''Strange Tales'' is a

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Comics'' in ...

anthology series An anthology series is a radio, television, video game or film series that spans different genres and presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, season, segment, or short. These usually have a dif ...

. The title was revived in different forms on multiple occasions.

Doctor Strange Doctor Stephen Strange is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Steve Ditko, the character first appeared in ''Strange Tales'' #110 (cover-dated July 1963). Doctor Strange serves as Sorce ...

and Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. made their debuts in ''Strange Tales''. It was a showcase for the science fiction/suspense stories of artists

Jack Kirby Jack Kirby (born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comic book artist, writer and editor, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. He gre ...

and Steve Ditko, and for the groundbreaking work of writer-artist

Jim Steranko James F. Steranko (; born November 5, 1938) is an American graphic artist, comic book writer/artist, comics historian, magician, publisher and film production illustrator. His most famous comic book work was with the 1960s superspy feature " ...

. Two previous, unrelated magazines also bore that title.

Monsters and sorcerers

The Marvel Comics series ran 168 issues,

cover-date The cover date of a periodical publication is the date displayed on the cover, which is not necessarily the true date of publication (the on-sale date or release date); later cover dates are common in magazine and comic book publishing. More unu ...

d June 1951 to May 1968. It began as a horror anthology from the company's 1950s precursor,

Atlas Comics Atlas Comics may refer to * Atlas Comics (1950s) Atlas Comics is the 1950s comic-book publishing label that evolved into Marvel Comics. Magazine and paperback novel publisher Martin Goodman, whose business strategy involved having a multitud ...

. Initially modeled after the gory morality tales of the popular and groundbreaking EC line of comics, ''Strange Tales'' became less outré with the 1954 establishment of the Comics Code, which prohibited graphic horror, as well as vampires, zombies and other classical monsters. The comic changed again with the return of industry stalwart

, the artist who had co-created

Captain America Captain America is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by cartoonists Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, the character First appearance, first appeared in ''#Golden Age, Captain America Comics'' #1 (cover ...

for the company, then worked elsewhere for 17 years. Starting with #68 (April 1959), ''Strange Tales'' was revamped to reflect the then-current trend of science fiction drive-in movie monsters. Virtually every issue would open with a Kirby monster story (generally inked by

Christopher Rule Christopher Rule (November 23, 1894 – April 1983) was an American comic book artist active from the 1940s through at least 1960, and best known as the first regular Marvel Comics inker for comics artist Jack Kirby during the period fans and his ...

initially, then later Dick Ayers), followed by one or two twist-ending thrillers or sci-fi tales drawn by Don Heck, Paul Reinman, or Joe Sinnott, all capped by an often-surreal, sometimes self-reflexive

Stan Lee Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Publications which ...

- Steve Ditko short. Some characters introduced here in standalone, anthological stories were later retconned into

Marvel Universe The Marvel Universe is a fictional shared universe where the stories in most American comic book titles and other media published by Marvel Comics take place. Super-teams such as the Avengers, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, the Guardians o ...

continuity. These include Ulysses Bloodstone in the story "Grottu, King of the Insects!" in issue #73 (Feb. 1960), the extraterrestrial dragon Fin Fang Foom, who

first appeared In American comic books and other stories with a long history, first appearance refers to the first issue to feature a fictional character. These issues are often highly valued by collectors due to their rarity and iconic status. Reader interes ...

in #89 (Oct. 1961), and the extraterrestrial would-be world conquerors Gorgolla, introduced in #74 (April 1960), and

Orrgo Orrgo is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Publication history Orrgo first appeared in ''Strange Tales'' #90 and was created by Jack Kirby. As part of the ''All-New, All-Different Marvel'', Orr ...

, introduced in #90 (Nov. 1961). In ''Strange Tales'' #75 (June 1960), a huge robot called "the Hulk" appeared. It was actually armor worn by the character Albert Poole. In modern-day reprints the character's name is changed to Grutan.

Prototype A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and software programming. A prototype is generally used to ...

s of the Spider-Man supporting characters Aunt May and Uncle Ben appeared in a short story in ''Strange Tales'' #97 (June 1962). The anthology switched to

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...

es during the

Silver Age of Comic Books The Silver Age of Comic Books was a period of artistic advancement and widespread commercial success in mainstream American comic books, predominantly those featuring the superhero archetype. Following the Golden Age of Comic Books and an in ...

