4.0 out of 5 stars
Great Chukulteh! More stories about Tom Strong, science hero supreme..., February 1, 2008
This review is from: Tom Strong (Book 4) (Hardcover)
No, by no means as strong as previous volumes (
Tom Strong (Book 1),
Tom Strong (Book 2)), but still pretty good. TOM STRONG (BOOK 4) collects issues #20-25 of the now discontinued monthly series and serves up another batch of nifty stories. To start it off, Alan Moore pens the 3-part tale centering on Tom Stone, an alternate timeline version of Tom Strong. Jerry Ordway's veteran pencils provide the art for this story arc, and, while his work here isn't bad, it disappointingly lacks his normal polish.
I never thought of it before, but I guess Tom Strong, having been raised in a sterile environment, is kind of a cold fish. Moore writes Strong as such a paragon of heroism that it never occurred to me to question his dealings with science villainy, that maybe there were viable tactics other than those employed by him. Then along comes Tom Stone, who isn't as prodigiously intellectual but whose exterior persona seems sunnier and more compassionate. And, thanks in large to his warmer disposition, Stone is able to rehabilitate quite a few of his erstwhile science foes and ends up co-creating a Golden Age of sorts for his Millennium City. That is, of course, until it all goes horribly wrong.
Just a heads up: Tom Strong is pretty much relegated to cameo status in these three Tom Stone issues. But the story holds up well, with Moore throwing in some nice touches (I liked the twists on Paul Saveen and on the Strongmen of America). However, yes, the ending is predictable. This also marks Alan Moore's departure from chronicling Tom Strong's exploits, although he'd be back for the final issue (#36 in
Tom Strong - Book Six (Tom Strong)). Starting off the turnstile rotation of fill-in writers, Peter Hogan ("Moonday" & "Snow Queen") and Geoff Johns ("Tom Strong's Pal, Wally Willoughby") attempt to briefly fill in the Moore-shaped void.
Yet, even with Moore's absence, a sense of familiarity lingers a bit longer as artist Chris Sprouse returns for two issues ("Moonday" and "Snow Queen"), and his work is as exemplary as ever. But then Sprouse, too, would jump ship, returning only to illustrate the final two issues.
"Moonday" has Tom Strong and Svetlana X on an excursion to the moon to search for Svetlana's vanished husband. What they find there has startling personal implications for Tom. In "Snow Queen" Greta Gabriel, Tom's first love and long believed to have been murdered 7 decades ago by a science villain, appears in a chillingly altered state. Finally, Geoff Johns writes and John Paul Leon draws "Tom Strong's Pal, Wally Willoughby" as Tom's most powerful fan arrives in Millennium City and unintentionally causes massive grief for our hero.
I've yet to check out
Tom Strong: Book Five (Tom Strong) and
Tom Strong - Book Six (Tom Strong), so I don't know if the constant influx of writers and artists eventually takes its toll on the look, consistency, and quality of the series. Thankfully, regarding TOM STRONG (BOOK 4), there isn't much of a drop-off from Moore to Hogan and Johns. While the Tom Stone issues are more somber and paints a larger canvas, the remaining three stories in this volume don't come off as weaker just because Moore didn't write them. In fact "Moonday," "Snow Queen," and "Tom Strong's Pal, Wally Willoughby" evoke a sense of fun and call to mind a simpler, more innocent era in comic book history while simultaneously drawing on Tom's vast backstory and his interesting cast of characters. So, all in all, not a bad bunch of stuff. If you like your hero timeless, archetypal, and sciency, Tom Strong's still your huckleberry. Three and a half stars for TOM STRONG (BOOK 4).
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