Strange Adventures by author Tom King, Illustrations by Mitch Gerards and Evan “Doc” Shaner
Strange Adventures is another comic book in which Tom King takes an unknown hero and gives them the spotlight we didn’t know they deserved. He’s done this for Vision, Mr. Miracle, and now Adam Strange. Strange is the hero of two worlds as he goes back and forth between Earth and the home planet of his wife Alanna, Rann.
On Rann he was defeating a race of warriors known as the Pykkt. They have been terrorizing the universe and destroying worlds. He beat them before but now they’re coming to Earth. Can he do it again?
Everyone sings his praises until someone who harassed him shows up dead, shot by a space weapon suspiciously like Strange’s. He says he was framed and that any investigation will lead to the conclusion that he’s innocent. Mr. Terrific gets assigned the job.
I was previously unaware of Mr. Terrific. He is a very intelligent man who apparently knows all there is to know. He has a little robot that floats around him asking him trivia questions all day to demonstrate this fact. Tis an interesting choice for exposition but at least it’s different.
We learn that both Mr. Terrific and Adam Strange have lost children. Terrific’s was during a car accident that killed him pregnant wife, Strange lost his daughter in the war on Rann. Strange and Alanna love and respect the heck out of each other. I always love it when I see a healthy relationship depicted in media.
The meat of the story is about uncovering Strange’s secrets. He may not be as innocent as he claims. The comic book is told through the present and flashbacks to the war. Slowly, we get the reveal of what Strange actually did during these war times. Things that even Alanna doesn’t know about. BIG secrets that should never get out.
Alanna is the unsung hero of Strange Adventures. She is a warrior princess who fights for two worlds as well. She takes the backseat to her husband, the symbol, but moves many pieces through political means. They fight the fight on two fronts.
What does it take to win a war? Author King knows better than most comic book writers as a veteran who has been in active combat. He brings his always unique perspective to this premise and shows us that it is one thing to win a war for a planet, another to win it for yourself, and that it is never possible to have both victory and glory.
The characters of Strange Adventures are magnificently constructed. Everyone has a role and there are no unnecessary cameos that plague most DC books. It is a true standalone that you do not need prior knowledge to enjoy. Batman and the Justice League make a short appearance but it is not forced and you don’t really need to know who they are.
I strongly recommend everything by King. He’s a master of the art and is producing some of the best works in comic books today.
5/5 laser guns 🔫🔫🔫🔫🔫
If you like Adam Strange you might also like The Sentry Also, get Tom King a contract for The Sentry, he could do wonders with this underrated character.
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