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Tom Strong (Book one)
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Tom Strong (Book one) Customer Reviews
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♥♥♥♥♥
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Holy socks! Sign me up for the Strongmen of America fanclub.
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So who is the square-jawed and massively framed Tom Strong? Born at the turn of the old millennium on a remote island guarded by rainbows, raised in isolation in a high gravity playroom, granted longevity in life, and imbued with a genius for science - is Tom Strong. Today Tom, whose life span nears a century, sallies forth from his home and headquarters, the Stronghold, and, with his beautiful, elegant wife Princess Dhalua and his plucky daughter Tesla, safeguards the sprawling, gleaming metropolis of Millennium City.
Alan Moore, still comic book's best writer, doesn't really do any heavy lifting here but still evokes a simple sense of wonder with his terrific Tom Strong stories. Neither as gritty as [[ASIN:1563896575 Top 10 Book 1]] nor as disturbing as [[ASIN:1563898586 The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Vol. 1]], rather, Tom Strong's universe is filled with optimism and nostalgia. While Moore tends to lean towards storytelling with adult-oriented content, his Tom Strong series comes closest to a PG rating, even if there are still some mature themes present. Tom, whose origin owes a fond nod towards Tarzan and Doc Savage, is a science hero, a thinking man of action who makes use of his inventions and marvelous physicality to combat his many frightening and esoteric villains. His offbeat adventures are tinged with that pulp feeling from back in the day. Doesn't hurt a bit that Alan Moore makes his cast interesting. Dhalua and Tesla are absolutely marvelous, while the intelligent ape King Solomon and the steam-powered mechanical butler Pneuman nicely round out Tom's immediate circle. Tom himself is Moore's attempt to instill in one archetypal protagonist certain iconic characteristics drawn from Tarzan, Doc Savage, and Superman.
TOM STRONG (BOOK 1) collects the first seven issues of the regular comic book series, enough to give a sense of the breadth of Tom Strong's massive backstory. To further flesh him out, Tom's contemporary exploits are also complemented with related flashback stories (In one instance, there's even a flashforward story). This includes Tom's origin in the first issue, which has to be one of the most refreshing comic book stories I've read in years. 100 years of adventuring can fill up a roster of villains. In this volume Tom faces off against old foes, from a self-replicating mechanical monster, a genetically-enhanced Nazi villainess, and a sentient primordial slime mold to Tom's science nemesis, the evil (but well-dressed) mastermind Paul Saveen. But a new challenge awaits Tom as Millennium City is invaded by technologically advanced Aztecs from a parallel dimension. Yet another thing to look forward to is that this volume contains a 4-part story arc which holds some ramifications for Tom and his family.
Respect to the deceptively clean lines and composition skills of artist Chris Sprouse (LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES, SUPREME). With the passel of guest artists covering the flashback portions (Arthur Adams, Dave Gibbons, Jerry Ordway), Sprouse's presence goes a long way in providing a consistent and cohesive look to the series. And I love his renderings of Millennium City, with its pristine, towering high rises and those cable cars zipping by overhead.
The negatives to this comic book? Well, the Tom Strong title, debuting in 1999, tended to suffer from sporadic publishing. In fact, it took a whole year for the seven issues here to be released. Another downside is that, starting with issue #8, the title began to feature three short stories per issue, which, except for the Tesla Strong chapters, aren't nearly as enjoyable, and again in part due to the inconsistent publishing. TOM STRONG - BOOK 1, however, is tremendous fun and highly recommended. This TPB also contains an introductory 2-paged text "history" of Tom Strong as written by Alan Moore, as well as several pages of character designs and bonus artwork by Sprouse. I'll say it: this volume is pulpy goodness. |
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