Tom Strong's Terrific Tales Book One

Fan's of Alan Moore's Tom Strong will be pleased to note that it's the latest of his works to receive a collected version of the spin-off series - Tom Strong's Terrific Tales. In contrast to what he did for Top Ten with Smax, Moore has taken more of a Tomorrow Stories approach. Offering 19 short stories set in the Tom Strong universe, spanning Strong's youth, present and future, this is mostly more of the same - high adventure in the style of pre-superhero pulp fiction.

While the Tom Strong and Young Tom Strong (written by Steve Moore - no relation) stories are what you'd expect, the stories set in the future don't feature any core Strong characters. These, also written by Steve Moore, introduce a new female character called Jonni Future, who's certain to appeal to anyone who likes seeing female curves squeezed into tight-fitting costumes.

Steve Moore does a fair job of following Alan Moore's skilful lead in the storytelling department, but there's some great art too, with big names like Jaime Hernandez and Sergio Aragones turning in brief performances. It's Arthur Adams's work on Jonni Future that's probably the best though, and not just because of his Amazonian view of the female form.

Ultimately though, this has the feel of a spin-off. There's some continuity to the stories, especially the Young Tom Strong ones, but the remainder is bitty. Hardcore Strong fans will find enough to make it a worthy purchase but it's of passing interest to the rest of us, even if you consider yourself a casual follower of Tom Strong's adventures.

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