Revisit the MCU’s best solo origin story in The Art of Doctor Strange

Review by C.J. Bunce

In his discussion of the 14th entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, executive producer Kevin Feige asserts that Doctor Strange may be the best solo origin story of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Actor Benedict Cumberbatch, Feige, director Scott Derrickson and key creators of the movie look back on the development, artwork, and production process in The Art of Marvel Studios Doctor Strange, just released and available now here at Amazon. It’s the thirteenth of the 24-volume re-issue of the MCU library from Titan Books. You’ll learn how Cumberbatch approached getting into the boots of one of the strangest comic book characters of the 1960s and 1970s, how Derrickson adapted the surreal vibe and colors of Stan Lee and Steve Ditko’s creation, and how thousands of studio artisans put it all together. Take a look inside the book below and find out more of why this entry is among the best of Marvel Studios.

I love when these behind-the-scenes books revisit the character’s origins in the pages of the comic books, and writer Jacob Johnston does that here, beginning with Doctor Strange’s first appearances and discussing how creators updated the character over the years. Director Scott Derrickson, know for his horror movies, identifies the challenges he took on and why this movie needed to be different from what audiences had seen before. The story was based on magic, magic different from what the MCU provided to explain Thor’s world. And for Derrickson that meant making sure Feige and the other execs would understand this movie needed some elaborate set pieces and more importantly some incredible new special effects.

This is a book filled with painted art. Created digitally or otherwise, it shows how the movie makers re-interpreted the colorful, psychedelic look of the comics for the big screen. Images of props look like they came from Evil Dead or Charmed or Grimm.

In addition to the artwork, Cumberbatch discusses the transformation his arrogant doctor takes, and how he used past experiences to inhabit the role. Derrickson takes readers through the key decisions for the story, with other execs adding commentary. The book includes and added chapter showing marketing posters used to advertise the film.

This book tells a visual story of passion through art, of impossible magical ideas translated into something that must look real and tangible for audiences. The book shines a spotlight on the work of concept artists Jackson Sze, Robert Fernandez Castro, Pete Thompson, Jack Dudman, Kan Muftic, Bob Cheshire, Karla Ortiz, Jerad Marantz, Anthony Francisco, and Tim Hill.

The major contributors to the film interviewed in the book will be familiar to MCU fans, especially to those who have read the other books in the MCU library. They include head of visual development Ryan Meinerding, director of photography Ben Davis, production designer Charles Wood, visual effects supervisor Stephane Ceretti, costume designer Alexandra Byrne, and many more. Scott Derrickson introduces the film via remarks in a foreword and Alexandra Byrne sums up her experiences in an afterword.

Don’t miss our reviews of other books in the series: Iron Man: The Art of the Movie here, The Art of Marvel Studios’ Iron Man 2 here, Marvel Studios’ Thor: The Art of the Movie here, Captain America: The First Avenger–The Art of the Movie, here, The Art of Marvel Studios’ The Avengers here, The Art of Marvel Studios’ Iron Man 3 here, The Art of Marvel Studios’ Thor: The Dark World here, The Art of Captain America and the Winter Soldier here, The Art of Guardians of the Galaxy here, The Art of Avengers: Age of Ultron here, The Art of Ant Man here, Captain America: Civil War – The Art of the Movie here, and The Art of Doctor Strange here.

The original editions of these books are hard to find, so this re-release is a great buy for fans of the MCU. For every fan of the Marvel Infinity Saga and this great superhero origin story from 2016, don’t miss The Art of Marvel Studios’ Doctor Strange, just out from Titan Books and available here at Amazon. Doctor Strange is streaming on Disney+.