Doctor Strange First Appearance: Strange Tales #110 Value

Doctor Strange first appeared in Strange Tales #110 (cover date 1963), published by Marvel, by Stan Lee, Steve Ditko. The source puts it this way: "Doctor Strange was created in 1963 by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, and first published in Strange Tales #110 by Marvel Comics.".

PriceCharting values for Strange Tales #110 (1963) by CGC grade, based on recorded sales and updated September 25, 2026:

• CGC 2.0: $1,035
• CGC 3.0: $1,251
• CGC 4.0: $1,784
• CGC 5.0: $2,444
• CGC 6.0: $3,340
• CGC 7.0: $4,800
• CGC 8.0: $6,904
• CGC 9.0: $14,452
• CGC 9.2: $22,800
• CGC 9.4: $44,928

The spread from CGC 2.0 ($1,035) to CGC 9.4 ($44,928) shows how much condition matters on a key issue. Restored, trimmed or incomplete copies sell far below these figures, and reprints and facsimiles (see below) are worth a small fraction. Grade and restoration are confirmed by a grading service such as CGC or CBCS; prices move with the market and the character's popularity.

• Co-debuting characters in the same issue: Strange Tales #110 features the first appearances of Dr. Stephen Strange, Wong, and the Ancient One together.
• Origin story premise (interior content): Dr. Stephen Strange is introduced as a gifted, arrogant surgeon who loses the use of his hands in a terrible car accident and learns magic and mysticism from the Ancient One.

• Indicia: the small print on the first page or inside cover gives the issue number, date and publisher; reprints usually say so there.
• Cover price and barcode: a price or barcode format that did not exist in the year printed means a later edition.
• Paper and staples: decades-old newsprint is tan at the edges; bright white pages on an old date are a warning sign.
• Restoration: color touch, trimmed edges and married covers are common on expensive keys; a grading service can detect them.

Shoot the front cover flat, straight on, in even light, then the indicia page and the back cover. Include the top edge and staples in one frame. The app reads the title, issue number and cover and matches it against the checks above; the indicia photo settles most reprint questions.

Strange Tales #110 (cover-dated July 1963) is the first appearance. His eight-page origin, the story of the surgeon who seeks out the Ancient One, came later in Strange Tales #115 (December 1963) (Wikipedia). The two are often confused and priced very differently. PriceCharting values for Strange Tales #115, retrieved September 25, 2026:

• Ungraded: $125.95
• CGC 4.0: $190.00
• CGC 6.0: $350.92
• CGC 8.0: $898.19
• CGC 9.2: $1,528.75
• CGC 9.8: $13,337.40

PriceCharting's notes also list #115 as the second appearance of the Sandman, with Spider-Man appearing.

• 1968: first title of his own, Doctor Strange #169 (June 1968), continuing Strange Tales' numbering.
• 1971: founding member of the Defenders in Marvel Feature #1 (December 1971).
• 1973: becomes Sorcerer Supreme after the Ancient One dies.
• 2006: joins the New Avengers during Civil War.

All dates from Wikipedia.

Benedict Cumberbatch plays Stephen Strange in Doctor Strange (2016), his first appearance, then Thor: Ragnarok (2017), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Avengers: Endgame (2019), Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022). He also appears in the animated What If...? (Wikipedia).