Final Meeting
Our final meeting is tomorrow, same time, same place. We'll be sending off the class of 2026, assigning superlatives, as well as voting for our next executive board. Hope to see you there!
Show & Tell
art blog(derogatory)
Three Goblin Art
d e v o n

ellievsbear
tumblr dot com

PR's Tumblrdome
Peter Solarz
TVSTRANGERTHINGS
styofa doing anything
he wasn't even looking at me and he found me
PUT YOUR BEARD IN MY MOUTH
Aqua Utopia|海の底で記憶を紡ぐ
I'd rather be in outer space 🛸

oozey mess
hello vonnie

No title available
No title available
Misplaced Lens Cap

❣ Chile in a Photography ❣

seen from Australia

seen from United Kingdom

seen from Morocco
seen from United States

seen from United States
seen from United States

seen from Australia

seen from Germany

seen from United States

seen from United Kingdom
seen from Malaysia
seen from Brazil
seen from Germany

seen from United States

seen from United States
seen from Russia

seen from Sweden

seen from Germany
seen from United States

seen from Curaçao
@studentsofshield
Final Meeting
Our final meeting is tomorrow, same time, same place. We'll be sending off the class of 2026, assigning superlatives, as well as voting for our next executive board. Hope to see you there!
Meeting :3
Oh yeah we have a meeting tomorrow. Scavenger hunt at 7:30, 62 Willard. Be there or be 🐴
Talent Show!
Hey, kid! You think you're a big shot? Well, come on down to the Students of SHIELD Talent Show this Thursday (10/23) and show us what you're made of! 7:30 in Willard 62 as always!
Tier List Night
Tier list night is tomorrow at 7:30 in the Willard building! Stop on by to watch some funny presentations, or present your own within an 8 minute timeframe!
Involvement Fair
We're at the Penn State involvement fair today until 6:00 PM! Feel free to drop by and take some free stickers!
Ayo we still have a tumblr bitches
follow me or something idc I'm probably gonna use this some times for the funny
Somehow, The Students of SHIELD Tumblr Returned.
Strange Tales: A Doctor Strange Publication History Lesson Part 3, A Separate Reality
By Vincent Faust
Strange then jumped from anthology/tryout title Marvel Feature to Marvel Premiere. He was the lead feature here from 3-14. Starting with Marvel Premiere 9, Steve Englehart started writing Strange’s solo stories.
All of the above information has been primarily sourced from good olde Wikipedia (a totally legitimate source), the dark recesses of my own brain, the Marvel Wikia, this Polygon article, and most importantly Neilalien.com which is a fantastic Doctor Strange fansite.
Strange Tales: A Doctor Strange Publication History Lesson Part 2, Roy Thomas and the Masked Doctor
By Vincent Faust
Steve Ditko left the Doctor Strange feature after Strange Tales 146. This coincided with Amazing Spider-Man 38, marking his mysterious and silent overnight departure from Marvel Comics. Some diehard Strange and Ditko fans would argue that those 1960s stories have never been and never will be surpassed. That may or may not be true, but Stephen Vincent Strange has definitely had quality stories since. So let’s get into it.
Immediately following Ditko, Bill Everett came on as artist briefly for Strange Tales 147-152. Everett is most known as the creator of Namor the Sub-Mariner in the Golden Age. A character he eventually had three distinct and acclaimed runs on. His line was very unique for the post-Fantastic Four Marvel. Fans either love or hate his “hammerhead” style Namor. On Doctor Strange, he was both a throwback to the Golden Age style and reminiscent of the burgeoning underground comics scene of the time. Half of these stories were written by a young Dennis O’Neil (years later to become a legend at DC), with Stan the Man handling the rest.
What then followed for the remainder of the Strange Tales period was a rough spot. Marvel legend Marie Severin did a stint on art, but never truly fit the character like she did with Hulk. Strange Tales 162-168 largely featured scripts by the obscure Jim Lawrence (also did James Bond newspaper strips) and art by Dan Adkins. This period of over a year is not a well remembered time.
Following ST 168, the book’s features get split up. Just like the end of many of Marvel’s anthology books (Tales of Suspense, Tales to Astonish, Journey into Mystery), one feature keeps the numbering and another gets their own new title. Strange continued on into Doctor Strange Vol 1 169 and Nick Fury’s modern day stories moved to Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.
This title change also brought a creative change with incoming writer Roy Thomas. Thomas had already written a few Strange tales during the Strange Tales era (lol). Across the Marvel line, he was frequently being handpicked as Lee’s successor on his most beloved characters. Thomas has a solid run that is marked by a controversial decision. He’d return to the character several times through the years.
