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Strange Adventures
Spinning out of the pages of INFINITE CRISIS, MYSTERY IN SPACE and 52, this star-spanning adventure features some of DC's finest cosmic heroes including Adam Strange, Comet and the reverse Superman known as Bizarro. A deadly peril threatens the universe, and it's up to Adam Strange to stop it. Meanwhile, a contract is put out for the death of Comet while Bizarro finds a new purpose in life, which leads to the beginning of a strange new journey. This epic sci-fi adventure from master storyteller
Jim Starlin directly follows the events of MYSTERY IN SPACE and the HOLY WAR.
Jim Starlin directly follows the events of MYSTERY IN SPACE and the HOLY WAR.
256 pages, Paperback
First published March 9, 2010
36 people want to read
About the author
Jim Starlin
1,339 books446 followersJames P. "Jim" Starlin is an American comic book writer and artist. With a career dating back to the early 1970s, he is best known for "cosmic" tales and space opera; for revamping the Marvel Comics characters Captain Marvel and Adam Warlock; and for creating or co-creating the Marvel characters Thanos and Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu. Death and suicide are recurring themes in Starlin's work: Personifications of Death appeared in his Captain Marvel series and in a fill-in story for Ghost Rider; Warlock commits suicide by killing his future self; and suicide is a theme in a story he plotted and drew for The Rampaging Hulk magazine.
In the mid-1970s, Starlin contributed a cache of stories to the independently published science-fiction anthology Star Reach. Here he developed his ideas of God, death, and infinity, free of the restrictions of mainstream comics publishers' self-censorship arm, the Comics Code Authority. Starlin also drew "The Secret of Skull River", inked by frequent collaborator Al Milgrom, for Savage Tales #5 (July 1974).
When Marvel Comics wished to use the name of Captain Marvel for a new, different character,[citation needed] Starlin was given the rare opportunity to produce a one-shot story in which to kill off a main character. The Death of Captain Marvel became the first graphic novel published by the company itself. (
In the late 1980s, Starlin began working more for DC Comics, writing a number of Batman stories, including the four-issue miniseries Batman: The Cult (Aug.-Nov. 1988), and the storyline "Batman: A Death in the Family", in Batman #426-429 (Dec. 1988 – Jan. 1989), in which Jason Todd, the second of Batman's Robin sidekicks, was killed. The death was decided by fans, as DC Comics set up a hotline for readers to vote on as to whether or not Jason Todd should survive a potentially fatal situation. For DC he created Hardcore Station.
In the mid-1970s, Starlin contributed a cache of stories to the independently published science-fiction anthology Star Reach. Here he developed his ideas of God, death, and infinity, free of the restrictions of mainstream comics publishers' self-censorship arm, the Comics Code Authority. Starlin also drew "The Secret of Skull River", inked by frequent collaborator Al Milgrom, for Savage Tales #5 (July 1974).
When Marvel Comics wished to use the name of Captain Marvel for a new, different character,[citation needed] Starlin was given the rare opportunity to produce a one-shot story in which to kill off a main character. The Death of Captain Marvel became the first graphic novel published by the company itself. (
In the late 1980s, Starlin began working more for DC Comics, writing a number of Batman stories, including the four-issue miniseries Batman: The Cult (Aug.-Nov. 1988), and the storyline "Batman: A Death in the Family", in Batman #426-429 (Dec. 1988 – Jan. 1989), in which Jason Todd, the second of Batman's Robin sidekicks, was killed. The death was decided by fans, as DC Comics set up a hotline for readers to vote on as to whether or not Jason Todd should survive a potentially fatal situation. For DC he created Hardcore Station.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
September 21, 2018
At some point, someone needs to collect Jim Starlin’s various cosmic DC series into a single omnibus volume, or at least acknowledge that they're all pretty much one massive saga and number them accordingly.
This book feels like a middle volume. I’m pretty sure it builds on events from the Rann/Thanagar Holy War and Cosmic Odyssey as well as The Weird. I vaguely recall reading the Weird miniseries back in the day, but that's it. I came into this expecting a standalone and was thrown into the deep end. I managed to stay afloat though.
