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Doctor Strange Reading Order

Created by Steve Ditko with Stan Lee in Strange Tales #110 (1963) at a time when Marvel tried new things (like mysticism!), Doctor Strange is the Sorcerer Supreme, the main protector of Earth against magical and mystical threats. 

At first, he was just in a 5-page filler story but rapidly gained in visibility and popularity. Meet Stephen Strange, also known as Doctor Strange. But he is no ordinary doctor, being the Master of the Mystic Arts, a sorcerer supreme, a white knight who wields black magic against blacker villains still. Strange is mankind’s only hope against the dark otherworldly forces that conspire to destroy the conscious world. 

Doctor Strange was born in the heart of the counterculture era, mixing mysticism and psychedelia. The art was surrealist and he was an unconventional hero, but he found enough success in his niche to become the main character of the book that ended up renamed after him. His popularity was fluctuant and he jumped from his solo series to team books or even anthologies, never getting the exposition other big superheroes got.

The Sorcerer Supreme is now a big player in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which led to new collected editions, but it may be hard to follow. So, here is the guide to the mystic adventures of Doctor Strange.

Where to start reading Doctor Strange? The Recommended Reading List

With more than 50 years of stories to discover, new readers may not be interested in reading everything from the start. Before our chronological reading order, here is a recommended reading list for Doctor Strange:

  • Doctor Strange: The Oath by Brian K. Vaughn and Marcos Martin – A story in which Doctor Strange sets out to solve an attempted murder – his own!
  • Dr. Strange Season One – A modern retelling of Doctor Strange’s origin story by Greg Pak and Emma Rios.
  • Doctor Strange by Jason Aaron (aka Volume 4) – A good and modern entry point for new readers who want an ongoing series, not just a one-shot.
  • Doctor Strange & Doctor Doom: Triumph and Torment by Roger Stern, Gerry Conway, and Mike Mignola. A graphic novel that took two unlikely allies, Strange and Doom, on a journey to Mephisto’s infernal realm.
  • Strange: The Doctor is Out by Mark Waid and Emma Rios. A 4-part miniseries. No longer Sorcerer Supreme of the Marvel Universe, Stephen Strange must discover a new path to fulfillment and enlightenment. 
  • Dr. Strange: What Is It That Disturbs You, Stephen? by Marc Andreyko and P. Craig Russell. From the arcane shadows of the Sanctum Sanctorum to the dizzying spires of the mystical city of Ditkopolis! 

Doctor Strange Comics Reading Order

Doctor Strange Volume 1 (1963-1969)

The First volume of Doctor Strange is Strange Tales from #110 to 183, but the title changed to Doctor Strange with #169. At that point, Roy Thomas wrote the book and was rapidly joined by Gene Colan (art) and Tom Palmer (ink).

In the Marvel Masterworks collection:

In the Epic Collection:

In the Omnibus Collection:

  • Doctor Strange Omnibus vol. 1
    Collects Strange Tales #110–111, 114–146; Amazing Spider-Man Annual #20.
  • Doctor Strange Omnibus vol. 2
    Collects Strange Tales #147–168, Doctor Strange #169–183, Avengers #61, Sub-Mariner #22, Incredible Hulk #126; Marvel Feature #1, Not Brand Echh #13.

Doctor Strange Reading Order - Small IconAfter Doctor Strange #183, the first volume of the ongoing Doctor Strange series ended. The Master of the Mystic Arts led the Defenders, a team of outsiders with Hulk, Namor, and—eventually—Silver Surfer. They first appeared together in Marvel Feature #1 (Dec. 1971). The series was published alongside Doctor Strange: Master of the Mystic Arts (volume 2). Check out our Defenders reading order for more information!

Doctor Strange Reading Order - Icon

Doctor Strange: Master of the Mystic Arts (volume 2, 1974-1987)

Doctor Strange Reading Order - Small IconOnce Doctor Strange Volume 1 was canceled, the adventures of Stephen Strange continued in Marvel Premiere #3–14 (July 1972—March 1974). Then, the second volume—subtitled Master of the Mystic Arts—started. Steve Englehart became the main writer with Frank Bruner on art (and some Gene Colan). After that, the series changed writers regularly Marv Wolfman briefly took over before Jim Starlin, then Roger Stern stayed a while on the title before Ralph Macchio, Chris Claremont, and others. Peter Gillis wrote the last issues.

In the Marvel Omnibus collection:

This new omnibus collects Steve Englehart and Frank Bruner’s run on Doctor Strange that was already available in Doctor Strange Masterworks Vol. 5 & 6, see below.

In the Marvel Masterworks collection:

In the Epic Collection:

Doctor Strange Reading Order - Icon

Strange Tales vol. 2 (1987–1988)

Doctor Strange Reading Order - Small IconAfter Doctor Strange Volume 2 ended (with a cliffhanger), Stephen Strange joined another split book format series, volume 2 of Strange Tales–which was shared with Cloak and Dagger. Peter Gillis was still the writer. It was all about Strange’s quest to reclaim his power and missing artifacts after the tragic conclusion of the vol. 2.

Doctor Strange: Sorcerer Supreme (1988–1996)

Still written by Peter Gillis, Strange was back in his own title, Doctor Strange: Sorcerer Supreme. During this period, he became part of the “Midnight Sons,” a group of Marvel’s supernatural heroes, and formed the Secret Defenders with a rotating roster of heroes. He was also part of the Infinity Saga.

