Terra Obscura: Volume 2 [Paperback]

Alan Moore (Author), Peter Hogan (Author)

Book Description

Series: Terra Obscura | Publication Date: October 1, 2005

Bestselling comics writer Alan Moore (The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen) spins a brand new graphic novel from the cosmos of his fantastical retro-futuristic science-hero Tom Strong. As security firm Terror Inc. prepare to seize back America's cities from the grip of crime and chaos, a field capable of nullifying electricity is spreading out from the Grand Canyon. From it spring monsters and demons. Are the two events related? A motley array of science heroes hurl themselves into the growing anarchy to find out! With its alternate realities and universal themes, Terro Obscura shows once again why Alan Moore is the leading light in comics writing!

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

In Terra Obscura, superheroes (updates of obscure 1940s comic-book characters) reenter that world and confront a mysterious force that is spreading across the U.S., disabling all technology and threatening to send civilization back to the Stone Age. Moore only co-plots Terra Obscura with Peter Hogan, and, not surprisingly, it isn't as satisfying as comics he fully commands. Yet the intricately plotted if relatively traditional story is more interesting, and its larger-than-life protagonists more vivid, than those of many other superhero comics. Yanick Paquette's art is attractive and straightforward. Gordon Flagg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

Lincolnshire cho, September 7th 004: "..an excellent mooreish job." --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Wildstorm (October 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1401206220
• ISBN-13: 978-1401206222
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 6.6 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,820,304 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Graphic SF Reader, September 2, 2007

By 

Blue Tyson "- Research Finished" (Legion clubhouse) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Terra Obscura: Volume 2 (Paperback)

Definitely not as good as the first volume. Partly because you know more about the characters, I think, and they were basically settled after the first volume. This one throws in a voluptuous jungle queen style heroine for Tom to dally with, for one, but still quite enjoyable overall, even if the focus is taken off the more interesting characters from the first book.

4.0 out of 5 stars Better than the first volume, April 9, 2008

By 

P. Agoris "dude" (Greece) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Terra Obscura: Volume 2 (Paperback)

I actually prefered this story line to the first volume, it had much more things going on. Stronger plot, more personal story for Tom Strange and the rest of the heroes, and the addition of the pulp symbol "jungle woman" actually added more fun and personality to Tom Strange and kept things a bit lighter. She does look a lot like Jennifer Connelly in some panels, is it me or is it Yanick?

Anyway it makes an enjoyable light read....p

4.0 out of 5 stars Very Good Start for Terra Obscura, July 17, 2007

By 

E. David Swan (South Euclid, Ohio USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Terra Obscura (Paperback)

I set my expectations low on Terra Obscura. Even though it has Alan Moore's name attached he's not the writer only the co-plotter and I've learned from experience that stories merely `co-plotted' by Alan Moore tend to pale in comparison to those fully penned by Mr. Moore. Having said that Terra Obscura was a pleasant surprise. The art is well done and I found the story engaging throughout. It boils down to a murder mystery with Grant Halfrod (The Magnet) trying to track down the killer of his longtime friend and associate Lance Lewis (Space Detective). Meanwhile some kind of expanding null field has opened up near the Grand Canyon shutting down all technology and releasing demon hounds.

I love a good mystery and the more I read Terra Obscura the more I wanted to read and there's not much more you can ask from a good story. The payoff at the end was perhaps a bit of a let down but it certainly wasn't a flop. One thing I have to note is that the artist, Yanick Paquette, LOVES large breasts. All the female characters appear to be in a competition to see who has the largest boobs. Seriously, on Terra Obscura Power Girl would be mocked for her small, flat chest.

The characters have Alan Moore touches in the sense that they tend to be more archetypes than fully fleshed out humans. The Terror is the only truly unique character of the bunch. This may seem like a demerit but it's rather in line with Alan Moore's tendency towards super hero deconstruction. The American Crusader, for instance, is the typical Superman knock-off with shades of Captain Atom. However, unlike Superman who is written as the quintessential hero with regards to brawn, brains, heart and wisdom, American Crusader is a surly alcoholic with a tendency towards suggesting the most direct and often violent solution to any problem. I would imagine it's a rather realistic portrayal of a colossally powerful character with average intelligence. Why use subtlety when you have the power to smash any problem into submission.

The dialog in Terra Obscura isn't up to Alan Moore's standards and the ending didn't quite measure up to the build up but overall I felt satisfied with the book. It's a nice change of pace from DC and Marvel. I apologize for mentioning Alan Moore so much since the actual author is Peter Hogan but if you're going to list Mr. Moore as the author this is the price you pay.