hero archetypes beyond the standard Western mold. Decades later, Jericho's trajectory from Haiti's houngan supreme all the way to Sorcerer Supreme of the Marvel Universe validated the creative ambition of this single debut issue.
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The concept originated when Marvel publisher Stan Lee brainstormed a heroic voodoo practitioner with editor-in-chief Roy Thomas; Thomas proposed the name 'Doctor Voodoo,' and Lee countered with 'Brother Voodoo,' with both Thomas and art director John Romita Sr. later receiving formal 'creative contributions' credits on the issue. Thomas then assigned the scripting to Len Wein, who was simultaneously writing for both Marvel and DC (including Justice League of America and Swamp Thing), and the art to Gene Colan, whose atmospheric shadow-work was seen as ideal for bridging the superhero and horror genres. Wein developed the character's power set from voodoo reference texts that Thomas had himself recently consulted while launching Tales of the Zombie, and the two settled on a combination of loa spirits, possession, and the real-world significance of twins in Vodou tradition as the backbone of Jericho's abilities. An additional family touch: colorist Glynis Wein — Len's first wife — contributed to the issue and won the Shazam Award for best colorist in 1973 partly on the strength of her Strange Tales work.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance of Jericho Drumm as Brother Voodoo (Earth-616), cover-dated September 1973 — the character's full origin is told in flashback within this same issue.
- First appearance and final corporeal appearance of Daniel Drumm (the original Brother Voodoo), who dies in the flashback; his spirit is then permanently fused with Jericho's body.
- First appearance of Papa Jambo, the elder houngan who trains Jericho and performs the rite bonding Daniel's spirit to his twin.
- First appearance of Bambu, Jericho's loyal servant, who later serves as the only other person entrusted with the combination to Damballah's wangal artifact.
- First appearance of the villain Damballah (in flashback) — the Marvel Universe's Damballah is a pawn of Set and is explicitly not the benevolent Vodou loa of the same name from real-world tradition.
- Issue restarts the Strange Tales title at its legacy numbering (picking up at #169) after the series had been dormant since May 1968, when Doctor Strange and Nick Fury departed for solo titles.
- Creative team: script by Len Wein; pencils by Gene Colan; inks by Dan Adkins; cover by John Romita Sr.; colors by Glynis Wein; letters by John Costanza; edited by Roy Thomas.
- The story was reprinted in the 2009 one-shot Doctor Voodoo: The Origin of Jericho Drumm, published around the time Jericho replaced Doctor Strange as Sorcerer Supreme in New Avengers #53 (July 2009).
Cast · 10 characters
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Full plot ⚠ may contain spoilers
▸ Reveal full plot — may contain spoilers
Jericho Drumm returns to Haiti to find his brother dying from the curse of Damballah.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).