Tom Strong

Tom Strong and the Planet of Peril #6

Tom Strong and the Planet of Peril #6Tom Strong and the Planet of Peril comes to a close with a perfunctory final issue where the various issues raised over the course of the mini-series (the fate of Tom Strong‘s daughter in childbirth, the disease ravaging the alternate Earth known as Terra Obscura, and Val Var Gram contracting the disease) are all wrapped-up without much fuss.

Because so much is covered (much off-panel) in the final issue Tom Strong and the Planet of Peril #6 feels more like an epilogue to Tom and Val’s adventure together than an actual final issue to the series. Several of the characters the pair met get cameos here, and there is some fun to be had, but those expecting a big payoff are likely to be disappointed as the various problems of Tom, Val, and Terra Osbscura have all fought dovetail so neatly they pretty much solve themselves.

Even if this is the weakest issue of the mini-series it still has some fun moments, strong (pun intended) character interactions, and the kind of off-beat humor you would expect. For fans.

[Vertigo, $3.99]

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Tom Strong and the Planet of Peril #5

Tom Strong and the Planet of Peril #5Tom Strong andVal Var Gram‘s search for Tom Strange finally comes to an end on the science hero’s moon base. Although his counterpart agrees to give Tom and Val the elixir they journeyed to the alternate Earth to find, the pair cannot leave until they find a cure for the Red Death or risk exposing their Earth to the same deadly disease (especially after Val begins developing symptoms).

To save the life of his son-in-law, and return home in time to save the lives of his daughter and unborn grandchild, Tom Strong will have only one issue remaining in the six-issue mini-series to solve the riddle of the Red Death, find a cure, and make his way home.

I’ve enjoyed this mini-series and issue #5 (as I expected) sets the table for a run to finish as Val contradciting the disease with a 100% mortality rate puts even more pressure on Strong to find a cure. I enjoyed Strong and Strange together here (and hope we get more of the two science heroes working together in next month’s finale). Worth a look.

[Vertigo, $3.99]

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Tom Strong and the Planet of Peril #4

Tom Strong and the Planet of Peril #4Tom StrongVal Var Gram, and a small group of the world’s remaining heroes show up just in the nick of time to save a transport of increasingly scare humanitarian supplies from a biker gang. After helping turn the tide, Strong is able to negotiate a settlement between the two groups and continue on his way.

Most of the second-half of the issue deals with a conversation between Tom Strong and the wounded Cavalier (a rapier-wielding small-time hero who shares his own history with the science-adventurer from a parallel Earth). Along with filling in the hero’s origins, their conversation also touches on the subject of science vs. magic, and the ridiculousness of a man dressed like one of the Three Musketeers defending the Earth against attacks from giant robots and unstoppable plagues.

Although Strong gets no closer to answers, or even finding the man who could offer them, the early action and the conversation between the two heroes delivers another strong issue fans of the character should enjoy. Worth a look.

[Vertigo, $3.99]

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Tom Strong and the Planet of Peril #3

Tom Strong and the Planet of Peril #3Tom Strong and Val Var Gram‘s journey to find Tom Strange on the plague infested world of Terra Obscura lead the pair into the deserts of New Egypt to encounter old friends, a pair of gods (in the form of former heroes Mystico and Scarab now acting as the living embodiment of Egyptian gods), and new troubles in the refugee slums.

While including appearances by several familiar faces, and introducing a few new ones, writer Peter Hogan and artist Chris Sprouse continue to deliver an engaging journey as Strong and Garm search for a way to help with the plague and find the one man who may be able to help save Strong’s daughter from dying in childbirth an entire universe away.

Although the get no closer to finding Strange, the pair are able to offer their support to the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. who will need their help to save the convoy which might hold another clue to bring the travelers from another world one step closer to their final goal. Worth a look.

[Vertigo, $2.99]

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Tom Strong and the Planet of Peril #2

Tom Strong and the Planet of Peril #2Traveling to Terra Obscura with his son-in-law Val Var Gram for magic elixir that may save his daughter from dying during childbirth, Tom Strong finds an entire world under the threat of a dreaded plague that has taken 60% of the planet’s inhabitants.

Although he is able to reconnect with a pair of old friends, the Fighting Spirit and The Terror (or what’s left of him as brain is now encased in an android body), Strong doesn’t find the one man he’s traveled across dimensions to talk to. More troubling is the fact that just by landing on the planet both he and Gram may have become plague carriers who would doom their own Earth if they were ever to return.

Of course threats like this aren’t enough to get the science hero down and he remarks the pair will simply have to stamp out the plague and save an entire world before heading home with the formula needed to save the life of both Strong’s daughter and unborn grandchild. Another strong (pun intended) issue setting up a herculean heroic undertaking for Strong before he can make his way home. Worth a look.

[Vertigo, $3.99]

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