Tom Strong, Book 2

Tom Strong #2

by Alan Moore, Chris Sprouse, Todd Klein

Graphic novel

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

192 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2001

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

[Patrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everything that I said about the first book in the series holds true with this book.

I mention this because we've all ready series that start strong *ahem* and then have a pretty severe dip in quality when the second book in the series comes out.

Rest assured, this isn't one of those series.

[Nicolo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an exceptional collected comics and not just in the writing and the art, but in production values too. This was the kind of hardcover collection one did not see anymore.

Tom Strong was a title I remember buying when it first came out. That was just before the turn of the century and it has a pretty cool Alex Ross cover. Most comics at that time period were to classify them crudely, stories that tried to look into the future. In Tom Strong, Alan Moore was mining the genre's pre-comic past and gave us a character that was more Doc Savage that Dr. Richards.

Tom Strong was the comic formatted as an anthology of short stories featuring the character and his family of super inventor-explorers. It still had the regular comic book tropes like multiverses and alien invasion, but sometimes it was a western or a ghost story. This variety of tales allowed for multiple artist to guest and a few of them were legends of the medium.

The book itself used a rather thin paper for pages, similar to what was used in the monthly edition but this was bound in cloth and had a nifty page marker attached to the spine.

[Jedhua · Rating 3 out of 5]

Story Synopsis: *Issue #8*: In the "Riders of the Lost Mesa" story, Tom and Solomon investigate the strange reappearance of the top layer of a mesa presumably located somewhere in the western/southwestern United States. The population of the town located at the top of the formation is around a hundred people, all disfigured (with a third eye inserted on their forehead) as a result of what Tom deduces is alien experimentation. The townspeople were also observed planting alien crops. After a brief scuffle with the local townsmen, Tom is able to convince everyone that he means them no harm. He then explains to them that after their 1849 New Years Eve celebration, an alien presence removed the upper layer of the mesa – upon which they lived on – and experimented on them. It was a result of this experimentation, Tom hypothesizes, that none of the townspeople were aware of their situation, or the fact that they all now had an extra eye. Tom then promises to keep their existence a secret, and as he and Solomon ride away, the townspeople dynamite the track on the mesa, so that no one else could reach the top. In "The Old Skool," Timmy, his friend Calculus, and the Funt twins, all attend a school field trip to the old Millennium Junior High. Then, suddenly, one of Timmy's classmates (Sue Blue) is pulled through classroom desk, and into another dimension. Timmy, Calculus, and the twins, go in after her. Inside, they find themselves in an identical school run by a strict and twisted principal who commands menacing "teachertrons" to beat discipline and knowledge into children. Timmy is able to locate Sue, but the kids are very quickly captured. Before the principal can have them taught a lesson, Tom Strong arrives, and with the help of the children, the principal and his robots are defeated. Finally, in "Sparks," Solomon works to evacuate an island's populace during an attack of humanoid, volcanic creatures. Because Tom and Dhalua are dealing with a cable-car hostage situation in Millennium City, Tesla enters an active volcano to battle the creatures on her own. Her protective suit isn't enough to give her the upper hand, and right as her suit is about to be breached, a high-ranking volcanic creature sends away Telsa's attackers, and then passionately kisses her helmet. As Tesla climbs out of the volcano, and it settles down, she reports these events to Solomon.

