Doctor Strange #40
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeDoctor Strange #40 is the debut issue of Azrael (Lord Julian Phyffe), a villain whose unique power to age both living beings and magical spells on contact gave the Sorcerer Supreme one of his most conceptually inventive Bronze Age adversaries. The issue also serves as the central chapter of Chris Claremont's cross-title Baron Mordo saga — one of the earliest deliberate Doctor Strange crossovers of the era, threading a continuous narrative through two separate Marvel ongoing series. Its Paris-set horror-thriller atmosphere, complete with a car chase into the Seine and a maid literally crumbling to dust, showcases how Claremont pushed the title toward a more grounded, character-driven menace while preserving the series' occult grandeur.
This exact issue on ebay
Raw — MINT ▾ $7.99–$19.99 3 listings
Raw — VF+ ▾ $6.99–$7.19 2 listings
Raw — VF ▾ $4.79–$37.5 3 listings
Raw — FN ▾ $3.99–$8.7 3 listings
Raw / ungraded ▾ $3.29–$9.95 11 listings
More listings for this title
Sell my copy
Have this issue — or a whole collection? Get a fair offer from us, skip the marketplace fees and the hassle.
We Buy Collections ▸History
Chris Claremont's brief but energetic run on Doctor Strange began with issue #38 and ran through #45, placing him on the title during the same years he was building the X-Men into Marvel's flagship book. For this arc he was paired with Gene Colan — a veteran of the title's foundational Bronze Age period — whose atmospheric, fluid draftsmanship was well suited to the story's Paris locations and supernatural horror. Jim Shooter served as editor, and the three-part crossover structure (Doctor Strange #40 → Man-Thing #4 → Doctor Strange #41) reflects Marvel's growing interest in coordinated multi-title storytelling at the turn of the decade.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance of Azrael (Lord Julian Phyffe, Earth-616), created by Chris Claremont; Azrael dies in the same issue but his corpse is resurrected and transformed by Baron Mordo.
- Azrael's defining power is the ability to age both organic matter and magical spells on contact, rendering Doctor Strange's sorcery progressively useless against him.
- Written by Chris Claremont (pencils: Gene Colan; inks: Ricardo Villamonte pp. 1–6, Dan Green pp. 7–31; colors: Bob Sharen; letters: Mark Rogan; editor: Jim Shooter).
- Cover by Bob Layton; the story is titled 'Dawn of Death!'
- Part two of a three-part crossover arc: the story flows from Doctor Strange #39, continues into Man-Thing (Vol. 2) #4, and concludes in Doctor Strange #41, making it one of the more formally structured cross-title stories of the Bronze Age era.
- The issue introduces Baron Mordo's scheme to open the Seven Gates of Chaos — a ritual requiring 13 sacrifices at the Nexus of All Realities in the Florida Everglades, linking the Doctor Strange and Man-Thing corners of the Marvel Universe.
- First appearance (in this arc) of Madeleine de St. Germaine as a significant supporting character; a flashback reveals she was Strange's pre-accident romantic partner whose marriage proposal he squandered through greed.
- Reprinted in Doctor Strange Epic Collection Vol. 5: The Reality War (2022), which collects Doctor Strange (1974) #29–51 and Man-Thing (1979) #4, as well as in Doctor Strange Masterworks Vol. 8.
Cast · 6 characters
Full credits
Key issues in Doctor Strange
Variants (1)
Reviews
Reader reviews
No reader reviews yet.