Terra Obscura Vol 01

I actually prefered this story line to the first volume, it had much more things going on. Stronger plot, more personal story for Tom Strange and the rest of the heroes, and the addition of the pulp symbol "jungle woman" actually added more fun and personality to Tom Strange and kept things a bit lighter. She does look a lot like Jennifer Connelly in some panels, is it me or is it Yanick? Anyway it makes an enjoyable light read....p

Definitely not as good as the first volume. Partly because you know more about the characters, I think, and they were basically settled after the first volume. This one throws in a voluptuous jungle queen style heroine for Tom to dally with, for one, but still quite enjoyable overall, even if the focus is taken off the more interesting characters from the first book.

I set my expectations low on Terra Obscura. Even though it has Alan Moore's name attached he's not the writer only the co-plotter and I've learned from experience that stories merely `co-plotted' by Alan Moore tend to pale in comparison to those fully penned by Mr. Moore. Having said that Terra Obscura was a pleasant surprise. The art is well done and I found the story engaging throughout. It boils down to a murder mystery with Grant Halfrod (The Magnet) trying to track down the killer of his longtime friend and associate Lance Lewis (Space Detective). Meanwhile some kind of expanding null field has opened up near the Grand Canyon shutting down all technology and releasing demon hounds. I love a good mystery and the more I read Terra Obscura the more I wanted to read and there's not much more you can ask from a good story. The payoff at the end was perhaps a bit of a let down but it certainly wasn't a flop. One thing I have to note is that the artist, Yanick Paquette, LOVES large breasts. All the female characters appear to be in a competition to see who has the largest boobs. Seriously, on Terra Obscura Power Girl would be mocked for her small, flat chest. The characters have Alan Moore touches in the sense that they tend to be more archetypes than fully fleshed out humans. The Terror is the only truly unique character of the bunch. This may seem like a demerit but it's rather in line with Alan Moore's tendency towards super hero deconstruction. The American Crusader, for instance, is the typical Superman knock-off with shades of Captain Atom. However, unlike Superman who is written as the quintessential hero with regards to brawn, brains, heart and wisdom, American Crusader is a surly alcoholic with a tendency towards suggesting the most direct and often violent solution to any problem. I would imagine it's a rather realistic portrayal of a colossally powerful character with average intelligence. Why use subtlety when you have the power to smash any problem into submission. The dialog in Terra Obscura isn't up to Alan Moore's standards and the ending didn't quite measure up to the build up but overall I felt satisfied with the book. It's a nice change of pace from DC and Marvel. I apologize for mentioning Alan Moore so much since the actual author is Peter Hogan but if you're going to list Mr. Moore as the author this is the price you pay.

Terra Obscura is a world almost identical to Earth. It was discovered by Tom Strong. In Tom Strong Vol. 2, Tom was enlisted by Tom Strange to help Terra Obscura from an extraterrestrial threat that was destroying his world. This volume takes place several years later. Now that the alien threat is gone, the members of SMASH (Society of Major American Science Heroes) are having to deal with a world that is much different from the one before they were frozen for thirty years. Tom Strange has disappeared and SMASH is pretty much defunct. One member has been killed and his old partner is out to solve his murder. But during the investigation, strange things begin to happen in the Grand Canyon and a zone where nothing scientific works is slowly growing. Soon it starts to spread faster and the existing members of SMASH must reunite and fight this new menace as more and more of the country falls under the zone. An interesting world, mystery, and storyline. Definitely an enjoyable read although it would be a good idea to read the pre-story in Tom Strong Vol. 2. I look forward to more from these characters and their world.