Doctor Strange #20

It's been a phenomenal ride. The final issue of Jason Aaron and Chris Bachalo's excellent run on Doctor Strange has come to an end, left to the annals of fondly recalled Marvel history. Read Full Review

As a writer, Aaron excels at placing his characters in no-win situations and actually following through with the consequences. In the world of comics, heroes use whatever deus ex machina they can in order to find a solution where everyone wins. With this series and especially this issue that is not the case. We got a Doctor Strange book without magic and somehow it ended up being one of the best superhero titles since its release. Doctor Strange tends to work best when he either has a special appearance or is part of a team, but Aaron and Bachalo took away his magic to look at the man behind the sorcery. Many writers have tried to write a Doctor Strange story but most have failed. Read Full Review

So ends Jason Aaron's run. Doctor Stephen Strange has depended on Wong for so long that I wonder how he will get by without his most trusted companion. Due to the assistance of his new apprentice, Zelma Stanton, however, the situation is far from Hopeless. Read Full Review

Issue #20 may mark the end of Jason Aaron and Chris Bachalo's run, but it sure doesn't feel like a finale. If anything, the issue highlights the many unique aspects that made this series so consistently entertaining. It's inventive, character driven, and more than a little weird. Read Full Review

RustonLF

Jun 08, 2017

This is a very satisfying conclusion to the story being told in the run so far with Jason Aaron, Chris Bachalo, and Kevin Knowlan. The two artist work great together to represent two different worlds of the same tale with great success. The tale has all been to set up the future of Doctor Strange and what came come to us in the future in a great way by Aaron. The use of color and detail is done in a beautiful way. There is a lot of effort put into this title and it shows.

Avanvolk

Jul 01, 2025

I didn't love the little detour into Weirdworld, but I thought the ending of this issue was absolutely perfect. Aaron brought it full circle and gave us a beautiful little ending to what was an entertaining run.

Spock's Brain

Jun 26, 2017

Jason Aaron and Chris Bachalo's run on "Doctor Strange" ends here in an issue that seems to bring things full circle. I like the decision to make Zelda the focus here as she moves on to a new role in this adventure. There is a sense of a new start even as things end. This is the longest I have ever read a Doctor Strange book, and it was at its best when it was at its weirdest. I'm excited to see where Bachalo turns up next, as he delivered a bizarre set of visuals that looked totally awesome and unique. It was a good run.

kfc902

Jun 09, 2017

Bye bye Aaron. Solid run.

Gizmo

Jul 28, 2017

I solid way to cap off Aaron's run.

CrazyforRAMU

Jan 05, 2018

Aaron and Bachalo's farewell to Dr. Strange cements Zelma into his story at the expense (maybe) of Wong. This goodbye is full of warm fuzzies, and even Wong's departure is reasonable (and easy to reverse if future creators are so inclined). Sorry to spoil the supporting cast change, but there's not much else in this issue to discuss. It's a rather safe script and a rather indulgent one. It's a victory lap for the creators' whole run, and fortunately, that run has been just epic enough to make this celebration feel justified. Kevin Nowlan's Weirdworld interlude paradoxically makes Marvel's wildest fantasy dimension look mundane, but it works as a contrast to Chris Bachalo's insane Sanctum Sanctorum status quo.

daspidaboy

Mar 03, 2024

This was Jason Aaron back in his prime, and honestly reading this run after watching Dr Strange 2 is kind of a fresh air. This was Dr strange trying to deal with the fact that magic is slowly dying, and its super wacky and crazy. The art can be iffy, but I liked how Jason Aaron tried swinging for the fences, and honestly I would. definitely reccomend this run to people. It's a bit to take in, so just take your time with it.

supercoolyeah

Jun 18, 2017

Wong was the Dr's right hand man. And now things have changed. I love to see where this goes and I hope it goes in the right direction. The art of the team was phenomenal. The only thing is I expected more from the other dimension. I wanted more color. Hopefully the new writers keep up the work.

JBL Reviews

Jun 08, 2017

To me, Aaron's run went out with a whimper.

JohnnyMorales

Jun 09, 2017

An abysmal conclusion that's not a surprise considering the duo were the absolute worst team to write Doctor Strange ever. To be fair the first 3 issues showed great promise, but then they completely and totally lost. So the Empirickul is still in the basement? What happened to their city sized ships and all the androids? Oh wait explanations for those sorts of things only happen in a competently written story. I guess any explanation for how they destroyed all magic was rendered unnecessary as the whole story arc fell apart culminating in this complete joke of a last issue. Ironically as a stand alone issue, it's ok. The problem is it was marketed as the issues where all the loose strings would be tied together redeeming the entire story a rc, but nope. So we are left in a Marvel world where the only one whose powers seem to be affected by the end of magic is Doctor Strange. Everyone else seems at full power.Even the Beast of the X-men is competently using magic without consequence. His fellow x-person Magic just had an epic tale all about extremely powerful magic spanning many dimensions. I Yeah I know Aaron didn't write the other books, but the fact that no one else followed the lead is a good indication Marvel realized they made a huge mistake. If that's true, I hope they ditch his changes soon and return to normal for Doctor Strange after the secret empire storyline winds up. If not, it will likely be cancelled as its sales fell through the floor after the first few issues, and haven't shown any signs of recovery. Bachalo's artwork was repetitive and unoriginal throughout. That was kind of a surprise considering how well he does the X-men. more