The truth comes out – or most of it does. Enough for the Justice League to publicly decry the actions of Adam Strange during his first war with the Pykkts, just as Earth is embroiled in its own Pykkt invasion. The public, however, doesn’t appear to be all that concerned with Adam’s unheroic actions – so where does that leave Adam? Written by Tom King, art by Mitch Gerads and Evan “Doc” Shaner, lettering by Clayton Cowles.
It’s starting to feel that with every new series, Tom King’s trademark 12-issue format is working out less and less. The BatChat’s been covering the confusing chronology of Batman/Catwoman, and over in Strange Adventures, with only three issues left to go, much of this issue feels like filler for a story that might be better served with eight issues.
Throw the story aside and I’d read 100 issues of this series if it meant a monthly helping of Mitch Gerads and Doc Shaner art, but there’s something frustrating about 9 issues straight of a comic that’s all about the story that’s not being told. The series brings up new questions constantly, and there are a lot of times I’d like to grab it by the scruff of the neck and force it to give me a straight answer. Having neither neck nor scruff, however, all Strange Adventures gives me is beautifully drawn frustration.
The strength of these 12-issue series is becoming less and less about the story as a whole, and more about the strength of individual moments, and this series has had many. I like the idea of Batman being shown up by Mr. Terrific. I love the flashbacks to Rann, the sci-fi adventure romance that Doc Shaner makes achingly real and the contrast to the grubby reality of the present day with Gerads’ breathtaking experiments with lighting. This issue, however, doesn’t really have a moment as impactful as what’s come before, and feels like it’s only really getting us through to the next issue – this despite the fact that we finally see Adam lean hard into war crimes with a biological attack on the Pykkts, the kind of moment that’s been teased since #1.
The problem is that this series has been one of glimpses. Strange Adventures has made the small moments shine, the quiet moments in between adventures, and snippets of heroics rather than the story as a whole. It’s a jigsaw puzzle of past and present, vague clues and unexplained conclusions, and a climactic moment like the poisoning of the Pykkts is not one that’s served by glimpses. It’s the kind of moment that ought to be horrifying, and the only way that works is by how well it fits into a proper narrative.
As much as I always enjoy the art on this series, for once, I wish it could have switched, to have Gerads illustrate the past and Shaner on the present. Shaner sells the emotion of the moment so well it breaks your heart every time, and it’s in the present that Adam’s heart is breaking, as the League turns their back on him. Past-Adam’s attack is the harsher reality, an emotionless decision made and barely regretted.
This issue in particular sees a lot of somber tones: the night time infiltration in the past and laser blasts piercing through the blue-white fog of war in the present. Fans of jetpack action are in for a real treat this issue, as Adam zooms around the city, trying to be both soldier and superhero.
The frustrating part, one this issue really illustrates, is that despite the horror being shown there’s a lot of work being put into making the morality here as grey as possible. The League is written as awkward moralizers for wanting to distance themselves from Adam’s crimes, and the news pundits rooting for Adam’s ruthlessness just have their statements…placed there, without much comment. The issue stops just shy of making a point, both sides of the conversation being presented as equally flawed, and for subjects this heavy, that’s just as frustrating as the comic stopping just shy of actually giving us a story.
Strange Adventures #9 doesn’t quite do anything, one way or the other – but it can’t be denied that it’s doing (or not doing) it gorgeously.
