Tom Strong and the Robots of Doom #3 and #4 - America's Best Comics

This is a pretty straightforward story, really. Tom . . well, Tom from our time . . the future . . Tom has gone back to the 1930's to try to stop Albrecht from activating the Dero, turning them into his allies, and then winning the war for the Third Reich. A Third Reich that he would eventually become the leader of, and thereby . . leader of the world. So Tom has gone to his younger past self for help. The problem is, Albrecht has arrived at the mountain where the Dero are being held before he does. He already begun talking to them and convincing them that he's their friend and ally. Tom, and the other Tom, have arrived to late, but . . the older Tom believes he knows where they may be able to find some allies in this crusade. Unfortunately leaving the younger Tom behind to be captured by the Dero. Anyways, Tom goes to the guy with probably the best brain of this time . . except his own, of course . . Parulian. And, he's also one of his greatest enemies. I think it's also funny that this guy looks remarkably like Clark Kent. But maybe that's just me. Anyways, he breaks Pluto out of jail, and they're off on their adventure. However, before returning to the Dero, Tom wants to try to gather some allies in this fight. So he uses Pluto's drilling machine to go down to the place where the lava-men live. You know, where that guy came from that his daughter married? Tom tells them what's going on, hoping to get there help. But instead discovers . . these people are actually the ones that created the Dero. 'The Dero were lost to us, since ancient times. Many thought them only legend . . but if they are real, then they are our problem. Lead us to them and you shall have all the help you need.' Meanwhile, back in the future, Tom's wife is getting restless and is starting to wonder what's taking her husband so long. So . . she's about to take a trip of her own. Like I said, overall . . a pretty straightforward story. It's 'good-guys' versus 'bad-guys' for the fate of the world. But, I think that's a pretty good plan for Peter Hogan to follow. Back in this time period it was a lot easier to tell the 'good-guys' from the 'bad-guys'. People wore their intentions, like their hearts, on their sleeves. So I think to make the story to complicated would only serve to distract from the time period in which it's set. But that's not to say that I don't think there's a twist coming up here, somewhere. Overall I'm really glad to see this character back on the shelves again. And with Chris Sprouse doing the art, it fits in perfectly with the look and feel of the original series. Anyways, it's a fun read, and I look forward to the rest of the series.

Tom Strong and the Robots of Doom #2 - ABC Comics

This issue we find out just how bad Albrecht's occupation of the world was, and continues to be. He fills his father, Tom, in on the whole thing. However, I think Peter Hogan gave away a little bit to much in his narration. Basically, we find out that Pneuman had remained loyal to Tom all of this time, even thought Albrecht tried to reprogram him. He gives him a time harness that Parallax had made, and he had hidden for 70 years from Albrecht. Tom uses it to go back to 1939. From there he wants to try to stop Albrecht before he can even get started. So, he's got a few things to do. First of all he has to figure out what to do about the Dero. The first time he discovered these robots, about 10 years for where he's landed, he didn't know what to do about them and basically caved in the mountain that they were under so that they couldn't get out. That's where Albrecht found them, released them, and set them loose upon the world. All they wanted was a country to call their own . . free of humans. After Albrecht had taken over, he gave them Africa. But, we find out that they've been terraforming Mars also. So I'm thinking, with Tom's intelligence, and knowledge of future technology, I think he's going to try to get the Dero to go to Mars even earlier than they had with Albrecht, basically giving them the whole planet. Of course we won't know for a few more issues, as this is a 6 issue series, but . . I don't know what other choice he's going to have. He has to try to do something with them before Albrecht finds them. Anyways, I'm just glad to see some books back on the market from ABC. And it's nice to see Tom Strong back on the shelves. As I said, Peter is writing the story, with Chris Sprouse doing the art.