During this stint, Thomas is joined by Gene Colan, one of the more underrated artists of Marvel’s Silver Age stable. Colan is also known around that time for Iron Man and a huge run on Daredevil, and would later team with Marv Wolfman on the cult classic Tomb of Dracula.
In Doctor Strange 177, Stephen puts on a mask and gets a new out-of-costume secret identity in Stephen Sanders. This was a move to try and hue closer to Marvel’s other more traditional superheroes. Nowadays, it is mostly just a curiosity laughed at in online articles.
Strange's traditional costume and identity were restored in 182. Unfortunately, the book would be canceled after just one more issue. With no space to finish the story, Thomas used other books he was writing to wrap up a crossover that would be another major piece of the puzzle of Strange's history.
In Doctor Strange 183, Sub-Mariner 22, and Incredible Hulk 126, the three titular heroes team up to defeat the Nameless One and his Undying Ones. A later Subby story roped in the Silver Surfer and introduced Valkyrie. And thus the Defenders were born. The greatest non-team in comics. The team's first stories officially together were in Marvel Feature 1-3. These issues also featured some solo Strange features. The Defenders then got their own comic, being written initially by Steve Englehart.
Strange's stints on teams will not be chronicled past this point in these posts.
Unfortunately, most of the stuff between Ditko and the material discussed in the third part has not been collected very well. Check out masterworks and essentials if you want it now. It should be in the second epic collection eventually.
All of the above information has been primarily sourced from good olde Wikipedia (a totally legitimate source), the dark recesses of my own brain, the Marvel Wikia, this Polygon article, and most importantly Neilalien.com which is a fantastic Doctor Strange fansite.
Strange Tales: A Doctor Strange Publication History Lesson Part 1, Creation and the Legendary Lee/Ditko Run
By Vincent Faust
The Marvel hero known as Doctor Strange first appeared in Strange Tales #110 in July 1963. His debut and subsequent stories for his first few years were plotted and drawn by Steve Ditko and scripted by Stan Lee. Unlike the far more popular and lucrative Spider-Man, the creator credits for the good Doctor have never been too controversial.
"On my own, I brought in to Lee a five-page, penciled story with a page/panel script of my idea of a new, different kind of character for variety in Marvel Comics. My character wound up being named Dr. Strange because he would appear in Strange Tales."
-Steve Ditko, 2008
“Well, we have a new character in the works for Strange Tales (just a 5-page filler named Dr. Strange) Steve Ditko is gonna draw him. It has sort of a black magic theme. The first story is nothing great, but perhaps we can make something of him-- 'twas Steve's idea and I figured we'd give it a chance, although again, we had to rush the first one too much. Little sidelight: Originally decided to call him Mr. Strange, but thought the "Mr." bit too similar to Mr. Fantastic -- now, however, I remember we had a villain called Dr. Strange just recently in one of our mags, hope it won't be too confusing!”
-Stan Lee, 1963
As Lee explains, Strange was initially a short filler. He then appeared in the next issue (Strange Tales 111), but would skip a few issues until appearing for the third time in 114. Strange would maintain this Strange Tales feature spot until ST 168, which then evolved into Doctor Strange Vol 1 (keeping the numbering). Initially he shared the book with co-lead feature Human Torch Johnny Storm (101-134). Nick Fury’s modern day Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. features then took Johnny’s spot for the duration of the Strange Tales run (then getting his own mag as well).
A minor point of contention among Strange fans and Marvel historians is whether Stephen Strange may have been initially depicted/intended as being of Asian descent. This is a theory that Kurt Busiek, acclaimed comics writer and Marvel encyclopedia, has advanced. This debate rose to new heights around the release of the 2016 film, which had become embroiled in whitewashing controversy over the Ancient One’s casting.
Here are some excerpts from Strange’s earliest appearances. Notice the possibly stereotyped facial features.
His features are similar to the Ancient One’s, who is explicitly denoted as Asian off the bat. There are no textual references to Strange’s ancestry at first. But it is worth noting that Baron Mordo is also depicted with similar features, and is fairly clearly written as European.
