Friday, February 3, 2012

Doctor Fate and Doctor Strange



I wonder who the first comic character to go by the title "Doctor" was?  It may be Doctor Fate, but perhaps there's a character that predates him.  I know there were some villainous doctor types... Doctor Death comes to mind.  And of course he didn't use the full term but there's Doc Savage, who came before he wave of superhero fiction.  He did serve as an inspiration for a lot of characters so maybe that's where the Doctor as superhero name trend came from.

24 comments:

  1. There was Dr. Occult...from Siegel and Shuster...in 1936, I think?

    Neil Anderson

    ReplyDelete
  2. Was "Doc" Savage a reference to his Ph.d in something or other? Many current academics admit they were inspired by Indiana Jones' Ph.d in Anthropology?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Doc Savage was indeed a doctor. he performed constitutionally questionable surgery all the time.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Which of these two Doctors turned evil in the story?

    ReplyDelete
  5. Awesome cover. I've always liked Dr. Fate.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Well, at least Strange was an actual surgeon, you know, before the accident.

    Is that a Marie Severin Dr. Strange?

    ReplyDelete
  7. Rick, I guess you'll have to track down a copy of the issue to answer that question...

    ReplyDelete
  8. I have that issue. They both turn evil, just at different times. Dr. Strange is holding the weird artifact thing that corrupts whoever touches it.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anyone who completes a doctoral program can consider him or herself a superhero! Finishing and defending a dissertation is no joke!

    ReplyDelete
  10. I think that's a Dan Adkins Dr. Strange.
    Other medical superheroes: There are a bunch, but the only one I can think of right now is Dr. Mid-Nite.

    ReplyDelete
  11. alpha flight and global guardians or outsiders meet champions

    ReplyDelete
  12. This is one of my favorite combinations by you; the artwork is similar enough that they could have been drawn by the same artist, and they fit in well with the background. Sounds like it would be an exciting story, too!

    ReplyDelete
  13. The more I read this blog, the more I wish these comics actually existed.
    While I think the Spectre (DC) battling Eternity (Marvel) would be interesting, are you planning to use other companies too, or will the Double Daredevils cover be the only one?

    ReplyDelete
  14. We've seen Hellboy too and there will be many more covers featuring non Marvel/DC characters.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I second the motion for the utilization of more characters from Eclipse, Comico, Fantagraphix, Neal Adam's Continuity Comics (defunct), and (personal favorite) Malibu Comics!

    ReplyDelete
  16. A very nice team up! Hmm...Doctor?
    Midnite? Occult? Savage? Doom?
    ( From the 40's ) Strangefate? I'm looking it up.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Very awesome cover! Doctor Strange is holding the Staff of Polar Power! There's a reason that Fate is trying to stop him!
    Very nice blog! You've got my head spinning at the combinations that could be done! Awesome!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Sweet merciful crap! What a brilliant concept for a blog. I'm following now, and am fully prepared to lose myself in the archives!

    --J/Metro

    ReplyDelete
  19. Very cool, I wish this issue was a real thing.

    ReplyDelete
  20. I think it was Doc Savage but Doc Occult did come out before Superman. I remember when he joined the All Star Squadron.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Why didn't you write Marvel v. DC? You obviously have a better grip on it than the hacks that did!

    ReplyDelete
  22. I think the "doctor" sobriquet first arose with super-villains, predating the comics. Think of Guy Boothby's Dr. Nikola (starting in 1895 -- also the first super-villain stroking a cat!) and Sax Rohmer's Dr. Fu Manchu (1913). Moriarty had a doctorate as well, though he's always referred to as Professor Moriarty because he had an academic position.

    All of this just demonstrates that the bad guys realized the value of an education early on!

    ReplyDelete
  23. "I think the "doctor" sobriquet first arose with super-villains"

    Except that if you cite Moriarty then you must also consider the heroic Doctor Watson - who predates him in publication terms (1886).

    ReplyDelete
  24. I LOVE this one! Love the Golden Age look of it. Awesome job as always!

    ReplyDelete