Mid-1984 saw the first volume of Doctor Strange arguably at the height of its acclaim and pivoting toward a new chapter in its run, with writer Roger Stern continuing in the series after taking a two-issue break (which, for a bimonthly comic, worked out to four months) following an ambitious storyline which saw the eradication of all vampires from the Earth. Joining Stern again would be artist Paul Smith, who contributed a one-shot issue previously profiled in the PPC and who would remain with the writer (with the exception of a single issue in October) until they would both depart the book near the end of '85. Leading off their collaboration was what appeared to be an understated story involving a man who wanted to stake his own claim as a practitioner of the mystic arts--but as we'll see, the danger he posed went beyond the threat he represented to the Sorcerer Supreme.
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