In the Omnibus Collection:

  • Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme Omnibus vol. 2
    Collects Doctor Strange: Sorcerer Supreme #41–59, Annual #2–3, Spider-Man/Dr. Strange: The Way to Dusty Death, Silver Surfer vol. 3 #67, Morbius: The Living Vampire #9, Secret Defenders #1–11, and material from Incredible Hulk Annual #18, Namor the Sub-Mariner Annual #2, and Silver Surfer Annual #5

  • Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme Omnibus vol. 3
    Collects Doctor Strange: Sorcerer Supreme #60-90, Annual #4 and Ashcan Edition; Strange Tales (1994) #1; Midnight Suns Unlimited #6; Dr. Strange: What is it That Disturbs You, Stephen? GN; Untold Tales of Spider-Man: Strange Encounter GN.

    • Crossover! #60-61 are part of the storyline Midnight Sons – Siege of Darkness.

In the Epic Collection:

Once Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme concluded, Doctor Strange became a supported character in the Marvel Universe for a long time. He got some miniseries, appeared in the new Defenders series (volume 2, not collected for now), got an out-of-continuity series within the Marvel Knights label, then got swept in the Bendis’ Avengers events.

This is clearly not an exhaustive listing of all of Doctor Strange’s appearances during that time, just a list of the major books, and most of them (most of those New Avengers for example) are still light on Strange.

The Events Era! Doctor Strange was not considered big enough to get his own title back, but he did participate in multiple events. First in House of M (Reading order), then in Civil War, but barely (reading order). Just the main series, not the tie-ins. Next, he appeared in New Avengers, becoming a recurrent character during all of Bendis’s era:

In 2010, following Siege (reading order), with what is known as “The Heroic Age,” Doctor Strange became an official member of The Avengers – aka Avengers Vol. 4 & New Avengers Vol. 2 by Brian Michael Bendis.

It’s Marvel Now! Jonathan Hickman took over the Avengers line. You can find more about it in our dedicated reading order of this era. Once again, Doctor Strange is not the main player, but with a renewed interest in the Illuminati, this part is more interesting for the character than what Bendis did.

Event! It’s time for a reboot of the Marvel Universe. For that, we need a massive event: Secret Wars, and Doctor Strange had obviously a part to play in it. See our reading order.

Doctor Strange vol. 4 (2015–2017)

For the first time since 1996, Doctor Strange is the star of his own ongoing series – coming from Jason Aaron and Chris Bachalo.

In the Omnibus Collection:

  • Doctor Strange by Jason Aaron
    Collects Doctor Strange (2015) #1-20, Doctor Strange Annual (2016) #1, Doctor Strange: Last Days of Magic (2016) #1.

In Paperbacks:

Other collection:

Event! Captain America was not who we thought he was and made Hydra’s ideals a reality. The World is not the same anymore and Doctor Stange joined the fight to save it with the help of Spider-Woman and… Wilson Fisk – written by Denis Hopeless. For more information, see our reading order of the Secret Empire event.

Marvel Legacy (2018) aka Doctor Strange by Donny Cates

After Secret Empire, Doctor Strange vol. 4 continues, but we are entering the Marvel Legacy era during which Marvel comic series reverted to their classic cumulative numbering system. Donny Cates is the writer and he made Loki the Sorcerer Supreme (it didn’t last long).

In the Omnibus Collection:

In Paperbacks:

Doctor Strange vol. 5 (2018–2020) aka Doctor Strange by Mark Waid

Marvel Legacy didn’t last long, it’s Marvel Now! Mark Waid and artist Jesus Saiz took over the ongoing Doctor Strange series, but there are other books to read first.

Marvel just reprinted (in 2024) Mark Waid’s run on Doctor Strange. Before taking a look a the complete reading order for that era, know that you can now collect the main series with these two books:

Here is the full reading order for that era of Doctor Strange’s adventures:

Event! It’s the War of the Realms (full reading order), but Doctor Strange didn’t have a major part in the story. It’s optional here, but it’s a good read.

Also, there’s now a Strange Academy series about a school of Magic founded by Doctor Strange.

Death of Doctor Strange (2021)

And now, the Death of Doctor Strange! To know more about this event written by Jed MacKay, go to our reading order.

  • Death of Doctor Strange
    Collects Death of Doctor Strange (2021) #1-5
  • Death Of Doctor Strange Companion
    Collects Death of Doctor Strange: Avengers (2021) #1, Death of Doctor Strange: Strange Academy Presents (2021) #1, Death of Doctor Strange: Spider-Man (2021) #1, Death of Doctor Strange: White Fox (2021) #1, Death of Doctor Strange: Blade (2021) #1, Death of Doctor Strange: X-Men/Black Knight (2021) #1.

Doctor Strange is dead – long live the Sorceress Supreme!

A trippy Doctor Strange story coming from Tradd Moore. Doctor Strange awakens alone in a distant world not his own. The wandering sorcerer must explore this land of blades and mystery to unravel arcane secrets and escape the deadly horrors that lie in wait! I’m not sure where it does take place in continuity, don’t hesitate to leave a comment about it!

Doctor Strange by Jed MacKay

Stephen Strange is alive again. The Sorcerer Supreme is back to work with Clea and Wong in new adventures coming from writer Jed MacKay and artist Pasqual Ferry.

Vampires Unleashed! The Blood Hunt event puts Doctor Strange and Clea in difficult situations as they have to fight in their own home against a vampire attack. Strange will have to put everything on the line to save the world. Check our article about the crossover event to know how to read this story.

More to come!

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