Tom Strong, Vol. 1

I really like Tom Strong. The Alan Moore creation is a combination of Superman, Doc Savage, Tarzan and Flash Gordon. I've previously read the 2 hardcover volumes that comprised the entire run of Tom Strong's Terrific Tales. While the series wasn't entirely filled with adventures starring Tom, there were enough of him to make me a fan; desiring to complete a run of his regular series.

I swear that I've read the first issue before. Maybe the premiere issue of Terrific Tales reprinted some of Tom Strong's origin story. Maybe I've committed that legend to memory just as I have with the debuts of Batman, Spider-Man and dozens of other superheroes. But I doubt it.

7 issues are reprinted in this volume. The first 4 issues are self-contained. I love that. You get a full compliment of 30 some pages of action, adventure and a smattering of sci-fi, set in the year 1999. Within is also a glimpse of Tom's past adventures, which are pretty extensive considering that he's nearly 100 years old. I think each flashback had had something to do with the current predicament, which often sees a long-thought vanquished for returning from the dead. You might think that Alan Moore is stuck on a comic book trope. But in reality, he's eviscerating how often publishers love to bring characters back from the dead instead of letting sleeping dogs lie.

The last 3 issues all involved cliffhangers. If I was buying Tom Strong, when it was new,on a monthly basis and the pacing went from one-and-done tales to cliffhangers with a 30-day wait for the conclusion, I would have been pissed. Chalk it up for collected trades and hardcovers!

The second half not only sees the return of a World War II era foe, it also introduces a new foe that while I knew what was coming, I was shocked that Moore managed to do it. Tom is essentially raped and his DNA is used to make an Über Tom who really hates dad. Add in that Tom's wife is a black African princess and their child is mixed, the conflicting superiority complex and family loyalty of Tom's son makes for a very intriguing look at Tom Strong's future.

The original series of Tom Strong ran for 33 issues. There's 5 more volumes out there. Out of print, but not exactly something that collectors are scrambling to add to their collections, I should not have very much trouble getting my hands on them. Unfortunately, I have so much stuff on my ever growing wish list, it might be a while before I find volume 2. But rest assured, if I found the concluding editions on an amazing deal, they'll definitely be coming home with me.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Tomorrow Stories, Book 2

I love Alan Moore. I know it's not possible, but I feel like he writes just for me. His work is fanciful, supernatural, twisted, naughty, biting and groundbreaking. And until now, I didn't know that Alan Moore could be funny. 

Alan Moore's Tomorrow Stories are comprised of a rotating group of 5 different subject styles of pulp and classic comic book archetypes. Johnny B. Quick is a boy genius who lives in a small rural town. The Cobweb is the femme fatale who fights a lot of crime while wearing very little. Greyshirt is the costume vigilante who has turned from a life of crime after surviving a near catastrophe. First American and his alluring sidekick U.S. Angel are the stereotypical patriotic superhero duo. Lastly, Splash is your bizarro hero; a living blob of ink that navigates a world that is not his own. Different artists tackles these 5 subjects with Moore as the author of them all.

Tomorrow Stories are in my mind Alan Moore's MAD Magazine. Each story is satirical with those hidden jokes in the background. One story might find the protagonist exploiting the world of fine art with the next one skewering the music industry. 

My favorite stories involve Johnny B. Quick. Johnny is really brilliant. But what he has in book smarts, he lacks in life experiences. The Quick family read like the ignorant family that Marty McFly encounters when he crashes into the barn way back in 1955. It's just a hilarious idea that I wish would have been expanded into a lengthy monthly solo series. 

The First American stories were really naughty. I'm surprised Alan Moore got away with many of his dirty jokes. But these tales were really consistent across the board. The Splash stories were very funny. Yet, not every joke or gag connected. Though the Splash story from issue #7 'a Bigger Splash' should be a required addition if there ever is an essential Alan Moore compendium. 

The Cobweb and Greyshirt segments were my least favorite. For the most part, Moore goes too experimental. The crossover between the two characters was great. As solo acts, not so enjoyable. One Cobweb story is done like a series of newspaper strips and the dialect spoken by some of the characters is just too annoying to attempt to decipher. With Greyshirt, Moore crafts a musical piece. I HATE comics where you have to imagine there's singing and music. I can't read music. I just don't get the tempo. So, maybe Alan Moore really doesn't write just for me...

Tomorrow Stories was limited to a 12-issue run with 2 over-sized specials. I'm just missing 3 issues and the specials for a complete collection of the tales. So I at least have more misadventures to look forward too. Plus, one of the issues I have is a Christmas extravaganza! (I really can't wait for that one!) 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

America's Best Comics Primer

I didn't need much of a reason to be convinced of the quality in Alan Moore's America's Best Comics imprint. But to find this collection of first issues for only $3 was a deal I could not pass up. 

