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Doctor Strange has been through a lot in his comic book career, not the least of which was dying and then coming back to life a couple of years ago — not to mention his current status, thanks to the ongoing Blood Hunt storyline. But could it all be a little too much for the Sorcerer Supreme? Marvel’s solicitation text for August’s Doctor Strange #18 sounds surprisingly… final.

The full text for the August release, by the regular creative team of Jed MacKay and Pasqual Ferry, reads, “The Blood Hunt is over, but Doctor Strange’s world has changed. What comes next for the master of the mystic arts? Is it really time to say goodbye?”

Well… is it time to say goodbye? Marvel didn’t respond to a request for comment, and there’s no official notification that the title is ending… but it wouldn’t be the biggest surprise if that was the case. Traditionally, Doctor Strange comics don’t tend to be strong sales performers — the last series lasted 20 issues, for example — and writer Jed MacKay is one of Marvell’s busiest writers these days, headlining both Avengers and X-Men, as well as his ongoing work on Vengeance of the Moon Knight. He couldn’t be blamed for wanting to lighten his workload a little bit… and stepping off Doctor Strange would give Marvel the opportunity to relaunch the title with another writer if it so wished, raising the book’s profile (and sales) in the process.

Of course, there’s also the possibility that the series won’t be ending, in which case… who is saying goodbye in that description, and why…?

We shouldn’t expect too much clarity until August 8, when Doctor Strange #18 will be released. For now, enjoy Alex Ross’s cover to the issue, below.

Keep up to date on Popverse's Marvel coverage, with these highlights: Disney CEO Bob Iger is promising Deadpool & Wolverine will be MCU's biggest movie "in a long time", how Marvel Studios is now working "much more closely" to sell Marvel comics, how Marvel Comics' boss said it was lost in 2023 (and how its finding itself again), Inside Marvel Comics' plans to fix its pricing issues, Overgrown children of the atom: Marvel's X-Men can't evolve past their '90s commercial peak, and the biggest outstanding questions of the Marvel Studios' movies & TV shows.