Being a huge Doctor Strange fan, I’m always reading his material, especially from the Bronze Age (and Copper Age, too). The title Marvel Fanfare seems to get mixed reviews from most people. It’s an enjoyable book for the most part, but like any other, it has it’s ups and downs. The issues with Doctor Strange, the Black Knight, The Hulk, and the X-Men really stand out for me. Captain America, Daredevil, you name the character, they’re all in this run.

This little tale shows an man (James Mandarin, he also appeared in Doctor Strange 15, 1976) that has a fascination with the occult. The man’s girlfriend is an artist, and has a fascination with Dr. Strange! The two seem to live a rather normal life, until one night, James Mandarin uses a tome he found to summon a demon (using a spell calling on Dormammu). Before he can do anything, he’s attacked, and pulled into another dimension. His girlfriend runs to the nearest magical source, Dr. Strange himself! The Doc immediately knows he’s dealing with an old adversary know as the Slitherer in Shadow!

This series typically featured two stories. A main story, then a back up. Sometimes they’d also have some pin ups as well (bottom image), and this one has a few from Bill Sienkiewicz! I’m only going to include the Doctor Strange image, as this post is all about him! The story is written by Peter Gillis, with art by Carmine Infantino (interior and cover pencils, inks by Terry Austin on cover) and P. Craig Russell (interior inks). The colors by are by Ben Sean, letters by ” Many Hands,” and edited by Al Milgrom!