Some thoughts about Strange Adventures #2

Can Mister Terrific help Adam Strange?

Batman has assigned Michael to investigate Adam about his current accusations and there's a reason for that.

Finally this series returns, I've been awaiting this book pretty much since the whole quarantine started and was sadly delayed. Fortunately, the creative team still deliver an interesting tale.

Just like in the first issue, Tom King focuses on two segments, Rann in the past and Earth in the present. When the story takes place on Rann is all about Adam's sci-fi adventures with a pretty romantic air, especially when it involves his relationship with Alanna and we go back to the present day, things are presented in a more realistic tone with a much more gritty look based on the serious situation the characters are facing.

What makes this issue different though, is that the story is centered around Mister Terrific and the reasons why he accepted to work on this case. The characterization is pretty solid due that we're constantly shown how Michael is constantly challenging himself both physically and mentally by training his body in different ways and making his T-Spheres test his knowledge, this seems perfectly in character and his motivations at the end make a lot of sense. If I had a complaint is that King makes the whole "Michael challenging himself" theme too heavyhanded but hey, it wouldn't be a Tom King story without the repetition.

Mitch Gerads handles the segment on Earth while Doc Shaner is in charge of Rann and both do a fantastic job during their respective sections, Shaner's more cartoony style being perfect for the adventure look and Gerads' semi-realistic tone being a great fit for the more serious moments.

Good read, hope the next one comes sooner.