A great showcase for Dr. Doom. He's seriously Marvel's most interesting character when written well. ( )

Of the three Doctor Strange "greatest hits" I read (the others being the first Marvel Masterworks volume and the Season One graphic novel), this was far and away my favorite. Doctor Doom tricks (for lack of a better word) Doctor Strange into helping him rescue his mother (Doom's, not Strange's) from Hell. There are some nice touches to the writing - I like the implication that the Aged Genghis whose cult helped Doom create his armor is sort of a colleague of the Ancient One - and Mignola's art is really nice and also really fascinating. (You can see the first hints of his later style in the early "contest of wizards" section and in the Castle Doom segment.) Some additional early Mignola Marvel work and earlier issues that set up this storyline are included, but these are pretty much just filler. This doesn't reach any really great heights of storytelling, ultimately, but it's a great concept solidly executed that finds a clever new way to deliver on the promise of the Marvel universe. ( )