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Welcome back, to this, Part 4 of a series of posts that will seek to catalogue my extensive collection of Doctor Strange
(and related 6-Dimensions characters) apparel!
Today's installment continues with my collection of Doctor Strange T-SHIRTS.
As discussed last time, since I have so darn many Dr. Strange related shirts, I have to divide them all into three groups.
Today is Subsection C : "THE OTHER 6-DIMENSIONS"
(meaning; shirts that may not be directly tied to Dr. Strange, but are either tangentially linked to him - or - deal with one of the other "6-Dimensions" characters that I collect)!
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Starting off this section, with shirts in no particular order, really, I'll lead off with an item that is
only tied to Dr. Strange by the NAME.
This is a shirt for the underground / punk record label;
DR. STRANGE RECORDS.
The mail-order shoppe / record label has been around since 1988, and they have numerous logo styles available. I chose this one because it emulates a classic DR. PEPPER soda logo, taking aspects from several of the old logos - and, like the old commercial jingle touted; "I'm a Pepper!", it being my favorite soft drink.
"Wouldn't you like to be a Pepper, Too?"
Previous Dr. Pepper logos.
However, Dr. Strange Records has NOTHING to do with the comic character
(with perhaps a love of the character by the owner of the label - maybe. I've never read anything to that regard)
For more info, a link to Dr. Strange Records can be found [HERE].I'm not really a big fan of punk,
(although, I have been known to like some,) but with a logo like that, and the name of Dr. Strange emblazoned upon it, how could I
not own one?
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However, as I mentioned earlier, not all of these shirts will have any link to Doc - at all (although, there ARE more of those, and I'll get back to them in a little while), but instead some tie to one or more of the other characters that I collect.
Like the "Dr. Pepper" style logo above, not all shirts in my collection are going to be mass-market releases either.
There are a few that are small press or even "bootleg" style items as well.
One such item deals with one of my all-time favorite characters, and one of the "Trinity" of characters that my entire basis of comic love originates
(and for anyone interested in THAT little history lesson, feel free to visit this link which details the reasoning for such [HERE])...
ROM; SPACEKNIGHT!
This shirt has been featured on the blog before, sorta.
On my most recent birthday, I posted [
HERE] a complete showcase of the ROM "action figure / doll / toy" and also posted a YouTube video that I had made of myself showing how the figure worked.
In the video, I was wearing one of these ROM shirts.
The artwork used on the shirt is a reworking of this old ad piece
(, found on the website of ROM creator Bing McCoy - [HERE]).
That image is, in itself, a reworking of this old in-house Marvel ad for the ROM comic book.
artwork by series' artist; Sal BuscemaHowever, as lovely as the shirt is, (and of nice quality, as well,) it is not an official product, since the rights for ROM SPACEKNIGHT are deep in legal limbo. Thus, the only way to obtain a shirt showing your love of ROM is to make one yourself, or find a bootleg.
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Not all of my "6-Dimensions" characters need to have underground artists silkscreening away in basement sweatshops. This one for the SCARLET WITCH was officially released in 2007 by Marvel license-holder; Mad Engine.
I loves me the Scarlet Witch. 'Nuff Said
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Here's a shirt, from the early 2000's, by Graphitti Designs featuring many characters from the MARVEL KNIGHTS sector of Marvel's stable.
Yes, Dr. Strange was indeed part of the KNIGHTS' imprint, and as such, there is a link to him that qualifies for inclusion into my collection.
However, this shirt features the cover art, by Joe Quesada, for the cover to issue # 1 of the Knights "team" title, of which Doc only guest-starred in three issues.
Still, even without that link to Dr. Strange, I may have bought this item solely because of the KNIGHTS' name, and the fact that it features DAGGER (bottom right) whom, with her teammate CLOAK, is one corner of my "6-Dimensions" collector's interest.
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Next is an item with a very loose tie to not only Dr. Strange, but also my other main comic book fave; MAN-THING!
This shirt, while being cool enough to GLOW-IN-THE-DARK, also features characters in the loosely-affiliated IMAGE publishing universe -
DR. WEIRD & The BOG!
Close-up of the shirt image.
Taken from the cover to BIG BANG # 15, the shirt features the artwork by Steve Bissette.
While "The BOG", a Man-Thing / Swamp-Thing type of creature is a creation of recent talents, DR. WEIRD, however, has a history going as far back as 1963, and was even drawn in an early fan-based work by Jim Starlin!
(For more info on Dr. Weird try [HERE]).
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Looking at that shirt with Dr. Weird on it, it's hard to ignore the similarities to his chest-design "demon" and Dr. Strange's. They're almost identical.
The next shirt in my collection has a slim tie to Strange's demon symbol, as well as an old costume that he only wore on a few separate occasions.
This shirt, produced by Graphitti Designs in the year 2000, features the bat-symbol for the character of Terry McGuinness also known as "Batman" (in the BatMan Beyond - aka Batman of the Future) animated series!
So, WHY would there be any link between Batman Beyond and Dr. Strange?
In several interviews (one such being printed in issue # 1 of the now defunct;
Comicology magazine, by TwoMorrows Press), Bruce Timm, the creator of many animated series, stated that the old costume worn by Dr. Strange - the one with the full face mask - was such a cool look that it served as the inspiration for the look for the Batman Beyond costume. Here is one image of that Dr. Strange costume as drawn by Bruce Timm.
So, there is that one link to Dr. Strange and is reason enough for my collector's mania to think it proper for inclusion into a Dr. Strange collection.
However, there is
another slight link to Dr. Strange as well, that might exist.
