I'm thinking of reading a few Adam Strange comics from over the years, but I'd like to know what was the best representative story in which he appeared in the 70s?
I know he didn't star in his own stories in the 70s, but perhaps a JLA/JSA crossover, or a Brave and The Bold?
Most importantly, it'd have to be a story that I could reasonably get my hands on, so one that is available in reprint would be good.
Has Adam Strange's first appearance in Mystery in Space #53 - 'Menace of the Robot Raiders!' been reprinted anywhere? What about Mystery in Space #82 "World War on Earth and Rann!" as well?
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My question is: did he know she was going to be a hostage when he took her out that day?
I was wondering that myself. I don't think so. Aleea's kidnapping was something he hadn't anticipated; I don't think he would have agreed to it in advance.
Adam is certain that this would result in Aleea’s real death. I tend to agree.
Point.
I just read the conclusion, if you want to finish tonight.
You talked me into it.
STRANGE ADVENTURES #12:
On Rann in the past, Adam receives a medal of honor from Sardath after the defeat of the Pykkts. After that, daily life returns to the Silver Age status quo, as Adam and Alanna take out a sentient dust storm using ingenuity. And once again, Rann is saved! Thanks to Adam Strange! But things have changed. With Aleea "dead," Adam wants to move to Earth. As he flies by a mirrored surface, his reflection is black, showing the darkness in his soul. He knows what he has done to achieve peace. All along I had been wondering why he and Alanna were living on Earth after he had fought so hard to save Rann. This issue makes clear that he is responible for Earth's imminent attack and feels guilty.
In the present, Alanna and Michael negotiate with the Pykkts for Aleea's release, and Alanna's not putting up with any bull$#!t. I'm not sure what Adam's plan was to get Aleea back after the Pykkts kidnapped her, if he even had one. She's had a pretty rough time, hugs her mother, meets Mr. Teriffic, hugs him too, then asks, "Mother... where is father?" On their way back to Earth, Alanna turns Aleea over to Michael to take care of, whether he wants to or not. For her own part, she feels duty bound to return to Rann to fight off the Pykkts' invasion now that their invasion of Earth has been routed. It is at this point we learn that Adam did, in fact, die of the wound he sustained at the end of #11.
Alanna'a speech is rife with double meaning: "Our lives are stories. Little fictions we tell out friends and our lovers and ourselves. And we spend every moment we have praying to every god we can find... that no one ever discovers that we made that #$#@ up."
Later, instead of one of his T-spheres, Aleea quizzes Mr. Teriffic: "There is always a certain glamour about the idea of a nation rising up to crush an evil simply because it is wrong. Unfortunately, this can seldom be realized in real life; for the very existance of the evil usually argues a moral weakness in the very place where extraordinary moral strength is called for." Michael correctly identifies it as The Supression of the African Slave Trade to the United States of A... by W.E.B. DuBois. That has some double meaning, too, I think.
In one final look at the past, which brings the last panel of #12 full circle to the first panel of #1, we learn that Alanna ghost-wrote Adam's book for him.
The quote this month is from Gil Kane.
The Gerads cover of #12 is a bookend with that of #1, with Alanna symbolically papering over Adam's image with that of Michael's.
Jeff of Earth-J said:
STRANGE ADVENTURES #12:
In the present, Alanna and Michael negotiate with the Pykkts for Aleea's release, and Alanna's not putting up with any bull$#!t.
When Alanna kills the stalling Pykkt negotiator and Michael says “Y’know, all things considered, this is actually going better than I thought it would,” I couldn’t help cracking up.
I'm not sure what Adam's plan was to get Aleea back after the Pykkts kidnapped her, if he even had one. She's had a pretty rough time, hugs her mother, meets Mr. Terrific, hugs him too, then asks, "Mother... where is father?"
I like the way Aleea is portrayed in this issue. When returned to Alanna she is realistically hesitant and quiet. Probably thinks she is dreaming.
On their way back to Earth, Alanna turns Aleea over to Michael to take care of, whether he wants to or not. For her own part, she feels duty bound to return to Rann to fight off the Pykkts' invasion now that their invasion of Earth has been routed.
Let’s see, the Pykkts purposely failed in their invasion of Rann. They were expecting to prevail on Earth. We don’t need to see it, but the Justice League and the nations of Earth obviously came up with a way to victory. It wasn’t clear to me that Rann was in for a second invasion, though I guess it fits with the way the Pykkts were portrayed.
Aleea’s immediate connection to Michael and her opening up more like she was before being kidnapped both seemed natural.
I glanced at a few reviews of the story, most of which seemed negative. Some accused Tom King of destroying Adam Strange. One even accused him of destroying Mr Terrific! This story is only a few years old. I’m not sure, but I doubt that anyone has used Adam since then. It would be hard to top. The battle against the sentient sandstorm highlights how repetitive his stories can be.
The end of Vertigo has been lamented. That’s stupid. Black Label is Vertigo and these stories can be taken as canon or not.
It wasn’t clear to me that Rann was in for a second invasion...
On page 17 Alanna says, "I'm going to Rann to prepare for thePykkt's revenge."
I glanced at a few reviews of the story, most of which seemed negative.
Typical. I would have expected that.
Some accused Tom King of destroying Adam Strange.
Ridiculous!
One even accused him of destroying Mr Terrific!
Even more ridiculous! (What, for saddling him with a kid?)
I’m not sure, but I doubt that anyone has used Adam since then.
Not that I know of. The next time someone does, I hope they simply ignore this continuity rather than try to "account" for it. For my part, this is the perfect ending to the saga of Adam Strange, in the same way "Born Again" was the perfect ending to the Daredevil saga. Sure, Adam was revealed to have feet of clay up to his knees, but who can say how one would react under similar circumstances?
Black Label is Vertigo and these stories can be taken as canon or not.
Exactly.
I don't consider Strange Adventures to be "in continuity" any more than I do, say, Watchmen (or perhaps The Dark Knight Returns would be a better example). DC wouldn't let Alan Moore use the actual Charlton "Action Heroes" for his super-hero deconstriction project, supposedly because it would "ruin" them, but why? (See Alanna's speech I quoted in my previous post.) There is no continuity anymore, not like there used to be, and there probably never will be again. I resisted that notion for years, but have finally come to accept it and judge each story on its own merits, especially and "adult" (in the non-salicious meaning of the term) work such as this.
It has also been said that Tom King's Heroes in Crisis "ruined" Wally West, but I don't consider that to be strictly in continuity, either (although Wally West has appeared and it has been mentioned since). The original Crisis on Infinite Earths did, indeed, "change everything" (for example), but I personally believe that the post-Crisis DCU came to an end with "The Death of Superman," "Knightfall" and "Emerald Twilight." The serialized nature of comics demands that these narratives continue, but serialized narrative is a ruthless art and readers must factor in that these are make-believe people who don't actually have feeliongs and there is absolutely no room for sentimentality.
To quote Alan Moore: "This is an Imaginary Story. Aren't they all?"
To bring this thread full circle, Figerello began this discussion (13 years ago... yikes!) by asking for recommendations of Adam Strange stories. Although the answer to that question has long since been rendered moot (by his excellent "Six Decades of Separation" discussion), it's a question I have kept in my mind since I resurrected this discussion back in November. My conclusions follow.
SILVER AGE: I'd say start with the Adam Strange omnibus. If that's too ambitious, the full-length stories are the best of the lot.
ALAN MOORE: Swamp Thing #57-58
JAMES ROBINSON: Starman #52-53
TOM KING: Strange Adventure #1-12
In my opinion, those are the very best of the lot.
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