Stephen goes to war in an exclusive preview of Doctor Strange #6
The issue explores a villain with a deep connection to Strange
Doctor Strange is a mystic and a healer, but a long time ago he was called to war and forced to get his hands dirty in the thick of battle. His experiences in an inter-dimensional conflict - which lasted 5000 years - left some emotional scars. Now the past is coming back to haunt him in a very tangible way.
Doctor Strange #6, by Moon Knight writer Jed MacKay and artist Juan Gedeon, with colors by KJ Díaz, picks up from the shock cliffhanger of last month's issue. That ended with the reveal of a new foe who goes by many elaborate names: "War-Hound of the Vishanti. Butcher of the War of the Seven Spheres. The Bloody-Handed Bastard of the Screaming Labyrinths. Friendkiller. Peacebreaker. Orphan-Lord."
Or, as our hero knows him, "General Stephen Strange."
Yes, this is a fearsome alt universe variant of the good Doctor, one who has been battle-hardened by millennia of conflict. But how is he here and why does he have such a grudge against our version of Strange?
You can check out a gallery of pages from the new issue below.
The preview pages give us a glimpse at the terrible conflict which seems to have birthed this evil new version of the character and Marvel's blurb for the issue, which you can read below, promises more action to come.
"Many years ago, Doctor Strange fought in a five thousand-year battle called the War of the Seven Spheres. But what was it? And how did it create the mysterious threat that plagues Strange today?"
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The issue also includes a bonus page written by Jonathan Hickman, titled Who Are The G.O.D.S.?
Check out Alex Ross's fierce cover for the new issue below, as well as a George Pérez variant.
Doctor Strange #6 is published by Marvel Comics on August 2.
Discover our guide to the best Doctor Strange stories of all time.
Will Salmon is the Comics Editor for GamesRadar/Newsarama. He has been writing about comics, film, TV, and music for more than 15 years, which is quite a long time if you stop and think about it. At Future he has previously launched scary movie magazine Horrorville, relaunched Comic Heroes, and has written for every issue of SFX magazine for over a decade. He sometimes feels very old, like Guy Pearce in Prometheus. His music writing has appeared in The Quietus, MOJO, Electronic Sound, Clash, and loads of other places and he runs the micro-label Modern Aviation, which puts out experimental music on cassette tape.