I think I'm echoing JB when I say that I prefer the magic in Doctor Strange to be fictional, without any ties to 'magic' in our world.

As with pseudo-science in comics, there should also be pseudo-magic.  That said, much of the pseudo-science that has been written (as an example: time travel) tends to incorporate legitimate science or at least scientific theories.  Walt Simonson's run on the FF with the "Time Bubble" is a helpful case study.  With than in mind, I think that DS can be written in psuedo-magic style while still observing some of the "ground rules" of magic !

A Ditko/Stern DR. STRANGE would be magic!

Yes it would!  I know Stern is still writing.  But is Ditko still drawing?

I think the problem with linking a realistic 'our world' magical milieu to Lee's Dr. Strange is that Marvel-Earth and our Earth aren't all that similar. Magic doesn't work here.

Or in the unlikely event that it does, it doesn't seem to have involved a lot of mystic bolt shooting and stuff like that.

That said, I've got no problems with magic portrayed as being logical (to paraphrase Gandalf, you can't burn snow) but find that moving Strange too much into real mysticism -- or into interaction with real-world figures such as Francis Bacon or Aleister Crowley -- tends to destroy my ability to suspend disbelief, especially when the foundation of Strange's magic (ie. the Lee/Ditko years) is patently dissimilar to anything really resembling 'our' mysticism and magic.

IMHO, of course.

Cheers, Jon

I meant to add that a good example of logical but entirely fictional magical rules would be some of the ideas Jack Vance laid out in a couple of stories in The Dying Earth -- rules which got copied and expanded for Dungeons and Dragons! Some of Vance's spell names are still bouncing around D&D games today.

Cheers, Jon

I think the problem with linking a realistic 'our world' magical milieu to Lee's Dr. Strange is that Marvel-Earth and our Earth aren't all that similar. Magic doesn't work here.

In many ways I agree with you Jon !  The Lee/Ditko era was new, fresh, and fun.  It certainly wasn't tied down to real world concepts or characters.  It was very good and I think many of us will always treasure those books and days.  At the same time, "we can't go home again" !  By that I mean, it's been what, 40 years since Strange Tales ?  In some fashion, we need to move forward as both fans and creators with Dr. Strange.  We need to look at new ways and new ideas of communicating him that are both enjoyable and profitable.  And if the #1 culprit is that magic has no rules, then how do we address that?  This is why I suggested that we look at understanding DS in the Tibetan Buddhist paradigm, rather than the concept of a man who knows and can do everything.  By wisely and purposefully evaluating the true context of his origins, we have a significant clue of who DS is and what he can do vs. who he isn't and what he can't do.  It gives us new opportunities to do something new while being faithful to the core of the character that's been staring us in the face for the last 40 years !

The only thing I disagree with you about is your statement that magic doesn't work here.  I think that would truly depend upon who you talk to and where you live.  Bhutan, Nepal, Tibet, parts of India and Mongolia are full of people who not only believe in magic, but practice it.

Or in the unlikely event that it does, it doesn't seem to have involved a lot of mystic bolt shooting and stuff like that.

That's where a merger between pseudo-magic and real magic in comics comes into play, just like pseudo-science and real science in books like the Fantastic Four.  JMS & Peterson (in "Strange") didn't seem to have any problem with DS shooting offensive bolts or conjuring defensive shields.  Yet the basis of Strange's metamorphosis was more thoroughly entrenched in the East !

Interesting stuff, Dan.

Dr. Strange does become a problem when he's written as being too much in the know and too powerful. On the other hand, lots of characters share the same problem. I think Doc Savage works pretty well as an analogy -- Doc's enemies give him problems for a variety of reasons without (at least for the first ten years of the novels) Doc's position as the World's Greatest Expert on Everything being challenged. Skillful writers (Lee, early Engelhart, Stern) can come up with threats to Strange that push him to his limits without the need to strip him of his powers.

There's a nice 'throwaway' bit in a Stern/Smith story in which we see Strange warning an extra-dimensional invader off before we return to the main story. Suggesting that Strange is up to that sort of thing all the time makes him more interesting as well. No wonder he gets cranky sometimes.

Cheers, Jon