Strange Tales #169-173 (1973-1974): 1st Brother Voodoo

Okay, I’m trying to be comprehensive here.  I’m trying to be fair.  I’m trying to read every single Marvel comic ever created.

But I have limits.

I’ve struggled with Dr. Strange stories, and the saga of Brother Voodoo is even tougher to get through.  It starts with a two-issue origin story.  It only took Peter Parker half an issue of Amazing Fantasy to become Spider-Man, and Superman’s first origin was just a page.

And even if you’ve never read it before, you can probably guess: Jericho Drumm, an American immigrant, goes back home to Haiti to visit his sick brother, who is also a voodoo priest, and takes up the voodoo mantle after his brother dies.  The only twist is that Jericho’s brother Daniel now occupies his body-sort of like Firestorm.  He’s two people in one body.  And he gets a sidekick named Bambu who “serves” him, just like Wong serves Dr. Strange.

Yeah.  It’s black doctor Strange, and nobody’s really trying to hide it.

I’m all for diversity, but this is forced and silly.

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