By his third appearance, Ditko is drawing Strange in a more Caucasian appearance. This would then stick with the character to this day. It is unknown whether this was just a style change that means nothing at all or if it was an intentional change. Perhaps the creative team realized that the character was catching on beyond a one-off anthology fill-in. Did Stan Lee pressure Ditko to alter the character to a more palatable ongoing protagonist for 1960s America? I do not believe Ditko has ever commented on this matter. If you’d like to send him a letter, he may or may not reply.
What followed was one of the most influential runs in comics history. Steve Ditko cast Doctor Strange in mind-blowing realms and dimensions that would inspire young minds. Along with the brooding Incredible Hulk, Doctor Strange became popular on college campuses across America. Learning this, Lee and Ditko leaned even farther into these elements. Readers assumed that Ditko was a drug user, which couldn’t be further from the truth. Students were getting into psychedelia and Eastern mysticism, and Ditko’s boundless imagination was the perfect fit.
Stan Lee’s role in these stories is rightfully overshadowed, but his influence should also be noted. Lee provided Strange’s crazy incantations and mystical artifacts. Mythology that has stuck with the character to this day like the “eye of Agamotto,” the “book of Vishanti,” the wand of Watoomb.”
The creative high point of this era is the famous Eternity Saga. Spanning Strange Tales 130-146, it is sometime referred to as the first proper “graphic novel” story arc in superhero comics. The epic started prior to, and overlapped with the overshadowing Galactus Trilogy in Fantastic Four, but is far longer.
In this story, Ditko introduced Eternity, one of the first cosmic entities of the Marvel Universe. A pantheon that would be added to over the years and later used to epic effect by folks like Jim Starlin, Dan Abnett, and Andy Lanning.
The story is about the entanglements of Strange, Eternity, Dormammu, and Baron Mordo.
If you’d like to read all of Lee and Ditko’s magical tales, you have a few options.
There is a hardcover omnibus collecting the entirety of Strange Tales 110-111, 114-146 together in one tome. It is a rather thin one compared to Marvel’s other releases so as to isolate Ditko’s work.
The same material has also been collected variously in hardcover masterworks, black and white paperback essentials, Doctor Strange Classic single issue reprints, etc. Some of these may be out of print and expensive online due to high demand.
All of the above information has been primarily sourced from good olde Wikipedia (a totally legitimate source), the dark recesses of my own brain, the Marvel Wikia, this Polygon article, and most importantly Neilalien.com which is a fantastic Doctor Strange fansite.
“90s Comics Sucked”
CCF for August 4, 2017 - Avengers Vol 1 56
Rip Bucky. Rest in pieces.
CCF for July 28, 2017 - Detective Comics Vol 1 596
Kinky...
CCF for July 21, 2017 - JSA 73
Warner Bros. better do this iconic character justice. Their track record still isn’t so strong. Alex Ross knows how to respect Captain Marvel though.
A Rambling Chronicle of Marvel’s Western Comics
By Vincent Faust - November 27, 2018
Marvel Comics is the most prolific comic book publisher of the Western genre. Despite their near ubiquity in today’s culture with billion dollar box office receipts, even their diehard fans may not know this part of their past.
Marvel's Captain Marvel: A Legacy of Failed Relaunches
This piece is about the history of the Captain Marvel name in superhero comic books. First we have to start with the originator, then how it was shut down, then we can get to how it was stolen and how it's been handled since. I will not be getting in to Miracleman/Marvelman, since that is a whole other layer of convoluted.
What Happened Between the Spider-Man Clone Saga and the 1999 Next Chapter Relaunch?
DeFalco and DeMatteis simply switched books at the end of the Clone Saga, so DeMatteis was back on Spectacular (241-258). Just over five years after his legendary run on the book involving the downward spiral of Harry Osborn. Kraven's second son takes on his father's mantle. Chameleon does some stuff. Luke Ross on art. Clone Saga is such an infamous and giant storyline. Next Chapter (1999) is likewise a super controversial and mostly hated relaunch. The stuff in the middle is nearly two years of wasteland comics that no one ever talks about positively or negatively. It was mostly the same creators from the end of the Clone Saga limping around until a final crossover story resolves some lingering two year old plotlines and ends Marvel's at that point longest running title.