Strange Adventures #1 (DC/Black Label)
Tom King (w) Mitch Gerads & Evan "Doc" Shaner (a)
Adam Strange has been a major feature of the DC Universe since his first appearance in Showcase #17 (which ran as one story through to #19) and subsequently became famous in Mystery In Space. Adam was accidently transported to the Planet Rann by a "Zeta beam"were he became a hero and fell in love with Aleena the daughter of the scientist Sardath.
The random nature of the beam meant he neither stayed permanently on Rann or Earth often being separated from Aleena who became his wife until a fix was made enabling him to stay as and when.
Strange often interacted with the other DC heroes and teamed up with many including the whole Justice League of America over the years. Much was done to expand the DC version of the cosmos through the adventures of Adam and the conflict between Rann and Hawkman's home world of Thanagar often featured over the decades as the Thanagarians turned out to be an aggressive race.
Adam has appeared in hundreds of DC comics and my own introduction to the character was mainly through reprints in Strange Adventures and the Justice League of America. These early stories represented the charming, simpler era of the Silver Age.
No more is that the case. Battle hardened and as a hero and with the DC Universe having got darker over the years this "Black Label" maxi series which revives the classic Strange Adventures title for 12 issues is a much more mature version of the genre than the one we all grew up with.
Adam is a hero. He's written a book, become famous back on earth and is somewhat of a celebrity. However the war that he fought to save Rann has had repercussions that undoubtedly we'll learn as the series develops but for now Adam is in trouble. And war seems to be on the way.
In conjunction with the release of this series DC have also published a Facsimile Edition of Mystery In Space #75 from 1962 in which the JLA also appear. Pure nostalgia and like this comic essential reading for comic fans.
Rating: 5 Stars
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