Tom Strong, Book 3

Tom Strong #3

by Alan Moore, Leah Moore, Chris Sprouse

Written by Alan Moore and Leah Moore Art by Chris Sprouse & Karl Story, Howard Chaykin and Shawn McManus Cover by Sprouse & Story ABC. Collecting TOM STRONG #15-19, this softcover collection brings back some old favorites and introduces some new ones! Val Var Garm kidnaps Tesla; Coleman Grey enlists Strong's aid and more!

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Superheroes, Science Fiction, Comic Book, Fiction, Pulp

136 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Alan Moore is an English writer most famous for his influential work in comics, including the acclaimed graphic novels Watchmen, V for Vendetta and From Hell. He has also written a novel, Voice of the Fire, and performs "workings" (one-off performance art/spoken word pieces) with The Moon and Serpent Grand Egyptian Theatre of Marvels, some of which have been released on CD.

As a comics writer, Moore is notable for being one of the first writers to apply literary and formalist sensibilities to the mainstream of the medium. As well as including challenging subject matter and adult themes, he brings a wide range of influences to his work, from the literary–authors such as William S. Burroughs, Thomas Pynchon, Robert Anton Wilson and Iain Sinclair; New Wave science fiction writers such as Michael Moorcock; horror writers such as Clive Barker; to the cinematic–filmmakers such as Nicolas Roeg. Influences within comics include Will Eisner, Harvey Kurtzman, Jack Kirby and Bryan Talbot.

Reviews

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love when Alan Moore does science heroes. The stories are fun with a few jokes salted in. We get some reoccurring characters here too. This comic is just a ton of fun. Chris Sprouse's art is delightful too.

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

The strong storytelling continues with a blend of new characters and old favorites.

[Ostrava · Rating 4 out of 5]

More or less in the same line as the previous one. Didn't care for all issues here, but all things considered, Tom Strong is pretty enjoyable.

That said, it's having a hard time living up to the last issues of Book 1. But I did like the ant-arch, more so because of how nuts the resolution was, and Val's a cool addition, and I like how the world is getting shaped, with its own inside jokes and all that (like those brothers who keep repeating the source to certain references in the comic)...


Eh, what the hell. It's pretty alright. Hopefully Book 4 is more than just alright though, I've heard great things about it...

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series is still going super Strong - I felt like this volume was a bit of a slow-down because of the one larger story-arc taking up the first third of the book, but the payoff was delightful and I am totally hooked on seeing where this all goes next. While most of the narrative is light-hearted, there's a bit of darkness beneath that is starting to bubble up to the surface and I'm excited for it to come to fruition.

[One Flew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very similar to Book 2, the short stories come across as overly simplistic and almost flippant. The longer storylines are where Moore shines, of which there is only the one in this volume. Very light hearted, amusing without any of Alan's usual sublime genius. Likeable, but not quite of the same quality as the rest of the ABC range.

[Nihal Vrana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Moore's daughter is a pretty good writer; her story was the best in the book in my opinion.

I know that this Tom Strong, Promethea, Top 10 etc. are more exploratory, fun stuff for Moore; but they lack the punch his more substantial works have (well, Promethea has some really cool experimental stuff; but it is not so with Tom Strong).

[Jacob A. Mirallegro · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series continues to impress me in it's finesse. I really liked how past characters that seemed like one off adventures returned. Some excellent art by Chris Sprouse especially in all the space scenes.
The Modular Man is best boy

[Little Timmy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent comic blending superhero and pulp style story lines. Very nice are and characters. Very recommended

[Nate]

I think I like Tom Strong better with anthology stories. Not that the longer arcs are bad, but those eight-pagers allow Moore to really hone in on a genre or trope and have tons of fun with it. Short stories also give the series more variety which I like, and which I think is needed for a potentially bland character like Tom Strong. This book has a multi-issue story that, while fun, doesn’t quite have the zany inventiveness of the short ones. Case in point: the third story of issue 19, where Tom and Dahlua get trapped in a mad collector’s comic book. It’s hilarious and absolutely brilliant. I know there’s an anthology spinoff called Tom Strong’s Terrific Tales, which I’ll check out and sounds like more of what we got in the second volume.

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Of the three Tom Strong volumes I’ve read, this is definitely my favorite. I know it’s supposed to be satire on the golden age of comics, but it doesn’t always work in the other volumes as well as this one. I like the Weird Rider storyline as it brings a bunch of characters from previous stories together in a way that feels less like it’s winking at the reader.

[Michael Beyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent graphic novel sort of comic book collection. Alan Moore is a storytelling wizard and the artwork of Chris Sprouse and Karl Story is masterful. This is a steampunk sort of science fiction story with fantastical elements. I enjoyed it immensely, as will anyone who appreciates the comic book artform.