*Issue #9*: In the "Terror Temple of Tayasal" story, Tom encounters a group of Guatemalan archaeologists who have discovered a mysterious two- to three-thousand-year-old exoskeleton in the jungle. He knows that Dhalua and her father are waiting to have dinner with him at Attabar Teru, but Tom can't resist learning more about the archaeological find. As he wanders deeper into the jungle, he comes across a Mayan temple that appears to have been undisturbed for centuries. While exploring the interior, Tom is attacked by a gelatinous, biomechanical creature, who forcibly transfers its early memories onto Tom. The images that flash through Tom's mind are of a living spacecraft (that's at least thousands of years old) that crashes and dies on Earth. The creature Tom finds in the temple was one of several living components of that spacecraft, but it was the only one that survived the crash. Presumably discovered by ancient Mayan tribesmen, the creature was taken into the temple and worshiped as a god. Over time, the tribe dies out, and with no blueprint of its parent spacecraft, the creature's reduced capacity for movement or escape left it only to stay and grow alone for centuries. Tom is deeply moved by this story, and heads back to the site of the archaeological dig. He takes part of the spine of what he now knows is the alien spacecraft, and gives it to the creature to be used as a blueprint. With it, the creature is able to rapidly grow legs, and emerges as a turtle-like creature with the whole temple on its back. Although Tom estimates that it may take months or years for the creature to grow the flagella needed for interplanetary flight, he feels happy to know that it can at least manage rudimentary travel. In "Volcano Dreams," Tom has returned from his jungle adventure, and in the presence of he and her father, Dhalua recounts the story of her vision ordeal. In her culture, a vision ordeal is a ritualistic tradition meant to be conducted in "a natural enclosure, open to the stars," where the viewer is meant to confront Chukulteh (their god) in the form of their personal spirit creature. But after Tom's first departure to America, and, in his absence, Dhalua got more and more comfortable spending time in Tom's high-tech volcanic residence. One night, against both tradition and her father's wishes, she set up to have her vision ordeal in the volcano. After eating some Goloka, and burning the rest as incense, Dhalua enters a hypnotic trance, and comes face-to-face with a glowing blue serpent who claims to be Chukulteh. When offered the chance to remove the illusory veil from the true face of Chukulteh, and witness the deity's true form, Dhalua respectfully declines, stating that she is content to live not fully knowing. This answer was enough to satisfy the serpent, and Dhalua passed the test. The spirit departs, and Dhalua falls into a deep sleep, and has a profound vision about Chukulteh, and the nature of the universe. When she wakes, the details of her vision fades, and she finds herself in the presence of Chief Omotu and several Ozu tribesmen. Omotu scolds her, and shows her a live electrical cable in their vicinity. In the present, Tom sees this to mean that her spirit animal was really a downed cable, but Omotu insists that the cable was still Chukulteh, who had changed form again. Finally, in "Flip Attitude," a basketball game between Solomon and Tesla is suddenly interrupted when the gravitational axis of Millennium City is flipped by ninety degrees. When the two finally manage to climb out of the inverted Stronghold, Tesla finds that Kid Tilt – the daughter of the deceased supervillain King Tilt – has inherited her father's magic gravity warping boots, and intends to pick up where her father left off. After a brief scuffle, Tesla is able to overcome Kid Tilt, and before turning her over to the authorities, forces her to put things back to normal. When Tom and Dhalua return from Attabar Teru, they're disappointed to find how bad a shape the Stronghold is in, and do not believe the story Tesla and Solomon tell about Kid Tilt. Tesla gives up, and resorts to explaining the mess by falsely admitting that she had thrown a party in their absence.

