MY HIT LIST - Marvel Premiere number 3 1972

Doctor Strange was always mainstream comics most esoteric character. Dabbling in the mystic arts from his Sanctum in Greenwich village. Pretty much a creation of the drug induced sixties he is an interesting character in that his battles are generally of a spiritual otherness. This particular comic book I remember reading as a kid and I have recently stumbled upon it again.
What sets it apart is that it is about a man loosing his mind and it is also noticeable for it's artwork by one of my favourite comic book artists, Britain's Barry Smith. The whole story takes place in Doctor Stranges astral projection / dream scape. Yes it all sounds a bit pretentious, but it is rare that mainstream comics would go off at such a tangent in those days. It's a beautifully illustrated comic and its a pity that back then the print process did not allow for the real detail and nuance to shine through.

Doctor Strange is, and was, always an outsiders comic book and this particular issue is a look back into the beginning of the more adult centred approach that the mainstream comic world was starting to take.

For more of Barry (now Windsor-Smith) click on link below, you may be pleasantly surprised, particularly if you don't 'like' comic books.

http://www.barrywindsor-smith.com/galleria/artmenu.html
BWS-Galleria