2018.002 Adam Strange: The Silver Age Omnibus

Adam Strange is one of my all-time favorite characters.  I can't tell you why, though.  Not because it's a secret, but I really don't know what draws me to him.  He's cool, he's got a simple yet effective design, but otherwise, I don't know.

And I should NOT have enjoyed this book as much as I did.  The reason being every Adam Strange story is basically the same.  He pinpoints when the next Zeta Beam will hit Earth to take him back to Rann.  He arrives to be greeted by his true love Alanna, a crisis ensues that only Adam can save Rann from, the Zeta Beam wears off and he's drawn back to Earth.  Lather, rinse, repeat.  But there is such a charm to these stories that I can't stop reading them.

The bulk of them are drawn by Carmine Infantino, not a favorite artist of mine.  But Carmine's work on Adam Strange is some of his finest work.  There's some STUNNING Murphy Anderson art in here that fills me with such joy.

There are some stories in this book I've never read before.  I had no idea there was an Adam Strange descendant in the future who took on his mantle.  Only two or three stories, but still.  Brand new to me.

One of the things I discovered in this book, also, is Lee Elias' run on Adam Strange.  In his stories, he drew Adam without his familiar cowl, which just looked odd to me at first, but by the time I finished that run, I kind of dug seeing this version.

The New 52 ruined Adam Strange for me.  I hope DC gets it's act together to Rebirth him back to his old self.

Adam Strange: The Silver Age Omnibus

Written by: Gardner Fox, Dave Wood, Jerry Siegel, Denny O'Neil

Illustrated by: Carmine Infantino, Gil Kane, Mike Sekowsky, Murphy Anderson, Lee Elias, Phil Kelsey, Joe Giella, Bernard Sachs, John Giunta, Sid Greene

DC Comics

088 Death Of Hawkman

So, this blog has gone askew already.  Up until this point, I've been doing posts about what I'm reading, in order of what I'm reading.  Mid-June I went on vacation, came home, enjoyed the great weather and let books start to pile up.  I no longer know what order I've read them in, so until I catch up on the pile I have, it's going to be in random order.

Today I read Death Of Hawkman.  It's an Adam Strange/Hawkman mini series and I found it very likable.  The characters have a long history together, so it seemed right to team them up.  Unfortunately, it's the New 52 versions of the characters, but still, I'll take what I can get.

The characterization of Hawkman seems very consistent with what we've gotten since the New 52.  What I mean is this is yet another version of the same character they can't seem to figure out.  DC did Hawkman a huge disservice in the New 52.  Totally changed him, then didn't like what they did, so they changed him again.  And again.  And again.  But, as the title of this collection says, it's all about his death, which is a good thing, if you ask me.  Hawkman always comes back, reincarnated.  I hope when they bring him back again, they'll bring him back to basics, not this over designed, under thought out claptrap.

Adam Strange is also following that inconsistent path.  While he's mostly like the New 52 version, he's kind of not.  But they're bringing him back closer to the true Adam Strange.

This was a fun mini-series.  Marc Andreyko writes a great buddy book, if you can call this that.  I hope DC lets him continue on and write more of these two characters.  He seems to have a feel for them.

Death Of Hawkman

Writer: Marc Andreyko

Artist: Aaron Lopresti, Rodney Buchemi, John Livesay, Norm Rapmund Sean Parsons

DC Comics

015 Showcase Presents Showcase

I love the Showcase series of DC reprints.  It's a fantastic way to read and collect a lot of old books in a very affordable format.  Printed on newsprint in black & white, it helps keep the costs down.  An average Showcase book is in the neighborhood of 500 pages, so you get a lot of stuff.

The particular volume of Showcase reprints it's namesake series.  Showcase.  It was an anthology book that tested out different ideas for potential new series.  It's interesting reading the initial 21 issues as DC tried to figure out exactly what to do with the book.  The first couple issues featured themes of firefighters, kings of the wild and frogmen before it landed it's first success.  The Flash.  This volume reprints four Flash issues.  I've read these stories before, reprinted in various formats over the years.  It's still good stuff.  There are also issues featuring the Challengers Of The Unknown, a team that I try so desperately to like, but I just don't, Space Ranger, Rip Hunter and one of my all-time favorites, Adam Strange.

I can't say anything bad about the Showcase books.  I love them.

Showcase Presents Showcase

Writer: Various

Artist: Various 

DC Comics