With the success of the Batman Beyond character and his edgy look, it might be possible that the creators of Marvel's "MC2" universe
(basically 10 years into the future of the 616 universe), may have used that look as the jumping off point for one of their new characters. In the same world as SPIDER-GIRL, A-Next and other new heroes, Doctor Strange, has grown older and lost his ties to the Vishanti, and so a new Sorcerer Supreme was chosen...
DOC MAGUS!
(aka Dormagus - who seemed to be that realities' son of Dr. Strange and Clea)
His demon symbol being bright red and looking fairly similar to the bat symbol from Batman Beyond, but all the while also wearing a black & red skin-tight costume like that Batman character, as well as a full face-mask like that Batman as well as the old Dr. Strange costume.
Worlds within worlds - I see links where there may be none, but which would be hard to dismiss outright.
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That isn't the only crazy, hair-brained reason to my having a shirt in my collection.
This next one, another Graphitti Designs product, from 2001, featured the star-burst symbol that emblazoned the costume of Genis-Vell; Captain Marvel
(and the son of Mar-Vell; the original Marvel comics' Captain Marvel).
I don't claim any real link to Dr Strange other than that the same symbol was also used on the "final" version of the costume for the TV movie of Doctor Strange.
Peter Hooton wearing the costume as designed by long-time comic artist Frank Brunner.The star burst symbol was also the "signature" of sorts for long-time comic artist, TV and movie storyboard artist and designer; Frank Brunner. He designed that costume for the Dr. Strange TV movie (a complete history and run down of all things pertaining to that movie can be found in a previous series of posts found [
HERE]), and as such, I thought it appropriate to include in my collection.
Yes. My mania had gone 'round the bend by that time.
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We'll continue along with another item that is only tangentially linked to Doctor Strange, and also via the realm of television.
Actually, TWO shirts that feature the SAME link.
From the animated series; The VENTURE BROS, (a twisted take on Johnny Quest type charcters, mixed with a steep geek-cred of comic book archetypes) comes...
DOCTOR BYRON ORPHEUS; Necromancer!
In show commentary from the DVD's as well as many interviews, creators Jackson Publick and Doc Hammer have stated that (as if it weren't totally obvious) Dr. Orpheus IS their version of Dr. Strange.
To watch Dr. Orpheus in action makes it IMPOSSIBLE to not read any Dr. Strange appearance without "hearing" his lines spoken in Orpheus' over-the-top melodramatic delivery.
Impossible, I say!While the previous shirt is yet another unofficial bootleg product, (it was also mentioned in the commentary for the fist season DVD as their being aware of it, it being a bad knock-off, but it being fair game - due to the dearth of actual product that the fans clamored for), the creators of the show DID finally get around to producing a line of shirts - that were available on a VERY limited basis.
One of which features the logo that is on the back of Dr. Orpheus' cloak.
It also serves as the symbol and "calling card" to his team of mystic heroes;
THE ORDER OF THE TRIAD!
My two TRIAD shirts pictured along with mailing packet and illustrated receipt showing my "induction" into the Venture Bros "Shirt Club".
The ORDER of the TRIAD includes Dr. O and two other mystic heroes;
Jefferson Twilight - Blackula Hunter
(an homage to Marvel character; BLADE)The Alchemist
(possibly a Dr. DRUID homage, but not an outright one)
This team seems to me to be along the MIDNIGHT SONS type of team, and that, along with the Dr. Strange tie-in make this a definite MUST to any Dr. Strange collection!
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Like several items in my collection, there are MANY knock-off / bootleg shoirts out there that feature Marvel characters. I've seen several Dr. Strange shirts over the years that I passed on because they were merely "OK", and since they weren't official, I could walk away.
This next one, while being a bootleg, is of very nice quality, but also features my all-time favorite comic book cover:
DOCTOR STRANGE # 169
Artwork by Dan Adkins to what is my favorite comic book cover OF. ALL. TIME.
DOCTOR STRANGE (first series) # 169.
Essentially, Doctor Strange # 1
(Marvel's rules of publishing made it easier for titles to just carry older numbering over than start at a new number 1 - something unheard of today)No need to show the actual cover since it is right there on the shirt.
However, info on that short-lived series can be found [HERE].---
I'll wrap up today's post with something of a "dream" shirt.
About ten years or so ago, whilst flipping channels on the TV, I clicked past a rerun of 1975 - 1984 TV show "One Day At A Time". The show, starring Bonnie Franklin, Mackenzie Phillips and Valerie Bertinelli dealt with a single mother raising her two daughters while juggling career and life.
Not interested in the show, I continued flipping past.
However, JUST before the channel moved past the show, a scene with a young boy speaking to one of the female leads popped onto screen.
I could have sworn that the young actor was wearing a shirt that looked like it had the classic 1980's Dr. Strange comic logo on it!
As fast as I could, I tried to return to the show, but by that time, the scene was ended and the character was gone.
I've whipped up a quick mock-up to show you what I
THINK I saw.
The color scheme of the logo might not be accurate in my comp, but it seemed to be THAT logo!
I have been searching for that shirt, or any clue to its existence ever since.
Over a decade has passed and not one lead has presented itself.
The show only has a DVD collection for the first season available, with no clue as to when or if the next 8 seasons will ever be released.
With NO idea as to
what episode I had stumbled across, from
which season, even if I was able to access someone's private collection, that is one hell of a daunting task.
Perhaps someone out there might be able to shed some light on this old mystery.
Either way, it is one of my personal "grail" items - one that I will seek for my collection, either until I find one, or prove that no such item ever existed.
The SuperHeroSquad cover homage to the original cover to...
THE DEFENDERS vol1 # 2