, retaining the sci-fi, suspense and monsters as backup features for a time. ''Strange Tales''' first superhero, in 12- to 14-page stories, was the

Fantastic Four The Fantastic Four is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in ''The Fantastic Four'' #1 (cover dated Nov. 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism in the medium. It was the first s ...

's Human Torch, Johnny Storm, beginning in #101 (Oct. 1962). Here, Johnny still lived with his elder sister,

Susan Storm The Invisible Woman (Susan "Sue" Storm-Richards) is a superheroine appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is a founding member of the Fantastic Four and was the first female superhero created by Marvel during ...

, in fictional Glenview,

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United States and the 18 ...

, New York, where he continued to attend high school and, with youthful naivete, attempted to maintain his "secret identity" (later retconned to reveal that his friends and neighbors knew of his dual identity from Fantastic Four news reports, but simply played along). Supporting characters included Johnny's girlfriend, Doris Evans. Ayers took over the penciling after 10 issues, later followed by original Golden Age Human Torch creator

Carl Burgos Carl Burgos (; born Max Finkelstein ; April 18, 1916 – March 1, 1984) Note: Gives only month and year of death. was an American comic book and advertising artist best known for creating the original Human Torch in ''Marvel Comics'' #1 (Oct. 1 ...

and others, with

Superman Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book '' Action Comics'' #1 ( cover-dated June 1938 and pu ...

co-creator Jerry Siegel scripting issues #112–113 (Sept.–Oct. 1963) under the pseudonym "Joe Carter". The Fantastic Four made occasional cameo appearances, and the Thing became a co-star with #123 (Aug. 1964). ''Strange Tales Annual'' #2 (1963) featured the first team-up of Spider-Man and the Human Torch. The title became a "split book" with the introduction of sorcerer

, by Lee and Ditko. This 9- to 10-page feature debuted in #110 (July 1963), and after an additional story and then skipping two issues returned permanently with #114. Ditko's surrealistic mystical landscapes and increasingly head-trippy visuals helped make the feature a favorite of college students, according to Lee himself. Eventually, as co-plotter and later sole plotter, in the " Marvel Method", Ditko would take Strange into ever-more-abstract realms. Adversaries for the new hero included

Baron Mordo Baron Karl Amadeus Mordo (known as Baron Mordo) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is depicted commonly as an adversary of Doctor Strange. The character was created by writer Stan ...

introduced in issue #111 (Aug. 1963) and Dormammu in issue #126 (Nov. 1964). Clea, who would become a longtime love interest for Doctor Strange, was also introduced in issue #126. Lee and Ditko interacted less and less as each went their separate creative ways. The storyline culminated with the introduction, in issue #138 (Oct. 1965), of

Eternity Eternity, in common parlance, means infinite time that never ends or the quality, condition, or fact of being everlasting or eternal. Classical philosophy, however, defines eternity as what is timeless or exists outside time, whereas sempit ...

, the personification of the universe. Issue #146 (July 1966) was Ditko's final bow on the series. Bill Everett succeeded him through #152 (January 1967), followed by Marie Severin (self-inked for four issues before being inked by Herb Trimpe in some of his earliest Marvel work). Another cosmic entity, the Living Tribunal, was introduced during Severin's run, in issue #157. Dan Adkins took over penciling duties from #161 (Oct. 1967) to the final issue, #168 (May 1968).

Steranko and spies

The Human Torch and Thing had already been replaced in #135 (Aug. 1965) by

Nick Fury Colonel Nicholas Joseph "Nick" Fury Sr. is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer/artist Jack Kirby and writer Stan Lee, he first appeared in '' Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos' ...

, a superspy in keeping with the concurrent

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors hav ...

/'' The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'' craze. The 12-page feature was initially by Lee and Kirby, with the latter supplying such enduring gadgets and hardware as the

Helicarrier The Helicarrier is a fictional flying aircraft carrier appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. It is depicted as the crucial mobile command center, forward operations platform, and signature capital ship of the fictional in ...

– an airborne

aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...