Tom Strong and the Robots of Doom #1 - ABC Comics

I was so happy to see this book in the previews. I loved the ABC line of comics. We recently saw Top-10, and now there's this one. True, Alan Moore isn't creatively involved anymore. But he does still own the rights, so . . I assume he has final say over the story-lines. And, no matter who's writing them, this is still a great bunch of characters. The premise for this story is that Tom's illegitimate son, Albrecht, has hatched a plan to take over the world. Isn't that always the case. But he's done so by going back to manipulate time. It has something to do with the Dero, some Nazi robots. that Tom had buried in a mountain in Washington state. Somehow he's found them, and then used Parallax machines to rewrite history. He went back about 10 years before Tom had even encountered them, and used them to win WWII for the Nazis. From there they took over the world. And he did all of this in the course of a day. As Ingrid, Albrecht's mother, is gloating to Tom in the dungeon . .'This is a glorious day. Only this morning I waved goodbye to our boy, as he set off bravely into the past . . and tonight he is a man, and the master of the world.' The only thing I think Albrecht didn't account for in the past is that he spent so much time there, manipulating events and putting pieces into place, that he actually aged before coming back just a few hours after he had left. I'm guessing that his time-travel is going to have some other physical effects on him that he has yet to encounter. Anyways, I liked the way that Peter Hogan has used the Strong history to tie this series to everything that has come before. It was probably a risky move, but . . I think, brilliant. And with Chris Sprouse back on the art, it felt like we had never left. Just a 4 year hiatus. Anyways, Chris also does the cover, with JH Williams III doing the alternate one. Again, a nice touch since both of these guys were such a big part of the ABC Universe. I thought this issue was a great start to this new series, and I can't wait to see where we go from here.

Top 10: Season Two - Special #1 - America's Best Comics

This issue was billed as a special issue, but really . . it was just another issue of Top 10. It was a little different in that it didn't focus on the precinct or the officers therein. This one focused on Sung. She's an Android lawyer. She used to be a police officer. I can't remember if she was in precinct 10, but . . now she's a lawyer and she's dating Pete. This issue kind of seemed like an extension of the last issue of Top 10. Pete is still acting a little strange, and since his dismissal from the force, he seems to be doing security work now. But he's not having any better luck at that. It all comes down to attitude. Anyways, we see that Sung has all the edicts of the law downloaded into her, she knows all the rules and mandates and such, but . . she doesn't know the nuances of the courtroom or the judicial process. Which is why she keeps losing case after case after case. But since she's just a public defender they don't really care if she's just learning as she goes along. Most of the people she represents are scum anyways. At least that's the way the prosecuting attorneys see 'em. Anyways, I thought it was an interesting book. There really wasn't anything special about it. Like I said it was almost entirely about Sung and her court cases. However we did see some interesting individuals. Zander and Kevin Cannon wrote it. The art was done by someone I've never heard of . . Daxiong. It wasn't to bad. It was different. Anyways, this book just kind of left me feeling like . . so what? It was ok, but it wasn't anything special.

Top 10 - Season 2 #4 - America's Best Comics

I really like this book. But then again, I loved the original series. I always thought it was a shame when it ended. So far, Zander Cannon has done a great job of keeping this book true to the feel of the original. Or course, it helps that Gene Ha illustrated both. It really does feel like an extension, or I guess another chapter . . Season Two . But, at the same time, the story has moved on. Characters, and relationships have changed. And really . . that's what this book is all about. With everyone, in this whole city, having some sort of special power, nobody is really special. As far as abilities, that is. It's kind of like if everyone on Earth were a different color . . every single individual person. How could there possibly be racism? I'm not saying that's what this book is about, but . . I'm saying, with everyone having different abilities . . it's just a fact of life in Neopolis. The rules of interaction are different. Just like if everyone on Earth were a different color . . the paradigm would change. So anyways . . after that long-winded attempt at explanation . . my point is, this book is more about the specific people . . their personalities, actions and character . . and more about the relationships that they're involved in, than necessarily the abilities that they possess. The abilities are 'flashy' and give them, and the story, character, but . . the best part, to me, is how all these individual characters deal with the 'weirdness' that's part of their everyday life. I mean, the guy running the precinct right now is some alien transmitting his image from another dimension. But to them, it's just something else they have to deal with. As with Noble Causes, this book is really like a 'soap' set in some fantastic environment. I think that's great, but what really has me excited is . . I hope this means that we could possibly see some of the other ABC titles resurfacing. Is it a possibility? Only the gods know.