I had read about half of the issues contained within at one point of another. But I didn't own them and they were so very good that I did not mind reading them at all. In fact, I am glad I did because I am now wanting to give Promethea another try. Plus, I have a near complete wish list in which I can look for the remainder of the other titles still in need of my consumption!

Alan Moore might be a rather odd fellow in person. But I am a big fan of a lot of his work. His Swamp Thing tenure was amazing. Top 10 is probably in my top ten indy titles of all-time. And Moore's Vigilante stories and the Superman epic 'For The Man Who Has Everything' are probably some of my favorite one-shot tales ever!

The ABC books are not that hard to find. But it's not the easiest of stuff to locate either. So when I can get my hands on something from that 1999-roughly 2008 line, I snatch it up without hesitation. I know that the stories from Moore are going to be excellent. Plus with a line-up of talented artists like Arthur Adams, Jerry Ordway, Yanick Paquette and Gene Ha, I know that I am in for a visual treat!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

(Note: This book is also listed as the America's Best Comics Sampler.)

Top 10: Beyond the Farthest Precinct

Neopolis- that super-city refuge for superheroes, villains and those with special powers and abilities. 

Precinct 10- home of the finest police force in all of Neopolis. 

Top 10 is back in this new series from Di Filippo and Jerry Ordway (Superman.) Taking the reigns from the legendary Alan Moore (Watchmen) and the superb Gene Ha (Batman: Fortunate Son) is no small feat. But this duo gets the job done in a mighty way. 

Neopolis is besieged with a terrifying vision of a grim reaper like entity. As the Top 10 investigate, the mystery deepens with a new drug for robots is hitting the streets and Precinct 10 undergoes a change in leadership. The team had better act fast to tie all the loose threads together as the mass hysteria behind these terrible visions is spreading fast!

This story may not have been 100% as good as the Alan Moore run. But it was quite entertaining and it was great catching back up with so many unforgettable characters. 

This is a book that you may want to re-read at least once. Almost every panel is filled with Easter Eggs, cameos, and inside jokes. Ordway crafted it so that you would find something new with every read. He is a master!

A really fun read with an intriguing array of plot twists and multiple story lines. This would make a great Netflix series! 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Tom Strong's Terrific Tales Book Two

  
 Alan Moore and friends bring to a close Tom Strong's Terrific Tales. 

   In the Old Tom stories, relive the golden age of cartoons when Tom and his daughter Tesla are challenged to a ghoulish drag race. Then a man dreams what it would be like to be Tom Strong and imagine what the Strong family would be like if they were the Osborne's. Lastly, take a tour of Tom's Millennium City with beautiful illustrations by Michael Kaluta.

    Then Young Tom Strong comes of age on the mystical island of Attabar Teru discovering his origins, being reunited with an old friend, and learning about the opposite sex. Things come full circle by the end of this story line and in a way I'm glad I read this series before Tom Strong as this is full of great backstory and origins. 

    The biggest disappointment are the Jonni Future stories. It's not that these sci-fi adventures  aren't of superior quality. They very much are. But these are literally the last stories of a dynamically titillating series unless co-creators Steve Moore and Arthur Adams craft so further episodes. It's been over a dozen years since the last Jonni Future adventure saw print, so her future isn't so bright. 

     A bittersweet end to a great series...

    Worth Consuming

     Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Tom Strong's Terrific Tales Book One

   Tom Strong is the ageless wonder from the 1920s. Like his name, he's as mighty as he is strong. He's a brilliant inventor and a fearless adventurer.

     Tesla Strong is Tom's beautiful daughter. She's fearless just like her father and warrior mother. But she's also a bit of a party girl.

      King Solomon is a super-intelligent gorilla. A loyal friend of Tom's, Solomon is also quite the ladies man and oh so dapper.

      Jonni Future. Her uncle was the original Johnny Future. His niece inherits the mantle after his dies. Tasked with saving the world in a time that's not her own, she's part historian, part futurist and 100% sexpot.

      Young Tom Strong- shipwrecked and orphaned on a mystical island, Tom Strong grows rapidly over a very short period of time. Since he looks older than he is, Tom is initiated into the tribes people who've become his new family through a serious of trails into manhood.

      Tom Strong's Terrific Tales was a fun journey back to the days of pulp heroes, lusty adventurers, and fantastical scientists. I found this and it's companion volume at my favorite comic book store, Books Do Furnish A Room. It was on steep discount. But the main reason I got these books were because of the head writer Alan Moore of whom I am a huge fan. Yet the main sell for this book I discover is the brilliant artwork and covers by Arthur Adams (Monkeyman and O'Brien.) He's quickly become one of my top 5 favorite artists of all-time and despite the fact that I am in serious need of shelf space, this volume as become a permanent fixture of my collection- thanks to Mr. Adams.

    A great series that has won my attention and desire to own more Tom Strong adventures.

    Worth Consuming

    Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.