The Doom That Awaits... Allandra!

 

It wasn't until February of 1977* that the first Dr. Strange annual would appear in stores. Such a delay may sound surprising, given the character's long-term success over the years--yet back in the day, his first series in 1968 fizzled, and he depended largely on being one of the headliners of The Defenders to become more established and consequently be given a second series in 1974. Even so, Doctor Strange went back and forth between monthly and bi-monthly publication, unable to sustain adequate sales to justify a monthly status--nor were the comings and goings of creative talent behind the scenes helping matters.

*The issue itself was publicized as the annual for 1976.

Things became equally unstable for Dr. Strange himself, whose status as Sorcerer Supreme had been stripped from him by his former teacher, the Ancient One--himself a victim of deception on the part of the Creators, a trio of sorcerers who were attempting to alter the cosmos to their will. It's during this time that we find Strange in his first annual, a port of calm in the storm of his regular mag in a story co-plotted and drawn by Craig Russell, where Strange's status as a mere Master of the Mystic Arts happens to fit in with the motivation of the story's villainess, Lectra--a sorceress who has her own deceit in play and the power to compel Strange's cooperation.

The story by Russell and scripter Marv Wolfman fortunately isn't encumbered by the main series' regrouping efforts, and provides instead a self-contained tale which offers both content and adventure and has forty-seven pages in which to play out (pared down to thirty-five when omitting ads). Its plot hinges on the disappearance of Strange's disciple, Clea--but even so, Wolfman and Russell have seen no need to provide those details, when a few panels of musings from Strange will do. (Particularly when there is good reason to leave out such details, which we'll get to in time.)

The clues and evidence which Strange encounters to pick up Clea's trail also turn out to be part of the web of deceit which Lectra has woven--all designed to lead him to the shifting environment of Phaseworld, and the formidable sorceress who rules it. The ensuing battle between the two is a result of Lectra's arrogance more than anything else, and is far more involved than what you'll see here--but suffice to say that Lectra holds a card which Strange remains helpless to deny.

The appearance of Lectra's island, Allandra, is suitably spectacular. Yet as we enter, Lectra paints a picture of it which is no longer reality--and we finally learn why her dependence upon the "Sorcerer Supreme" is so crucial to her plans.

If Lectra is speaking of her sister, Phaydra, so despicably, we can be certain by this point that Lectra isn't telling the whole truth, if any of it. And now, with Phaydra's appearance, this story begins to unwrap in all its splendor and suffering, as we learn there is more than meets the eye to both of these women, as well as the "swan" which speaks for the sister who has been rendered mute.

And then, at last, the answers come, the whys and hows of the deception revealed and making it obvious why the story had to avoid delving into the specifics of Clea's disappearance.  Regrettably, the truth only provokes a fatal strike which leads to scenes of death and destruction which engulf Lectra, Phaydra, Tempus, and, eventually, Allandra itself; and despite the efforts of Strange to somehow salvage this situation, the end result appears to be inescapable.

It's an abrupt conclusion to this tale--though as Tempus says in so many words, what was to be done at this point? The story resonates perhaps even more with Strange's failure than it would have had he succeeded, particularly since it was the confrontation between Lectra, Phaydra and Tempus which finally took center stage and served as its climax. The one question mark that remains is... well, just that: the actual question mark which appears at the very end, for no discernible reason. The narrative makes clear that all is well as far as Strange is concerned, though the same of course can't be said for those he leaves behind--yet if something has been left unresolved, it doesn't seem to have been indicated to the reader aside from a curious placement of punctuation.

BONUS!
Just over a year later, following Strange's victory over the Creators, writer Roger Stern cleverly settles the issue of Strange's status as the Sorcerer Supreme--while deftly dispensing with the title itself.