(2004) Alan Moore, Titan Books, £19.99, hrdbk, 168pp, ISBN 1-840-23904-2
This graphic novel of the first collection (of six issues) of the title 'spun-off' from Tom Strong. Generally, per issue, there will be a Tom Strong tale by Moore and Paul Rivoche (who did the animated Batman, Superman, and Justice League), a Young Tom Strong story by Steve Moore (no relation) of Axel Pressbutton fame (for those of you who remember the short-lived UK comic Warrior) and Alan Weiss ( a comics veteran) and, quite possible the best feature of the book, Jonni Future again by Steve Moore, but this time drawn by the incredible Arthur Adams. The art on this strip is superb and is worth the cost of admission on its own. Alan Moore is also joined by daughter Leah, the irrepressible Sergio Aragones (Groo the Wanderer), Jaime Hernandez (Love & Rockets), the immensely talented Jerry Ordway (a DC veteran, among other things) and Jason Pearson (The Savage Dragon).
The Paul Rivoche artwork is very Kirby-esque on the Tom Strong tales, and personally I prefer the Ordway version (issue 6's 'Goloka: The Heroic Dose' is a good case in point). The Young Tom Strong stories are a bit uninteresting for me, but the Jonni Future strip is sheer comics excellence with baroque and detailed art from Art Adams - as I've said, the highlight of the title.
Having bitched and moaned (frequently) in my reviews about the price of these hardcovers, it's only fair to say that £20 is a lot better than £25, and I very much hope that Titan can keep the price down on future volumes of this and the other ABC titles.
Tony Chester
[Up: Fiction Reviews Index | SF Author: Website Links | Home Page: Concatenation]
[One Page Futures Short Stories | Recent Site Additions | Most Recent Seasonal Science Fiction News]