*Issue #10*: In the "Tom Strong and His Phantom Autogyro" story, it's 1925, and Tom visits Fingel – the son of the late Foster Parallax. Tom is there to borrow Foster's last invention – the Necrogyro – so that he can visit his parents in the afterlife. Tom then starts the engine of the vehicle, and very quickly finds himself sliding from the world he knew and into the world of the dead – a world where it's occupants continuously reenact past events which occurred while they were living. When Tom reaches his his destination (The Copernicus Club), he enters, and inside he finds a gathering being held inside, recounting an actual event that occurred in 1896. After traveling further into the establishment, Tom finds his parents, and when he steps off the Necrogyro to touch his mother, a horde of enraged phantoms drive him away. Barely making it back to the living world in one piece, Tom emerges from the destroyed vehicle and advises Fingel that the dead are to be left alone. In "Funnyland!," Tom goes on a test run with his searchboard – a device allowing him to "ride the quantum foam and surf the collapsing probability waves into other realities." After passing through the quantum gate, Tom emerges in a world that seems as if it could have been conjured up by a young child's imagination; around him his surroundings were colorful, the plant life had faces, the ground he walked on was bouncy, and the animals could talk. A group of these clothed animals took Tom to be a threat, and attacked him. Tom was hesitant to fight back, but just as he felt he had no choice, an alternate version of himself – a rabbit named Warren Strong – appeared and knocked him to the ground. Tom explains to Warren that he is not an enemy, and the two sit down and discuss Tom's theory of what is happening. Warren then leads Tom on a chase towards the devious fox-like version of Saveen (Basil Saveen), who had captured Warren's wife (a black rabbit named Patience). Tom soon finds that almost everything in that alternate reality is pretty benign, and with Warren's help, use childishly comedic methods to defeat Basil. Tom and Warren part ways, and Tom returns through the quantum gate. Finally, in "Too Many Teslas?," a bored Tesla decides to take the searchboard for a spin, and not ten minutes after Tom returned from Funnyland. Against Pneuman's protests, she starts up the board and opens the quantum gate. Due to her inadvertently damaging one of the searchboard's components, multiple versions of herself (from different dimensions) begin to simultaneously emerge from the gate, and a brawl between them erupts. Then, Tom enters the room, and before he can figure out what is happening, alternate versions of himself appear. These alternate Toms reprimand their daughters, and take them back through the gate. Tom then grounds Tesla.

*Issue #11*: In Millenium City, Tom Strong investigates the crash site of what seems to be a meteorite. No one is hurt, and Tom stands over the crater confused about why the object didn't burn away during its entry of Earth's atmosphere. Just then, Tom Strange reveals himself as the crashed object, and in a hysterical fit, attacks Tom. Tom is no match for Strange, and fortunately, Strange becomes too exhausted to continue fighting, and falls unconscious. When the other team members arrive, Tom has Strange taken back to the Stronghold so that he could rest. On the way, Tom explains that Strange is a very powerful being who stores nuclear energy as body mass, and has a body as dense as uranium. Back at the Stronghold, regaining consciousness for a brief while, Strange is able to tell Tom that he had been traveling without sleep for thirty years. He then loses consciousness again. While Strange is unconscious, Tom recounts to the team his interplanetary trek that first introduced him to Strange. In 1968, Tom left earth to "find [himself]," leaving Dhalua in charge of the team. After having traveled innumerous light-years away from Earth, Tom encountered a galaxy that was nearly the mirror image of his own. Upon landing on the twin Earth, or Terra Obscura, Tom faced off with Strange, and was barely able to beat him. Soon after Strange realized Tom meant him no harm, the two became friends, and Tom worked with S.M.A.S.H. (AKA the Society of Major American Science Heroes) – a group of heroes formed to protect Terra Obscura – for a while. Two months later, Tom was able to make it back home, and he deduces that in order for Strange to have been traveling for thirty years, he must have left his earth very shortly after Tom did. Two weeks later, when Strange wakes up, he apologizes for attacking Tom, and starts to explain his reason for coming to Tom's Earth. Strange explains that it was not Earth's collision with a planetesimal that created his alternate Moon, but rather it was the collision with a large spacecraft. The collision ended up flinging the craft's occupant into space, with the planetary debris coming together to form a moon around the entity, allowing it to survive in space for millions of years. According to Strange, it finally emerged shortly after Tom left in 1969. When it landed on Earth, it began what appeared to be a mining process, and when Strange and his super-powered associates challenged it, the entity dispatched robotic "antibody" creatures to kill many of them. Strange was then forced to leave the planet in search of aid. Tom promises Strange that he will do all that is within his power to assist him, and the two travel towards Terra Obscura in Tom's high-tech Hypersaucer. On the way, Strange catches up with some of the events and advances in technology that have occurred in the thirty years he was in space. Also, Tom explains his theory that the existence of Terra Obscura could have come about due to a process involving ghost particles on the "macroscopic level of planets." Days later, the Hypersaucer arrives at Strange's galaxy, and Tom and Strange discover that many of the heroes of Terra Obscura are trapped in green orbs orbiting the moon, constantly repeating the same set of actions. Using his enhanced vision, Strange sees the vast and alien entity crafting an engine onto the Earth, presumably powerful enough to propel it through space.

