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RECOMMENDED (*** stars)
TOM STRONG #20,
a DC/ABC Comics ongoing series
CREDITS:
Written by Alan Moore. Art by Jerry Ordway.
SYNOPSIS: As rumors of his retirement from mainstream comics
persist Alan Moore shows us another version of Tom Strong in the hopes
others will find him interesting enough to keep reading the irregularly
scheduled book.
RELEASED:
04/23/03
COVER PRICE (USA):
$2.95
YOUR ALTERNATE REALITY PRICE:
$2.51 |
"...Moore tries
to give his readers interesting stories" |
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Review
by
Lawrence Evans
Supposedly after Alan Moore celebrates his 50th birthday he will
shut down the ABC line and work exclusively for Avatar and Top
Shelf. This would normally be shrugged off as junk but Moore has
a tendency to do what he says and he said it so I believe it.
Chances are he'll leave a bunch of scripts on Jim Lee's steps
and let him worry about producing the books but when those run
out that'll be it.
The story here begins with an injured woman in Tom's lab telling
him a story that he has to believe is true. It involves his
mother and a man she almost married, Foster Parallax. In the
time the woman is from Tom's mother went on a journey that ended
in a shipwreck. As she and the captain tried to survive she fell
in love with him and the two married to produce a son that
wasn't our Tom.
Moore's story sweeps us up in it as he tweaks the history we
know into another man. This Tom (last name Stone) develops as
our version does. There are glimpses of something devastating
early but the story moves ahead with the introduction of Tom to
the big city. We meet the mysterious Paul Saveen, he of the
flying car and progress along to the birth of Tesla and the
introduction of the creation that caused the time differential.
Moore jumps us back to the present where we discover why the
woman has come to Tom Strong's lab-she needs Tom to help him do
something he can't possibly do.
Jerry Ordway steps in to pencil this three-issue arc so Chris
Sprouse can get the next issues done early enough to avoid the
shipping delays that keep this book from developing any sales
momentum. I get the feeling that here Moore tries to give his
readers interesting stories but when it comes to Promethea I
feel he's just jerking himself off to keep himself interested.
The Strong stories harken back to the pulp days. Our hero is
stronger than everyone and has access to all these cool gadgets.
Tom Strong isn't really a superhero just a brilliant man who
wants to keep us safe. |
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TOM STRONG ™ and © 2003 AMERICA'S
BEST COMICS, L.L.C.
All Rights Reserved. |
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Review ©
2003 Alternate Reality, Inc. |
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