Dan, are you really saying JMS "got" Dr Strange better than Stan Lee?

Gerry -

Yes and no.  I'll start with the "No" first.  It's hard to argue that the premier release of new creations are in some way(s) inferior to later takes on them.  This is not to say that improvements can't be made at a later date.  But the classic forms of Dr. Strange, Spider-Man, Fantastic Four, etc, are the "best" incarnations/portrayals, simply because they are the originals.  Without these, we have nothing to go on.  What Lee/Ditko did with Dr. Strange, as the original, is the best !

On the other hand, "Yes" I would say that JMS got DS better in terms of the core essence of the character and the context in which DS became the Master of the Mystic Arts.  I don't know Stan Lee personally.  I wasn't there when he created DS.  And I can't read his mind.  But my impression is this.  Like many fiction authors of his era, Lee wrote a Dr. Strange within the popular mindset of the "Shangri-La" myth.  Shangi-La, although an interesting idea, doesn't exist and is therefore a "romantic" image of what Tibet and eastern mysticism is all about. 

Fast forward in time some 40+ years, and the western world's understanding of Tibet & Tibetan culture/religion has vastly improved.  Maybe some still have the romantic "Shangri-La" view of Tibet, but for most part, that "illusion" (pun intended) has been lifted.  Just recently (in the last 2 years) Good Morning America was in Bhutan, a Kingdom that (for the most part) used to be closed to foreigners and tourists.  In the 90's I visited Tibet and its capital Lhasa, myself. 

Now as with Lee, I don't know JMS, etc.  But from my vantage point, both as a reader of Dr. Strange and as one who has studied and experienced Tibetan culture/religion, I personally feel that JMS' portrayal of DS was much more informed!  Lee's DS is fun and fanciful!  JMS' DS is fictional, but more accurate !

Dr strange is not about tibetan mysticism.its about one mans redemption,and his continuing journey to make up for his past lifestyle.the first story had the Ancient One in India, not Tibet

Your point is well taken Gerry, and I agree with part of it.  Yes, DS is about redemption and the attending journey.  You are also correct that Lee's version of DS puts Strange in India. JMS' more recent version puts him in Tibet.  But from where I am sitting, because Tibetan Buddhist culture is present within the Indian Himalayas, even if we agree that Strange's first meeting with the AO was in India (and in the mountains), the cultural context would have included TB religion and culture.

And please understand, my point is not to promote or advocate Tibetan Buddhist culture and religion within the Marvel Universe (generally) or in the DS comic(specifically).  My point is that Dr. Strange's training would not have included Haitian Voodism, British Druidism, etc.  Yet because of the "open ended" and I think "romantic view of Shangri-La" context that Lee wrote DS, Lee left the door open for DS be able to do anything and everything !  This is the "origin" of the problem of "magic has no rules" within the DS comic book!  JMS' version (imho) actually reigns the good doctor in a little more, most especially in DS' encounter with the AO when they discuss reality and illusion !  This makes way more sense than having DS "graduate" from his training in the East to the point where he knows all forms of magic/sorcery/mysticism and can do anything and everything !  Magic (like science) has rules.  And when DS is written that way, it can be a much better book !

It took itself too seriously.

I am not following you David.  I appreciate your opinion.  I am just uncertain as to how you got there.

you say that Dr Stranges training "would not have included".

is that based upon something in the comics, or your own reading?

Gerry -

My grasp of the DS canon is not as comprehensive as Howard Hallis or Neilalien.  So I may have missed something along the way.  But for the most part, I've read about 80%+ of all the DS comics ever written.  That said, the key issue we are discussing has to do with the origin issues by Lee/Ditko and JMS/Peterson.  Having read both arcs several times, nothing was ever clearly stated that Dr. Strange learned any "magic arts" that exist outside of his India/Tibet/Himalayan context.  So to answer your question, my understanding is based upon what I read in the comic and how it was actually portrayed.  Hopefully I didn't miss something!  If I did, I do hope you can offer an alternative that may clear things up.  I sense you are the more "astute student" of the good doctor !

Note: I will check back with you later today !

I agree, Gerry.  That's just where the Ancient One lived.  Dr. Strange is Master of the Mystic Arts, which includes all kinds of magic, at least in my mind.

Dan, I'm fairly sure I've read something in Essential Dr. Strange #3 that specifically stated that he spent time learning other styles of magic.  I'll have to flip through it again...

"i learned all the ways of Sorcery"