[Lightwhisper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Português do Brasil, o que me dificultou a leitura, mas protagonistas e histórias interessantes, como já não lia, principalmente de sci-fi, há muito tempo e realmente é um título forte para durar ou pelo menos deixar uma legião de fãs:)

[Zé Wellington · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mesmo para uma história que brinca com os clichês, esse é o volume mais genérico até agora.

[Brian Rogers · Rating 5 out of 5]

This remains one of my all time favorite comic series, and this volume continues to showcase why.

[Neil Carey · Rating 3 out of 5]

One great story (chronicling the final fate of Paul Saveen) in amid water-treading trifles

[Zintulo Deyuno · Rating 4 out of 5]

TOM STRONG Volumen 3

Edición recopilatoria original en castellano.

[David Magnus · Rating 4 out of 5]

El principal arco argumental de este tomo nos reencuentra con más del cincuenta con un por ciento de los caracteres presentados con anterioridad y cuyo objeto es el enfrentar la deleznable amenaza de las hormigas mecánicas que en su voraz apetito parecen anhelar la carne fresca de los terrícolas. Se agradece el humor negro y absurdo del maestro Alan Moore una vez más, nunca es suficiente para ser un agradecido de Dios, bahh!, quiero decir de Moore, de quien tengo la certeza que de no haber encontrado trabajo en el mundo del comic habría sido un escritor imprescindible: Suerte para nosotros que haya escogido continuar la senda de este arte. Mención especial para la muerte eterna de su archienemigo, al final del tomo, cuento corto de los grandes.

[Richard Guion · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good pulpy fun - you have to appreciate this as a series of vignettes, each one doing a unique pastiche on a comic sub genre. One will do a send-up of a western while the next does a take on the Marvel Bunny. No real continuity to speak of between stories - and so the narrative never really builds at all.

I think Moore did something really great with this cast though - he created Tesla Strong and Dhalua, daughter and wife, and made them vital characters. Tesla Strong in particular is a delight. I often think they should just have had a Tesla Strong monthly comic. They did do a one shot during the Moore years.

[Vleegoodfellow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not as good as the first book, but still a lot of pulpy fun. The standout story of the book was "Electric Ladyland," a smart disambiguation to a alternate reality free of men. One warning for those who've been following the series thus far and deemed it child-friendly, although it didn't ruin it for me, this book incorporates much more explicit sexual innuendo that the previous books, some of it feeling even a bit forced, and most of it unnecessary. But it's only a small part of the book, maybe totaling six occurrences in all.

[Pedro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alan Moore visita de nuevo los distintos estilos y géneros del cómic clásico y además de rendir un gran tributo a estas historias, lo hace creando buenas historias entretenidas y muy originales. Tom Strong logra ser héroe que supera en habilidad, fuerza, intelecto y compás moral a los más tradicionales (DC, Marvel), y aún así no se ve tan forzado. Muy entretenida la lectura.

[B · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is not bad. It's just disappointing after the first two volumes.

Each of the stories and the overarching story are perfectly good. They're good. The first two volumes are more "wow."

It almost seems like there's a game about how many people who speak strange English with strange word bubbles can be in the same panel.

[Danielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the first Tom Strong book that really brought things together for me. The book combines stories of old friends and foes and really had a satisfactory combination between a major story and a few interesting side-stories.

Also, Tesla and Val? Hot hot hot.

[Andrew Scaife · Rating 3 out of 5]

More great stuff. It's all at once intelligent and incredibly throw away. In that sense it's just very old school which I guess is the point. It was good enough that I made myself a Tom Strong t-shirt.

[Ketan Shah]

Another glorious excursion into retor comics from the age of the 'Science Heroes' Many familiar faces from earlier volumes make appearances ..Beautiful art from Chris Sprouse and smart writing from Alan Moore make this a joy to read.

[Robert Noll · Rating 3 out of 5]

Somewhat underwhelming. The three filler stories at the end were more entertaining than the main story. The samovar should have played a bigger role, along with Solomon. Unfortunately I will forever judge Alan Moore by "Watchmen."

[David Brooke · Rating 4 out of 5]

This goes into a more space age place, but continues the fun.

[Fugo Feedback · Rating 4 out of 5]

Historias divertidas que mantienen el nivel del volumen anterior. Cuando lo relea seguro se gane su correspondiente reseña.

[Juan Jose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice concept for a hero that encompasses many aspects of pop culture.

[Pete · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good "classic" fun pulp hero storytelling. A satisfying read, but weaker than the pervious two volumes.

[J. · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5. This volume returns to the strong serial format of book 1 instead of the wildly choppy episodic book 2. Still highly enjoyable.