Posted in: Comics, Review | Tagged: adam strange, comic book reviews, Mitch Gerads, science fiction, Tom King

REVIEW: Strange Adventures #1 — "Schroedinger's Storyline, Leaving Only Apprehension At Every Turn Of The Page"

Published Thu, 05 Mar 2020 12:30:08 -0600

(DC Comics, creative team: Tom King, Mitch Gerads, Evan "Doc" Shaner, Clayton Cowles)

Hh. There is no denying that this issue has a clear application of craft. Everybody involved knows how to make comics. Unfortunately, Taylor, er, King's script is obtuse about what we are in for. Will this be the start of a timeless masterpiece, like The Vision? Will this be a drastic disappointment like Heroes in Crisis? Will we have an ambitious but flawed mixed bag like Omega Men? As we watch Adam Strange wrestle with newborn fame and publicity crises that would make Olivia Pope purse her lips in frustration, there's no way to tell. Some might find the bouncing back and forth between time periods jarring but the work manages the transitions and differences deftly. Either Adam's earnestness is the kind of heroic nonsense that made the first pages of Marvel Boy so breathlessly enjoyable or it's a huge misdirect. All of it, however, just kind of paces along without doing something specific to this property itself, while being reminiscent of the aforementioned. We'll all look back on this one day and know, but today it's Schroedinger's storyline, leaving only apprehension at every turn of the page. RATING: HONORABLE MENTION.

STRANGE ADVENTURES #1
written by TOM KING
art by MITCH GERADS and EVAN "DOC" SHANER
cover by MITCH GERADS
After winning five Eisner Awards and topping year-end "best of lists," the comic book of 2019 was Mister Miracle. The comic book of 2020 will be Strange Adventures.
The Mister Miracle team of writer Tom King and artist Mitch Gerads are joined by fan-favorite artist Evan "Doc" Shaner to bring you an epic tale in the tradition of Watchmen, The Dark Knight Returns, and DC: The New Frontier — a story of blood, war, and love that readers will be talking about for years to come.
Adam Strange is the hero of Rann, a man famous throughout the galaxy for his bravery and honor. After leading his adopted home to victory in a great planetary war, Adam and his wife Alanna retire to Earth, where they are greeted by cheers, awards, and parades. But not all is as happy and nice as it seems, as the decisions Adam made during battles on Rann come back to haunt his family and threaten the entire DC Universe. And now a surprise DC hero will have to choose between saving Adam Strange and saving the world.
A story like no other, Strange Adventures is an ambitious, thrilling, shocking, and beautiful 12-issue saga that will push Adam Strange to the breaking point—and beyond!