The planet Rann having been destroyed, Adam Strange and the Rannians are now resettled on Throneworld, ruled by Prince Gavyn, who appears to be the Steve Ditko version of Starman from long ago in Adventure Comics. Anyway, Gavyn’s people were wiped out in the same series of events that led to Rann’s destruction, so he’s looking for a population anyway. Apparently there was this godlike entity named Synnar who was stripped of his power, destroying him and Rann in the process.
Sounds exciting, and I wish I'd read that book before this one.
Anyway, Adam notices a region of space where stars are disappearing. They aren't just vanishing from space, but from reality. When he tries to point out the vanished stars, he’s met with puzzled “But there have never been any stars there. Check the charts if you don't believe me,” reactions. Now Adam, Captain Comet, and several others must team up with a resurrected Synnar to prevent the destruction of reality itself. But is helping Synnar get what he wants really a good idea?
Nobody writes cosmic epics like Jim Starlin. He has this remarkable ability to write mind-blowing concepts with such verve and conviction that you can't help but get swept up in the action. He can start out writing about something as mundane as taking out the garbage and spin it into an epic confrontation with the living embodiment of Justice and the Spirit of Eternity or something. And it never seems ridiculous or corny. You hear his plots summarized and you can laugh and mock all you like, but when you're actually reading his stories it's a whole different ball game, let me tell you. When you're in the story, you believe it. I don't know how he does it, but it's always a joy to experience.
By the end of this book, it's pretty clear that there’s more to come at some point. I, for one, am looking forward to it. Recommended!
This book feels like a middle volume. I’m pretty sure it builds on events from the Rann/Thanagar Holy War and Cosmic Odyssey as well as The Weird. I vaguely recall reading the Weird miniseries back in the day, but that's it. I came into this expecting a standalone and was thrown into the deep end. I managed to stay afloat though.
The planet Rann having been destroyed, Adam Strange and the Rannians are now resettled on Throneworld, ruled by Prince Gavyn, who appears to be the Steve Ditko version of Starman from long ago in Adventure Comics. Anyway, Gavyn’s people were wiped out in the same series of events that led to Rann’s destruction, so he’s looking for a population anyway. Apparently there was this godlike entity named Synnar who was stripped of his power, destroying him and Rann in the process.
Sounds exciting, and I wish I'd read that book before this one.
Anyway, Adam notices a region of space where stars are disappearing. They aren't just vanishing from space, but from reality. When he tries to point out the vanished stars, he’s met with puzzled “But there have never been any stars there. Check the charts if you don't believe me,” reactions. Now Adam, Captain Comet, and several others must team up with a resurrected Synnar to prevent the destruction of reality itself. But is helping Synnar get what he wants really a good idea?
Nobody writes cosmic epics like Jim Starlin. He has this remarkable ability to write mind-blowing concepts with such verve and conviction that you can't help but get swept up in the action. He can start out writing about something as mundane as taking out the garbage and spin it into an epic confrontation with the living embodiment of Justice and the Spirit of Eternity or something. And it never seems ridiculous or corny. You hear his plots summarized and you can laugh and mock all you like, but when you're actually reading his stories it's a whole different ball game, let me tell you. When you're in the story, you believe it. I don't know how he does it, but it's always a joy to experience.
By the end of this book, it's pretty clear that there’s more to come at some point. I, for one, am looking forward to it. Recommended!
July 8, 2022
One of the stupid comics I’ve inherited.
July 8, 2012
A very unique and often times uncomfortable blending of DC's outer space characters.
June 20, 2010
Jim Starlin pretty much created 'cosmic" comic book story telling when he began his career at Marvel Comics and took second string characters to new heights (and did some pretty good story telling forecasting the excellance he would hit for most of his Dreadstar run). Upon taking a like task at DC frankly the stories haven't been as good. With this installment Starlin seems much closer to hitting his stride and not some editorial dictate. Again his characters start to exhibit shades of gray instead of just black and white, and we can doubt as to who is and is not a villain.
March 27, 2014
Not bad, but earlier Jim Starlin stuff (Captain Marvel, Dreadstar) is better.
April 11, 2014
I'm a huge Starlin fan, have been for a really long time. He is the unavowed king of space epic, but this just left me flat.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews