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:

Anonymous said...

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

Neil Anderson

Anonymous said...

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?

X7 said...

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

Rick L. Phillips said...

Which of these two Doctors turned evil in the story?

Champion City Comics said...

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

A Mindful Webworker said...

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

Is that a Marie Severin Dr. Strange?

Ross said...

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

Cyborg Caveman said...

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.

Passage to India said...

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

diana green said...

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.

Anonymous said...

alpha flight and global guardians or outsiders meet champions

SmearySoapboxPress said...

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!

Lee Houston, Junior said...

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?

Ross said...

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

Meknes said...

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!

Mike D. said...

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

Needles said...

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!

Anonymous said...

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

Juan Maldonado said...

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

Scott Bryan said...

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

Anonymous said...

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

Dr. OTR said...

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!

Kaptain Kobold said...

"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).

Rhiggatwat said...

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

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