Top 10: Season Two #3 - America's Best Comics

I like this book. I thoroughly enjoyed the first incarnation of it. But . . it was quite a while ago. I don't really remember all of the characters. Plus the fact that . . . there's so many of them. But . . none of that really matters. Alan Moore and Zander Cannon wrote the first series. So Zander's got a pretty good feel for the characters. I'm sure he remembers who they all are. And he writes the book under the assumption that he doesn't have to explain everything as he goes along. It seems like he's operating under the assumption that those that are picking up this book, will have a pretty good idea of the look and feel of it. Therefore, he's just rolling along with the characters and stories. Personally . . I wouldn't like it any other way. This has always been a book where it's not the specific characters . . whether it's their powers or identity . . that's really important. What's always been important here is the stories that they have to tell. Such as this issue. It revolves around Lloyd, Top Flight, and his wife Cathy, Peregrine. Basically it comes down to the fact that he doesn't appreciate her. He's older than her and he just thinks that she's incessantly whining or complaining. As he's leaving for a 'work' weekend, he doesn't even give her the chance to tell him that they're having a baby. He and Hector are going away for an origin weekend. That's where this cosmic type of character tries to help people become better heroes by pushing their powers and giving them an origin. Anyways, Lloyd's path leads to this cave with a crystal. He touches it and he transported inside the crystal. Where he finds somebody else. A guy who's been trapped there for thousands of years. He doesn't even remember his own name. Anyways, he tells Lloyd that in order to leave the crystal, and go back to his body, all he has to do is touch the crystal again. But as he's doing so, the old guys whacks Lloyd on the head. "Well to be fair, I should tell you . . . you have to leave someone behind. Sorry, Charlie." And with that, the guys gone and he's now in Lloyds' body. Basically Lloyd's being punished for the same reasons that this other guy was trapped in the crystal. "All I ever think about in here is how I'd be better. Y'know, how I'd value people's feelings more. How I wouldn't miss opportunities to tell people I care about them. How I'd be fair with people." So like I said, it doesn't really matter whether or not I remember Lloyd and Cathy, just that I get the gist of the story that they're telling. I think this is a fantastic book and series. Zander has kept in right in the tradition of the first series, and with Gene Ha on the art . . it really does seem like the perfect sequel. I wonder if we'll ever get another look . . . after these 4 issues.

Top 10: Season Two #2 - America's Best Comics

I liked this book. To me, it had a lot of the same feel as the original series. I know. Alan Moore is no longer associated with the book, but I think this Zander Cannon is approaching the story in a lot of the same ways as he did. I mean there's always a ton of stuff going on. With all the various characters in the precinct, we always seem to have 4 or 5 short story-lines going on each issue. And then 1 or 2 main story-lines that cross-over from issue to issue. Also I have to say, maybe it's just me, but the roll-call room, and the discussion about assignments, really reminds me of Hillstreet Blues. I know that sounds silly, but . . it does in a way. The only thing that I really think is different than the Moore version is the depth of characters. We've seen, and interacted, with a lot of them in these first 2 issues, but, so far, none of them have really stood out and grabbed us like Smax and Toybox did in the first series. That's just a minor complaint though. I really think Zander is doing a great job. Especially considering the huge shoes he has to fill. I also think it helps the feel of the series with Gene Ha's art. He was the artist on the original after all. Anyways, I like this series. I think it's neat to have this Police drama genre, but set in an outrageous Sci-fi environment. Using my other reference, it's almost like a crossing of Hillstreet Blues and Babylon 5. Both of which are very big compliments to be compared to. Keep up the good work. "And, be careful out there!"

Top 10: Season 2 #1 - America's Best Comics

I was really happy to see this book back in the stack again. I really enjoyed the first run on this book. The only unfortunate thing is that Alan Moore isn't taking part in this series. But, Zander Cannon is writing it, and since he wrote the Smax mini-series, he's got a good feel for these characters. I was also happy to see that Gene Ha would be doing the art. I was confused though . . in the beginning of the book, mostly, he does these pages with all these little panels. It reminded me alot of the old 9 and 12 panel page from the books in the 50's and 60's. I guess it worked ok with the story-telling, but it's just not Gene's usual style. I felt like he was kind of limited with what he could do. But, that being said . . I still enjoyed the book. What I liked the most about this book the first time was just the sheer amount of characters and story-lines that took place in it. Usually there were only 3 or 4 different story-lines going on, but sometimes, until everything started coming together, it seemed like there were 8 or 9. So, with 3 or 4 different characters, at least, taking part in each story-line . . well, you can do the math. There was always a lot going on . . and a veritable zoo of characters. I got the same feeling with this issue. Not quite as many thread-lines, but . . it's hard to compare, let alone keep up with, Alan Moore. The guys a genius . . twisted, and a bit freaky . . he kind of reminds me of Rob Zombie . . but a genius, none the less. But, overall, this book took me right back to the first series. It brought back a lot of the characters that we were familiar with, and introduced us to a couple of new ones. It's sad that this is only going to be a 4 issue series. I'd really love to see it back in the regular rotation.