A Good Starting Point But Lacking Substance
Mystic Apprentice isn't a bad read by any stretch, it's a nice slither of origin for Doctor Strange and what it delivers is well appreciated. The story follows Stephan Strange's attempt to learn the art of Astral Projection during his novice years, a particular skill that he is seemingly incapable of developing despite his natural attribute for learning - his one shortcoming, and on the way detours through the accident that rendering Stephan incapable of continuing his practice as a surgeon.
What we are given is a brief but coherent snippet that provides insight into what Strange's character and what he's about with a short clip of origin, reminiscent of martial art training montages.
The appeal of this lighthearted read, of course, is that the bitesize portions of origins manage to distinguish itself from a generic origin story. However it's missing an element of complexity to the story that it could have done with. This lack of substance is what holds this book at a 3/5, if there was just something more that made it feel less of a jump-starter then I'd say this could be a genuinely good read but as it stands it feels underwhelming.