Strange Adventures (2021) by Tom King, Mitch Gerads and Evan Shaner (DC)

King tackles another long-standing relatively unsung DC character and deconstructs them for a modern audience. It’s another DC “Black Label” project (similar to Elseworlds) which tends to exist outside normal DC continuity. My previous exposure to Adam Strange was mostly limited to the 2004 series by Andy Diggle & Pascal Ferry (4.8 on Amazon).

While some readers may already have strong feelings about Tom King or even Adam Strange, regardless, Strange Adventures deserves recognition as a masterful venture within the genre. The series showed up on the “best of” lists for the Washington Post, Variety, and Entertainment Weekly. It received 2021 Eisner nominations for “Best Limited Series” and “Best Penciler/inker”. It was also nominated for the 2022 Hugo Award for “Best Graphic Story or Comic”. It received a 4.2 on Goodreads, 4.7 on Amazon, and 8.3 Critic Rating on Comic Book Round Up.

To quote one of the main characters (Alanna Strange), “It’s a grand space opera about a hero thrown into a faraway land and he marries a princess and he leads the natives and he wins the war”…(or is it?)

King does a spectacular job with the pacing and climax of the series. I particularly enjoyed his portrayal and use of Mr. Terrific.

It was a skillful decision on the different use of artists Gerads and Shaner for the modern story and flashbacks. The book is beautiful. I also appreciated both the quality of the hardcover and the simple incorporation of the story elements as Adam’s memoir into its design.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Here is a link to an excellent write-up on it by Entertainment Weekly:

https://ew.com/books/best-of-2020-behind-the-scenes-strange-adventures/