– as well as human-replicant LMDs ( Life Model Decoys), and even

automobile A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarded ...

airbags. The terrorist organization HYDRA was introduced here as well. The feature "Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D." soon became the province of writer-penciler- colorist

, who Les Daniels called "Perhaps the most innovative new talent to emerge at Marvel during the late 1960s". Steranko introduced or popularized in comics such art movements of the day as psychedelia and

op art Op art, short for optical art, is a style of visual art that uses optical illusions. Op artworks are abstract, with many better-known pieces created in black and white. Typically, they give the viewer the impression of movement, hidden image ...

, built on Kirby's longstanding work in

photomontage Photomontage is the process and the result of making a composite photograph by cutting, gluing, rearranging and overlapping two or more photographs into a new image. Sometimes the resulting composite image is photographed so that the final image ...

, and created comics' first four-page spread – again inspired by Kirby, who in the Golden Age had pioneered the first full-page and double-page spreads. He spun plots of intrigue, barely hidden sensuality, and hi-fi hipness – and supplying his own version of Bond girls, essentially, in skintight leather, pushing what was allowable under the Comics Code at the time. "Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D." became the first ''Strange Tales'' feature to receive its own cover logo below the main title, beginning with #135; it skipped an issue before returning permanently with #137. "Doctor Strange" received its own cover logo, designed by

Sol Brodsky Soloman Brodsky (April 22, 1923 – June 4, 1984) was an American comic book artist who, as Marvel Comics' Silver Age production manager, was one of the key architects of the small company's expansion to a major pop culture conglomerate. He late ...

, with ''Strange Tales'' #150 (Nov. 1966). ''Strange Tales'' ended with #168 (May 1968). The following month, Doctor Strange's adventures continued in the full-length ''

'' #169, with Nick Fury moving to the newly launched '' Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.''

1970s revival

Five years later, ''Strange Tales'' resumed its old numbering with #169 (Sept. 1973), which introduced the supernatural feature Brother Voodoo by writer

Len Wein Leonard Norman Wein (; June 12, 1948 – September 10, 2017) was an American comic book writer and editor best known for co-creating DC Comics' Swamp Thing and Marvel Comics' Wolverine, and for helping revive the Marvel superhero team the X-Men ...

and artist Gene Colan. This lasted only to issue #173 (April 1974), with Brother Voodoo continuing briefly in the black-and-white Marvel horror-comics magazine '' Tales of the Zombie''. This was followed by two different creative teams producing three stories of '' The Golem'' in three issues (#174, 176, 177), with #175 being a reprint of a pre-Silver Age monster comic. The next feature was writer-artist-colorist

Jim Starlin James P. Starlin (born October 9, 1949) is an American comics artist and writer. Beginning his career in the early 1970s, he is best known for space opera stories, for revamping the Marvel Comics characters Captain Marvel and Adam Warlock, an ...

's take on Adam Warlock, picking up the character from the 1972–73 series ''Warlock'' (a.k.a. ''The Power of Warlock'') and reviving him in ''Strange Tales'' #178 (Feb. 1975). This feature introduced the characters Gamora, Pip the Troll and The Magus, and helped establish the mythos Starlin would mine in his many "Infinity" sagas of the 1990s. After issue #181 (Aug. 1975), the story continued in ''Warlock'' #9 (Oct. 1975), picking up from the old series' numbering. ''Strange Tales'' soldiered on with Doctor Strange reprints through issue #188 (Nov. 1976).

Cloak and Dagger

After Doctor Strange's second series was canceled in the 1980s, ''Strange Tales'' was relaunched as vol. 2, #1 (April 1987). A split book once again, it featured 11-page Doctor Strange and

Cloak and Dagger "Cloak and dagger" was a fighting style common in the Renaissance involving a knife hidden beneath a cloak. The term later came into use as a metaphor, referring to situations involving intrigue, secrecy, espionage, or mystery. Overview In "The ...

stories, the latter continuing from ''Cloak and Dagger'' #11. This ended with issue #19 (Oct. 1988), after which new ''Doctor Strange'' and ''Cloak and Dagger'' series were launched.

