Seriously, each 2-page spread in Promethea is somewhere between great… and stunning. And yet, when pages sell at auction, the realized prices rarely reflect the quality of the work.
A definite head-scratcher, certainly. But a boon for collectors who want a terrific piece of art — from an Alan Moore project, no less — at a ludicrously low price.
And a lunar realm like this one seems like a good place to wish everyone a very happy and healthy New Year.
Alan Moore has fun with his “silver-age” heroes (Tom Strong and friends) meeting their “golden-age” counterparts (Tom Strange and friends) in this great two-parter.
The entire series is apparently finally getting an omnibus – or compendium, or something — in 2023, and it’s about time. (All of the “America’s Best Comics” material needs the same treatment.)
Al Gordon provides quality inks for Chris on this early issue, as Sprouse and Karl Story had not yet become a “permanent” pencilling and inking team.
Plus… great cover homages on these early to classic silver age covers. (See below.)
Welcome to Day Eight of the 12 DC Days of DeCember.
General Patton dramatically fires on… Japanese soldiers?
In this alternate reality version of World War II, anything is possible. America’s atomic test goes horribly wrong in New Mexico, and the US is unable to produce a working A-Bomb. So the only way to attempt to defeat the Japanese forces is to invade.
Created by Chuck Dixon and Jackson “Butch” Guice the series ran into some scheduling and deadline challenges. At a minimum, there was a six-month gap between issues #4 and #5.
Hence, other artists were called in to help out. Some pages — like this one — look 100 percent Guice, and others, less so. Rich Burchett gets credits for pencils this issue but I’m guessing that many pages are rough breakdowns only.
But like I said, that’s a guess.
Guice ‘s art style has changed dramatically over the years. I enjoyed his early superhero work, but I find his contemporary “photo-realistic” style more appealing.
And perfect for a series that features the aforementioned General Patton, Harry Truman, George HW Bush and other recognizable historical figures.
2019 is somehow the 20th anniversary of Alan Moore’s ABC line of comics at Wildstorm / DC, which included Tom Strong and company.
Seems like only a few years ago that Wildstorm published the first issue of the cool retro-modern Strong, Moore’s obvious love letter to Doc Savage and other pulp heroes. Sprouse’s art was of course perfect for the character designs and storytelling. As noted previously, I’m a big fan of the Sprouse and Story team. (Al Gordon also did a nice job on inks of the earlier issues, but Karl gets my vote anytime Chris is penciling.)
Moore left the regular series shortly before this issue appeared, and in fact, it is “guest-written” by Mark Schultz, and “guest-drawn” by Pascual Ferry. The only Sprouse / Story art in this issue is this terrific cover. (To see it at full-size, check out the amazing and somewhat overlooked America’s Best Comics Artist’s Edition from IDW.)
Moore would team-up one more time with the art duo to wrap up the storyline in the final regular issue (#36), but fortunately for us, Sprouse and Story came back for both mini-series that followed, written by Peter Hogan. (Strong also ultimately appeared in a separate anthology series, Tom Strong’s Terrific Tales, featuring different creative combos.)
Now, of course, the ABC line is dormant and I’m pretty sure the Wildstorm imprint is as well. But Strong and his crew live on for now in the greater DCU, as part of the Terrifics, a quirky multi-verse title. Still, it is definitely worth revisiting the original 36 issues and the spin-off appearances.
