Rather Rushed and Unclear
Doctor Strange is perhaps one of my favorite Marvel characters, despite how, I feel, he is rather overshadowed, despite being considered a main player in the mythos. So, I jumped at the opportunity to relive his origin story, one of my favorites in the medium. However, a lot of what made it special is glossed over pretty quickly for the sake of telling the tale of a fetch quest... not exactly to most original of ideas.
Rather than going into depth about Stephen's past, we start our story in the Himalayas, a few quick flashbacks making an attempt to cover probably one of the most important and influential aspects of the story in question. And, similarly, it feels like Stephen's time training here is also accelerated past, as if there's a bigger and greater story to tell. There really isn't though, as we eventually find ourselves following Stephen, an oddly characterized Wong, and a random female compatriot who offers little t the cause. Meanwhile, Mordo is characterized very suddenly, his transformation thrown in our faces rather than built up to. And the Ancient One is very uninteresting generally, making for a bland mentor figure.
The art style presented here is wild, reflecting the chaos of magic well, but is perhaps a bit too wild. There were many moments when I had no idea what was happening on the page, which I found to be a problem. To present a crazy and excitable scene is one thing, but to make it disjointed and unclear is a huge issue when trying to tell a coherent story.
And, similar to the rest of the story, the ending wraps up suddenly and with little warning, with the feeling that there was a lot more to still be covered. This is a disappointing addition to the Season One series, as I feel it poorly represents this world in most ways, preventing new readers to get a clear idea as to what makes Doctor Strange such a fascinating and enjoyable figure to follow.