The final issue brings it all full circle.
Creative Staff:
Story: Tom King
Art: Mitch Gerads, Evan Shaner
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
What They Say:
Mister Terrific hasn’t just dug into the past, he’s jackhammered it to pieces, exposing Adam Strange’s deepest, darkest secrets. If Adam did commit war crimes, he needs to be punished, but how do you pull a hero off the field of battle when he’s staving off an alien invasion that supposedly only he can stop? Is the truth worth it? And what if Terrific is wrong? The only one who may know for sure: Alanna Strange. Find out in this final issue of one of the year’s most exciting comic book miniseries!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Strange Adventures has been an interesting series throughout as I thoroughly enjoy the kinds of stories that Tom King tells, though ones like this certainly work best as their own standalone piece not really conflicting with ongoing continuity. This issue comes almost three months after the penultimate issue and that makes it hard to reconnect with a bit, admittedly, but there’s still a thrill with it. Mitch Gerads and Evan Shaner have been capturing all of this beautifully and I really love the dynamic that we get through something so creatively illustrated like this. Each has so many great key scenes and ways of bringing it to life that I’m excited every time I open a new issue to see what they’re bringing to life.
With this installment, Adam is obviously not involved much outside of some of the dialogue and a few key ending sequences that bring things full circle. There are some rough moments with it in how it plays out, watching as Alanna holds him, but there is some real payoff to that as well. What dominates this installment, however, is that it’s very much an Alanna and Michael adventure as they head to the Pykkt homeworld in order to get Aleea back. The problem is that in getting her back it upsets the balance that had been put into play and there’s a price to pay for that. One where Alanna knows that Pykkt will never come back to Earth but will seek their revenge on Rann, which she and Adam had thought safe and secured before. But this means that Aleea cannot come back to Rann, forcing Alanna into a really difficult position. One that Adam existed in for the longest time.
The initial journey to Pykkt is definitely fun to watch unfold as Alanna is definitely in no fucks given mode and it goes better than even Michael thought it would as her patience is at an end in getting her daughter back. We do get some flashbacks throughout this to Alanna and Adam dealing with threats to Rann while the rebuild began all that time ago, but the majority of this is in the present as Alanna and Michael secure things, reconnect with Aleea in a really awkward but realistic way, and then begin the journey to Earth. This serves more as an epilogue in a way, but it has Alanna making clear the responsibilities Michael holds in all of this now that it’s done, which he’s not too sure on at first, but does eventually come around on because of the sheer force of will that is Alanna. It’s a curious ending overall, largely with a soft landing, but it definitely feels right and will be something I’ll be even more curious about when I do a full series read.
In Summary:
I really enjoyed the Strange Adventures series overall as it did manage to keep things small in terms of the real active cast for it. It played to some large ideas but kept things to the background that we often want to see fleshed out but rarely ever are in reality for those not involved in the dark and dirty aspects of it. King delivers a solid ending for it, one that doesn’t land as strongly with a nearly three-month gap between issues, and Gerad and Shaner put some great touches on it with all the strong artwork. It’s been a great-looking series from start to finish and I really like this Alanna-focused ending that sets her in a new position to move forward in her journey.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 17+
Released By: DC Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: October 12th28th, 2021
MSRP: $4.99
