Review by Frank Plowright
Although he doesn’t look like the future any more, with his finned helmet, jetpack and visits to other worlds, that’s exactly what Adam Strange was in the late 1950s and early 1960s. An archaeologist randomly transported to the distant planet of Rann where he found love and heroic stature, despite a spotty career since, his purpose is the embodiment of hopes for better times to come. Anyone retaining nostalgic yearnings for the innocent enjoyment of that incarnation isn’t going to be happy with Tom King’s revision, yet in a narrow sense he remains true to that incarnation.
The early indications are that Adam Strange isn’t a paragon of virtue after all as he touts his autobiography around the USA. Having decided on that plot, King essentially limits himself to two options. Either the truth has never been told, or it’s an elaborate frame-up, and much of Strange Adventures is figuring out which.
As in a world of superheroes there’s always the doubt of manipulation or mind control, Strange enlists the help of genius Mr. Terrific to ascertain the truth. He exemplifies the sort of fascinating touch identifying King as an original writer. How does he spend his time? By having his little flying robots quiz him on literary quotes or the gross domestic savings of Turkmenistan in 2015. It’s a neat character touch, but veers through repetition toward irritation.
Two artists are used. Mitch Gerads collaborated with King on the highly acclaimed, but possibly over-rated Mister Miracle, and handles the uncertainty of the present, his realism extending to blurring some backgrounds as they might appear if focus was on a foreground object. It’s extremely polished art, as is that of Evan “Doc” Shaner on the scenes echoing the bright and shiny heroics of the past. An interesting novelty is them sometimes both contributing to the same page, as per the sample art.
King’s storytelling relies greatly on omission, which propels the mysteries throughout. Is something being covered up? Why so many references to Adam and Alanna’s daughter being dead while the circumstances are being withheld? Why are the Pykkts constantly mentioned, yet never seen? And after having requested an investigation into the truth, why do the Stranges then rail against it?
A couple of those questions are answered around halfway, by which time several lies have been identified, conditioning us to accept any statement as possibly originating with an unreliable witness. By then Earth is seemingly facing the same threat as Rann, and unable to repel it.
Where King takes matters from there isn’t going to sit well with fans of Adam Strange the character. Once the layers are peeled back Strange Adventures is a classic tragedy featuring the unpalatable decision. In common with some of King’s earlier projects there’s consideration of how war depraves and corrupts, yet there’s also a counterpoint, as every chapter is accompanied by a quote from an artist about the demands of comics. Is King suggesting readers of superhero comics bear responsibility for the losses heroes endure in endless combat? Or perhaps, with an incisive quote from Alex Toth, he’s preparing his defence about bursting the timeless bubble.
Whatever the truth of that, the core is a page-turning shocker meticulously plotted and gloriously illustrated.