*Issue #12*: While they observe the massive invader from space, Strange starts to lose hope that it could be defeated, and Tom reassures him. Tom then comes up with the idea to modify the Hypersaucer's energy drive, so that it can emit an energy beam that could free Strange's comrades from the green "warp-loops" they're trapped in. His idea works, and one-by-one, Tom frees the heroes, and before they suffocate in the vacuum of space, Strange quickly transports them into the Hypersaucer. After everyone is free, Tim – the partner of a hero named "The Terror," who died battling the invader – informs the group that The Terror told him of a secret project called "Omega" that was to be activated in the event of his demise. With no other choice, the group travels to Invertica City, in search of The Terror's lab. On the way there, Tom has time to catch up a bit with the heroes he met during his first visit. When they arrive at the city, their met by the remaining members of S.M.A.S.H. They wish Tom and the group luck on their mission, and the group begin to navigate the tunnels of Invertica City. Once they find the lab and locate the project's file, Tom activates the project, and several floating black bearings burst out of a canister marked "X." The group stands astonished and threatened at the balls emit lasers and form a crisscross lattice in the center of the lab chamber. A being called Terror 2000 emerges from the laser formation, and he explains that he is the computerized personality of The Terror, and agrees to help stop the invader. The group then leave the city, and decide to attack the invader quickly enough so that it does not notice the absence of the once-captured heroes. Tim insists that with Terror 2000's assistance, the invader could be stopped. The team formulates a plan as they approach the South Pole, and when they do, everyone quickly takes their formations; the American Crusader and Pyroman disable the invader's mechanical drones, Tom unleashes Terror 2000 into the invader's massive body using Hypersaucer to get in close, and the other heroes serve as a distraction for Tom. During the battle, one of the heroes (Fighting Yank) is killed protecting his daughter. Meanwhile, Terror 2000 is able to take over the invader's brain and fly it into the sun. Tom attends Fighting Yank's funeral, and after saying his goodbye's, sets off for Millennium City. He expects the return trip to take several days, so, to pass the time, he reads some magazines published by America's Best Comics.

*Issue #13*: The Time-Keeper is a guardian of space-time who dwells on a floating island at the end of time, from which someone with dangerous intent may "enslave infinity." Foreseeing the arrival of multiple versions of Saveen looking to rule all of eternity, the Time-Keeper splits the Ruby Capstone of Eternity into three pieces, and sends them to be guarded by three different versions of Tom Strong – Warren Strong, a young version of Tom, and the current version (from the year 2000). Just after this action is completed, three Saveens attack him, demanding the ruby. Back in the year 2000, one version of Saveen arrives within the Stronghold, and overcomes Tom and Tesla. He then takes the ruby fragment, and jumps through a time vortex created by a device based on Professor Parallax's original designs. Tom and Tesla follow him, and find themselves rapidly "falling" forwards in time. Meanwhile, in 1912, a young Tom riding an exotic ostrich-like creature named "Pneuman," finds one of the shards of the ruby. Young Tom is then confronted by a Young Saveen, who forcibly takes the shard. The young Tom follows this Saveen through a vortex, and meets up with Tesla and his older counterpart. Slowly, the older Tom has been remembering this adventure taken as a young boy, as well as meeting his older self. Meanwhile, in Funnyland, Warren foils another attempt by basil to kill Patience, but is knocked unconscious by the third shard, which falls out of the sky and hits his head. While Warren is down, an elderly version of Saveen explains his plot to have different versions of himself rule "different eras of eternity." Basil begs to be part of the scheme, and Saveen takes him through a vortex, followed by the recently-recovered Warren. After Warren meets up with Tesla and the other two versions of Tom, the four stand over a balcony and witness multiple versions of Saveen (from different historical eras) step through a vortex to be recruited for the plot. Tom sends Tesla and his younger self to find the Time-Keeper, while he and Warren battle Clan Saveen. The young Tom and Tesla near the chamber where the Time-Keeper is being held, and even though the boy knows Tesla is his future daughter, Tom can't help but feel sexually attracted to her. When the two find the old guardian, they free him, and the three return to assist Warren and the older Tom, both of whom have since been overcome by their enemies. But when the Young Tom, Tesla, and the Time-Keeper arrive at the scene, they find that the versions of Saveen are being driven insane by the memory-feedback they're experiencing due to their extensive time-travel. They beg to be sent back to their own time so that they could forget these events, and thus be free of their pain, so the Time-Keeper grants their wish. The day is saved, and before Tesla, Warren, and both versions of Tom are sent home, the Time-Keeper implies that he is the future version of Tom.

