This striking cover for Doctor Strange #180 was one of those singular images that lingers in the memory -- the imposing figure of the enigmatic Eternity looming over a small Doc Strange and both of them suspended over a photographic New York City. What I didn't know then was that this cover was a true hodge-podge. The Doctor Strange figure was rendered by Gene Colan and Tom Palmer, but the Eternity figure has a history.
Eternity here is a Steve Ditko image of the grand cosmic being lifted nearly complete (minus little Dormammu) from the pages of Strange Tales #146 in which the bizarre entity figured prominently.
Ironically that issue was Steve Ditko's last and the cover seems to be what Colan and the staffers were trying to evoke when the cobbled together the distinct elements to make a cover which made such an impression so many years ago.
I was reminded of all of this because Dave Sim seems likewise to have an affection for the vintage Doc Strange issue. Here he creates a clever homage with a difference for a recent Cerebus the Aardvark installment. Absurdity indeed!
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Wait... what? There are recent Cerebus installments? I thought he was done. Damn. Back to Canada...
ReplyDeleteThat is a great parody cover.
Oddly, Eternity wasn't there for one of the appearances that stuck with me the most over the years. It was in Doctor Strange, Master Of The Mystic Arts #4 when Strange is fleeing death and he hides in the hole in reality left by Eternity's body. Obviously Steve Englehart's writing, and i'm pretty sure it was Frank Brunner's artwork at that point.
For when Eternity's actually present, it's probably the image of the Ancient One wrestling with him that has stuck with me the most. He was definitely a great concept in the old days. (I'm not sure we can really call Eternity a character.)
The reports of his death have been exaggerated it seems. It does seem odd after all that build up, but after the arrival of the Winder Soldier, I no longer judge such things.
DeleteEternity to me was indeed a character, remote and to some extent inscrutable for sure, but that was before Marvel was overrun with cosmic entities. Now he's just one more among far too many. But I take your point.
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And as is evident from the page you posted, that Strange Tales cover was also cobbled together. Ditko, one of the best cover designers in the business, never got to do an original full cover of Dr. Strange.
ReplyDeleteGood point. The lack of Doc Strange covers by Ditko is one of the great losses in the history of comics. Some of his Spidey covers are so dramatic and memorable.
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Nice detective work. I didn't know about the new Cerebus comic either.
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