Volumes 3 and 4

A one-shot Human Torch, Thing, and Doctor Strange story, by writer

Kurt Busiek Kurt Busiek ( ) (born September 16, 1960) is an American comic book writer. His work includes the ''Marvels'' limited series, his own series titled '' Astro City'', a four-year run on '' The Avengers, Thunderbolts'' and '' Superman.'' Early life ...

, with painted art by

Ricardo Villagran Ricardo is the Spanish and Portuguese cognate of the name Richard. It derived from Proto-Germanic ''*rīks'' 'king, ruler' + ''*harduz'' 'hard, brave'. It may be a given name, or a surname. People Given name * Ricardo de Araújo Pereira, Portug ...

, was released in squarebound bookshelf format in 1994. Another one-shot, the 52-page ''Strange Tales: Dark Corners'' in 1998 was an anthology featuring Morbius the Living Vampire, the

Gargoyle In architecture, and specifically Gothic architecture, a gargoyle () is a carved or formed grotesque with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building, thereby preventing it from running down masonry wa ...

, Cloak and Dagger, and

Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in the Si ...

. A ''Strange Tales''

miniseries A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format ...

featuring Man-Thing and Werewolf by Night was published in 1998 to tie up plotlines after their individual series had been canceled. Although four issues were solicited, only two issues of this volume saw print, and the conclusions of those storylines were never released.

''Strange Tales MAX''

In 2009 Marvel published a three-issue

under the MAX

imprint Imprint or imprinting may refer to: Entertainment * ''Imprint'' (TV series), Canadian television series * "Imprint" (''Masters of Horror''), episode of TV show ''Masters of Horror'' * ''Imprint'' (film), a 2007 independent drama/thriller film ...

. It featured comics writers and artists who normally create comics outside the superhero genre, such as Stan Sakai,

Jason Jason ( ; ) was an ancient Greek mythological hero and leader of the Argonauts, whose quest for the Golden Fleece featured in Greek literature. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcos. He was married to the sorceress Medea. He ...

, and Michael Kupperman, and later was collected as a trade paperback. A second three-issue volume was published under the title ''Strange Tales II'' in 2010. Only the first issue of this second volume was a MAX title, and it included work by Harvey Pekar, Dash Shaw, and Jhonen Vasquez.

Circulation figures

From annual required Statement of Circulation. "Average circulation" refers to total print run. "Total paid circulation" refers to number of copies actually sold, which is the above number minus returns, lost/damaged copies, and free/promotional copies. ''Strange Tales'' vol. 1 Circulation figures from annual statements, charted as per-issue average paid circulation by Miller, John Jackson, et al., ''The Standard Catalog of Comic Books'',

Krause Publications Krause Publications is an American publisher of hobby magazines and books. Originally a company founded and based in Iola, Wisconsin, they relocated to Stevens Point, Wisconsin, in April 2018. The company was started by Chester L. Krause (192 ...

2002, pp. 1007–1009 Circulation figures from

Capital City Distribution Capital City Distribution was a Madison, Wisconsin-based comic book distributor which operated from 1980 to 1996 when they were acquired by rival Diamond Comic Distributors. Under the name Capital Comics, they also published comics from 1981 to 19 ...

orders, charted as per-issue paid circulation by Miller, John Jackson, et al., ''The Standard Catalog of Comic Books'', Krause Publications 2002, p. 1009

Collected editions

*''

Marvel Masterworks ''Marvel Masterworks'' is an American collection of hardcover and trade paperback comic book reprints published by Marvel Comics, with the main goal of republishing classic ''Marvel Comics'' storylines in a hardcover, premium edition, often with ...

