Most expensive Doctor Strange comics: Silver Age keys and auction records

Doctor Strange is a Silver Age creation: conceived by Steve Ditko (the idea was his, according to a 1963 letter from Stan Lee to Jerry Bails) and scripted by Lee, he made his first appearance in Strange Tales #110 (July 1963) in a five-page story titled "Dr. Strange: Master of Black Magic!" That same issue introduces the Ancient One, Nightmare, and Wong. The character's origin — brilliant neurosurgeon Stephen Strange damages his hands in a car accident, seeks a cure from a Tibetan mystic, and is initiated into the mystic arts — is told in Strange Tales #115 (December 1963). Strange Tales was a shared anthology title (featuring the Human Torch, then Nick Fury): Doctor Strange appeared only in backup stories, which makes the key issues unusually precise to identify.

This guide sticks to the verifiable: records documented by specialist sources (Heritage Auctions, sellmycomicbooks.com, GoCollect, bleedingcool.com). One important methodological note: our eBay estimator does not cover the Strange Tales, Doctor Strange, or Marvel Premiere series — it returns "invalid parameters" for these titles. Every figure in this guide comes exclusively from documented web sources. Where no public record exists, we stay qualitative.

Doctor Strange key issue ranking (real documented data)

All records below come from public sources (Heritage Auctions, sellmycomicbooks.com). Our eBay estimator does not cover these series; all figures are sourced from the web.

Sources: Heritage Auctions, sellmycomicbooks.com, GoCollect. Our eBay estimator does not cover these series.

Strange Tales #110 (1963): the Silver Age birth of the Sorcerer Supreme

Published in July 1963, Strange Tales #110 contains the first appearance of Doctor Strange in a five-page backup — the rest of the issue is given over to the Human Torch. The story is by Stan Lee (script) and Steve Ditko (art). The same issue introduces the Ancient One, Nightmare, and Wong. This is a Silver Age key: Doctor Strange is a contemporary of the great Marvel Age creations (Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, Thor, X-Men). In April 2024, a CGC 9.6 copy was hammered at $150,000 at Heritage Auctions, establishing the all-time documented record for this issue. For context, sellmycomicbooks.com data shows a CGC 9.4 selling for $55,200 in 2020 and $48,000 in 2021; a CGC 9.2 at $42,500 in 2022. High-grade copies of this issue remain among the hardest to find in the Silver Age Marvel market.

Even in lower grades, the book commands substantial sums: 2022 data shows a CGC 8.0 at $15,600 and a CGC 6.5 at $10,500. Market liquidity for Strange Tales #110 is genuine, sustained by the character's high MCU profile.

Strange Tales #115 (1963): the origin of Stephen Strange

Strange Tales #115 (December 1963) is Doctor Strange's fourth appearance — and the first to tell his origin story. Stan Lee and Steve Ditko trace Stephen Strange's arc from virtuoso neurosurgeon to Sorcerer Supreme: the car accident, the damaged hands, the search for a cure, the journey to the Ancient One's Tibetan sanctuary, and the initiation into the mystic arts. That is the narrative arc reproduced almost verbatim in the 2016 MCU film. A CGC 9.6 copy sold for $16,730 at Heritage Auctions in 2017, according to available data. For collectors who want both founding keys without committing to the prices a high-grade #110 commands, the #115 offers a more accessible entry point in the same Silver Age tier.

Strange Tales #127 (1964): the Cloak, the Eye, and Dormammu

Strange Tales #127 (December 1964) is an underappreciated key: it is the first appearance of the Cloak of Levitation and the Eye of Agamotto — the two most iconic artefacts of the Sorcerer Supreme, present in every MCU adaptation. The issue also contains the first battle between Doctor Strange and Dormammu, with Clea serving as an ally. Sellmycomicbooks.com documents a record of $20,300 for this issue, making it the second-highest-valued Silver Age key after #110 in available data. The black cover, typical of this era of Strange Tales, is notoriously difficult to find in high grade.

Doctor Strange #169 (1968): the first solo issue

In June 1968, Marvel renamed Strange Tales as Doctor Strange starting with issue #169 — continuing the original series numbering. It is the first issue to carry the character's name as the title. The record documented by sellmycomicbooks.com stands at $7,800. This issue marks the end of the shared anthology format with Nick Fury and establishes Doctor Strange as the lead of his own standalone series.

Marvel Premiere #3 (1972): the Bronze Age revival

After the first Doctor Strange series ended in 1969, the character returned in Marvel Premiere beginning with issue #3 (July 1972). Issue #3 was drawn by Barry Windsor-Smith — fresh from his celebrated Conan run — on a script by Stan Lee, before Steve Englehart and Frank Brunner took over and defined the Bronze Age version of the character. This period led directly to Doctor Strange vol. 2 #1 (1974). No high-grade auction record is publicly documented for Marvel Premiere #3: high-grade CGC copies remain scarce and prices vary significantly by grade and page quality.

Doctor Strange in the MCU: the effect on key issue values

Benedict Cumberbatch's casting as the Sorcerer Supreme has helped sustain demand for Silver Age keys. Doctor Strange (2016) grossed $677.8 million worldwide; Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022) surpassed $955.8 million. The character also appears in Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, and Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) — a sustained MCU presence that keeps collector interest in the Silver Age founding issues firmly active.