*Issue #14*: http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Tom_Strong_V...

Book Info: This collection contains Tom Strong issues #8-14.


ABSOLUTE RATING: {3/5 stars}

STANDARDIZED RATING: <3/5 stars>

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

Some of the anthology issues were a little meh but there was still some really creative concepts and fun stories in them. I really liked the Tom Strange issues and the time travel one. Tom Strange as a concept was not what I was expecting and that made it a lot more interesting.

[Kyle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Whereas the first volume seemed to have been conceived and executed with a fair amount of confidence in its vision and tempo, this one suffers from conspicuous unevenness. Experimentations and genre send-ups often read as half baked dalliances or comic Laffy Taffy wrappers even when formally successful, and the lack of commitment in these short peices is even more jarring when contrasted with a relatively lengthy story arc as unforgivably boring as the Tom Strange Terra Obscura line included here. I suspect Mr. Moore was just overworked writing every book for and running ABC at the time. Overall still quite good by mainstream American comic standards, even in the weakest bits, and occasionally clever, but from Alan I have grown to expect Moore.

[Little Timmy · Rating 4 out of 5]

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

[Guido · Rating 4 out of 5]

Segundo volumen con cienciaventuras de Tom Strong y primer cruce con los cientihéroes de Terra Obscura, que incluye varios personajes en dominio público como el mismísimo Tom Strange.

[Lost Planet Airman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun... but.

I think Alan Moore tries too hard to be too many things with Tom Strong. There's a touch of parody to all the "science heroes" of the past -- Doc Savage, all the Tom Swifts, the Quest Family, and Mr. Fantastic among others, and parody of 70 years of comic book super hero tropes.

Even so, this volume is all over the page with wild animation styles, anthropomorphic rabbit variants of Tom, superman variants of Tom, time travel; so much, that the fun gets lost in trying to sort out what the parody is all about.

[Matty Dub · Rating 2 out of 5]

Once Moore gets away from all form of long term narrative and falls into these popcorn tidbit 8-page long stories, the book really becomes a complete bore. Unfortunately those dull quickies made up the most of this collection.

[kuusela harry-pekka · Rating 4 out of 5]

Basic nostalgic Science Hero stuff. What are science heroes? well and their history are invented here.

[Ostrava · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Holy socks, guys! Collecting comic books just isn't fun anymore! We may as well turn to hard drugs!"

[Burton Olivier · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think I liked this one more than the first one

[Tobin Elliott · Rating 1 out of 5]

I can't believe there's at least four volumes past this one.

People actually spent money to read this?

[Brian Rogers · Rating 5 out of 5]

More absolutely beautiful work from Moore and Sprouse.