: Atlas Era Strange Tales'': ** ''Volume 1'' collects ''Strange Tales'' #1–10, 272 pages, October 2007, ** ''Volume 2'' collects ''Strange Tales'' #11–20, 272 pages, February 2009, ** ''Volume 3'' collects ''Strange Tales'' #21–30, 248 pages, June 2010, ** ''Volume 4'' collects ''Strange Tales'' #31–39, 248 pages, April 2011, ** ''Volume 5'' collects ''Strange Tales'' #40–48, 248 pages, November 2011, ** ''Volume 6'' collects ''Strange Tales'' #49-57, 248 pages, January 2014, *'' Marvel Visionaries: Jack Kirby'': ** ''Volume 1'' collects ''Strange Tales'' #94, 336 pages, November 2004, ** ''Volume 2'' collects ''Strange Tales'' #89 and #114, 344 pages, March 2006, *''Marvel Masterworks: Human Torch'': ** ''Volume 1'' collects Human Torch solo stories from ''Strange Tales'' #101–117 and ''Strange Tales Annual'' #2, 272 pages, September 2006, ** ''Volume 2'' collects Human Torch solo stories from ''Strange Tales'' #118–134, 256 pages, April 2009, *'' Essential Human Torch'' collects Human Torch solo stories from ''Strange Tales'' #101–134 and ''Strange Tales Annual'' #2, 504 pages, August 2003, *'' Origins of Marvel Comics'' includes Doctor Strange stories from ''Strange Tales'' #110, 115, and 155, 254 pages, September 1974,

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest publi ...

, *''Marvel Masterworks Doctor Strange'': ** ''Volume 1'' collects Doctor Strange stories from ''Strange Tales'' #110–111, 114–141, 272 pages, December 1992, ** ''Volume 2'' collects Doctor Strange stories from ''Strange Tales'' #142–168, 304 pages, September 2005, *''Essential Doctor Strange'' collects Doctor Strange stories from ''Strange Tales'' #110–111 and 114–168, 608 pages, July 2008, *''Doctor Strange: Master of the Mystic Arts'' collects Doctor Strange stories from ''Strange Tales'' #111, 116, 119–120, 123, 131–133, 132 pages, October 1979, Simon & Schuster, *''Spider-Man Omnibus'' Volume 1 includes ''Strange Tales Annual'' #2, 1,088 pages, November 2007, *''Bring on the Bad Guys'' includes Doctor Strange stories from ''Strange Tales'' #126–127, 253 pages, October 1976, Simon & Schuster, *''Son of Origins of Marvel Comics'' includes Nick Fury story from ''Strange Tales'' #135, 249 pages, October 1975, Simon & Schuster, *''Marvel Masterworks: Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.'': ** ''Volume 1'' collects Nick Fury stories from ''Strange Tales'' #135–153, 288 pages, September 2007, ** ''Volume 2'' collects Nick Fury stories from ''Strange Tales'' #154–168, 272 pages, December 2009, *''Steranko is Revolutionary!'' collects Nick Fury stories from ''Strange Tales'' #135–168, 336 pages, September 2020, *''Marvel's Greatest Superhero Battles'' includes Doctor Strange stories from ''Strange Tales'' #139–141, 253 pages, November 1978, Simon & Schuster, *''Essential Marvel Horror, Volume 2'' includes ''Strange Tales'' #169–174, and 176–177, 616 pages, November 2008, *''Marvel Masterworks: Warlock, Volume 2'' collects ''Strange Tales'' #178–181, 336 pages, July 2009, *''Doctor Strange: Strange Tales'' collects the Dr. Strange stories from ''Strange Tales'' vol. 2 #1–19 and the Cloak & Dagger story from ''Strange Tales'' #7, , October 2011, softcover * ''Strange Tales'' collects ''Strange Tales MAX'', 160 pages, hardcover, March 2010, , softcover, September 2010, * ''Strange Tales II'' collects ''Strange Tales MAX II'', 152 pages, hardcover, October 2011,

References

External links

* *
''Strange Tales''
at the Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators {{Steve Ditko, state=collapsed 1951 comics debuts 1968 comics endings 1973 comics debuts 1976 comics endings 1987 comics debuts 1988 comics endings Comics magazines published in the United States Atlas Comics titles Comics anthologies Comics by Dennis O'Neil Comics by Jack Kirby Comics by Jim Starlin Comics by Kurt Busiek Comics by Len Wein Comics by Roy Thomas Comics by Stan Lee Comics by Steve Ditko Defunct American comics Doctor Strange titles Fantasy comics Horror comics Magazines established in 1951 Magazines disestablished in 1968 Magazines established in 1973 Magazines disestablished in 1976 Magazines established in 1987 Magazines disestablished in 1988 Marvel Comics one-shots Marvel Comics titles Science fiction comics Spy comics