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Steve Ditko Strange Tales 131, p 26

Location: Main room
Artists: Steve Ditko (Penciller) , Steve Ditko (Inker)

Location: Main room
Title: Steve Ditko Strange Tales 131, p 26
Artist: Steve Ditko (Penciller) , Steve Ditko (Inker)
Media Type: Pen and Ink
Art Type: Interior Page
For Sale Status: NFS
Views: 1522
Likes on CAF: 7
Comments: 14
Added to Site: 3/8/2015

"The Hunter and the Hunted!" Dr. Strange evades Baron Mordo and the dreaded Dormammu in this 1965 Strange Tales 131. Not only is Dr. Strange in every panel, he appears a total of 12 times in six panels! As usual at this time, Ditko was plotting himself and fully co-writing.

This page is from what most consider Ditko's peak period on Dr. Strange, issues 130-146 of Strange Tales: "The Eternity Saga". This 17-issue story arc introduced the cosmic entity Eternity, in an epic battle with Baron Mordo.

I could never land that Ditko Spider-Man page I wanted, so I "settled" after a near miss and nabbed this back in 1988. It feels larger than 2-up in person, probably because of the large top margin. It's an incredibly clean page, and I love the almost animated way the characters are handled. I guess since Ditko was inking himself, he didn't need much under-drawing. This issue had two stories, so this was page 7 of the Ditko Dr. Strange story, but page 26 of the comic.

It took me a while to appreciate what amazing work Ditko did on Dr. Strange. I think it's as exceptional as his Spider-Man work, and for as much as he was a co-creator of Spider-Man, he was the sole creator of Dr. Strange. Collectors sometimes counsel that one shouldn't settle for anything short of their real target when buying OA, but I'm so glad I did just that.

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Member Since: February 2015
Last Login: April 2026
Country: NETHERLANDS
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Mike W Member Since 2007

Posted On 3/8/2015

Vintage Marvel Magic!!!!!!!

Timothy Finney Member Since 2006

Posted On 3/8/2015

I actually think the work he did on Doctor Strange is, in some ways, superior and, more imaginative than his Spider-Man work and I think you scored big time when you acquired this. His various depictions of magic during his run, including his use of Daliesque imagery as in the first panel, was unique for its time but often copied since.

Mark Levy Member Since 2004

Posted On 3/8/2015

Always a treat to see a Ditko Dr. Strange page surface!

Roger K. Member Since 2005
Forum Moderator

Posted On 3/9/2015

Certainly more scarce than a Ditko Spider-Man page. Out of the few Ditko Dr. Strange pages I've seen, I like the actual artwork on this one the best. Hang on to this treasure!

Gordon Bartik Member Since 2013

Posted On 3/9/2015

Great page Kevin. I agree with Timothy's comment that in the main, Steve Ditko's work on Dr Strange was far more elaborate, dynamic and intricate than his Spiderman work (with the exception of a number of stunning issues). With Dr Strange he allows his wonderful design sense to permeate every aspect of the page as seen in your lovely page.

Miki Annamanthadoo Member Since 2003

Posted On 3/9/2015

Great page! I always preferred Ditko Dr. Strange to SM. This was the title he was meant to illustrate!

DC's Showcase Member Since 2006

Posted On 3/10/2015

Amazing! A quite scarce, unique and marvelous page from an astonishing artist/character combo.

Sean Clarke Member Since 2005

Posted On 3/14/2015

Ohhh, man! Kevin, now you are just spiking the ball... a Steve Ditko Dr. Strange page is a rare and wonderful treasure. I've read that Ditko has made a few more Dr. Strange stories, strictly for his own pleasure, never to share with his many fans. Some day?

Jerry C. Member Since 2009

Posted On 3/19/2015

Ditko is Dr. Strange! Keep your page! Big congrats!

Mark Howland Member Since 2004

Posted On 3/22/2015

Another one. Fabulous!

Suat Tong Ng Member Since 2009

Posted On 10/2/2015

I agree with Tim. Often find Ditko's work on Strange more aesthetically pleasing than his work on Spider-Man. A memorable episode captured here.

Benedict Judas Hel Member Since 2020

Posted On 2/26/2025

A Ditko page with Baron Mordo?! A delightfully devilish combination!

Comicart Boston Member Since 2010

Posted On 4/12/2025

Although a decade late, it is better late than never! What an amazing page and, of course, Ditko drew far fewer Doctor Strange pages than ASM pages, so this is a real winner in more ways than one!

Kevin Koch Member Since 2015

Posted On 4/13/2025

Comicart Boston wrote:

" Although a decade late, it is better late than never! What an amazing page and, of course, Ditko drew far fewer Doctor Strange pages than ASM pages, so this is a real winner in more ways than one!
"

Thanks! Your comment inspired me to check the relative page counts. I count 320 Ditko-drawn Dr. Strange pages, with less than 300 both penciled and inked by Steve. In contrast, my estimate is that there are over 800 Ditko Spider-Man pages, plus covers. So, yeah, much more rare. Plus I think it's fair to say that he was really innovating on Dr. Strange (as he was on Spider-Man, of course).

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Steve Ditko Strange Tales 131, p 26

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