[Johnathon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another fun series of stories that finds Tom Strong & his family take on everything from an alien Western town to a parallel Earth inhabited by superheroes. Alan Moore brings lots of fun & action tot he series, paying homage to the classic comic book stories of the 1940's & 50's, which stories varying from dramatic to cartoony (literally, at one point Strong is in an alternate cartoon universe where he's a superhero rabbit). The Strong family dynamic continues to be great as well, ranging from Tesla having to explain why the house is trashed due to a gravity controlling villain or Tom threatening his teenage self in a time travel story for hitting on their daughter. The various artist shine as well, with each perfectly matching their stories tone. Overall, Alan Moore just having fun with comics, and that is always a good thing.

[Craig Williams · Rating 2 out of 5]

I got to say, with Alan Moore, when he is great, he's great. When he's awful, he is FUCKING awful like nobody's business. I read the first trade of Tom Strong a couple years ago, and I vaguely remember somewhat enjoying it. It struck me as the sort of pulp science fiction fantasy that The Venture Bros has thoroughly skewered, making it rather difficult for me to take it at all serious. I think Moore intended for this series to also poke fun at the conventions of pulp sci-fi, but frankly, Moore isn't known for his wit. Part of my problem with this series, too, is that it is very sporadic - it features the Family Strong partaking in outrageous adventures in vignettes, which is how golden age comics were formatted. It just wasn't my thing, and each attempt to read through this trade felt like a chore. I think I'll opt out of reading the rest of this series for now (or, hell, most likely forever).

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tom Strong Book 2 continues the excellence of Book 1 with smart, pulp-influenced science-hero stories. There's a wide mix of tales, many short and a couple longer, and Moore deftly switches between humorous and affecting. The rotating cast of artists, anchored by Chris Sprouse, complement the stories nicely.

[Aurora · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm really enjoying this. It's unpredictable and clever, and the world feels real without being too concrete. The Earth Z (whatever) plotline loses some points for being a little dense, but the alternate universe portal way makes up for it. Bunny Tom Strong!

[B · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember still thinking this was good, but maybe I was wrong.

Second read: This all seems like side stories. Mostly cute. But it seems like the Tom Strong story has already been told.

Also surprised it took me so long to pick up on the Captain Marvel homage.

[Nenad Vukusic · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sequel to the other Tom Strong book, this one is a lot less impressive. All the elements are still there, some of the opponents are hilarious and some of the references are interesting, but all in all, first one was a lot better.

[One Flew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very light hearted, enjoyable superhero nonsense. Obviously not even close to what Alan Moore is capable of, even compared with the first volume of Tom Strong this one comes across a little weak. In particular the shorter storylines are rather flat.

[J. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the first volume of this series, and this book does have some shining moments, but the barrage of 8-page stories just isn't the interesting to me. Not enough time to build suspense or anything.

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This volume was so much fun to read and you can tell Moore had a great time writing it. To me, it feels like Mr. Moore was writing stories that he felt his twelve year old self would have thrilled to, and the whole thing reads as a real great love letter to the Silver Age of comics.

[David Brooke · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one continues the greatness of Volume one, and did i forget to say the art is great? Things start coming together in a more progressive longer story with relationships building here.

[Bro (Dave Kurimsky) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting series. Notable for it's non-violence and comic book in-jokes. Not great character development but an overall interesting ride.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not quite as good as the first, but still a strong (heh heh) collection of comics. Really into the series, now.

[Dennis Liggio · Rating 4 out of 5]

Doc Savage/Jonas Venture as seen through the mind of Alan Moore. A very retro-feeling book like the Golden Age Science Heroes. This volume in particular focuses on time travel and parallel universes.

[Mike · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first half of the stories in the book were just OK. The last few, including Funnyland, I enjoyed much more. I was still interested enough to stick with book 3.

[Fugo Feedback · Rating 4 out of 5]

Divertida continuación que no alcanza las cinco como el #1 sólo porque algunas historias son un poco flojas.

[Juan Jose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice reading.