Adam Strange: The Silver Age Omnibus Hardcover – July 25, 2017

This collection is basically a repackaging of the three Adam Strange archives published in the previous decade with some additional material added to complete Strange's silver age features. When initially solicited, it was to include further Adam Strange material from Showcase and World's Finest but in the end DC decided to cut the book off in the early 1970's and 848 pages.The book begins with an introduction by Jim Amash, repurposed from the first archive. The collection proper starts with Adam Strange's first appearances in the Showcase tryout issues. Originally headlined "Adventures on Other Worlds" these three issues establish the feature's premise of the zeta beam and how it bounces Strange back and forth between Earth and Rann, a planet revolving about the star Alpha Centauri. His supporting cast is introduced, his girlfriend Alanna and her father Sardath. Mike Sekowsky does a good workman like job drawing these issues and Gardner Fox does the writing.The feature really gets going when it lands a permanent place in the science fiction comic Mystery in Space. Carmine Infantino comes on board as the feature's new penciller. He immediately designs Adam's classic red and white uniform and Alanna's blue and yellow outfit. He also draws Ranagar much like he drew Central City in the contemporary Flash book as a metropolis sitting in the middle of nowhere. All looks gorgeous, especially Alanna, who looks well worth the whole bother of being jerked back and forth between planets. Infantino was a rather loose penciller so the contribution of his inkers can't be overlooked. His normal inker was the great Murphy Anderson but he looked just as good inked by Sid Greene. Joe Giella and Bernard Sachs were less effective.Fox's scripts were also usually first rate. He was initially restricted to 9 pages per issue which meant his first stories were heavily plot driven with little scope for characterization and a larger cast. Later the feature expanded to 15 pages and occasionally full length. He tended to depict Rand not as an integrated world but as a patchwork quilt of different societies to serve the plot at hand, much like Burroughs' Barsoom or Raymond's Mongo. The page count was down to 12 pages when Hawkman was added as a feature in Mystery in Space but this was towards the end of the feature's heyday. Editor Julius Schwartz was given the task of revitalizing the Batman franchise and took Infantino and Anderson with him.The Adam Strange feature was left in the hands of writer Dave Wood and artist Lee Elias. Wood's scripts were generally up to par but Elias just did not have the same feel for the feature as Infantino. He draws Adam without his helmet which just looks strange, no pun intended. Adam Strange at this time was sharing the book with the Space Ranger and an interesting concept tried out a couple of times was a team up of sorts as Adam would deal with a menace in the present and the Space Ranger would deal with it in the future with the help of Adam's descendant, Alan.The book closes with two original stories from the 1970s (one in prose) in Strange Adventures. The new covers for reprinted stories are also featured.This collection is highly recommended even if one already has the three archives. The collection contains everything in the archives but at a slightly larger size. In addition the reader will get the Wood/Elias Adam Strange and the "Adam" Strange Adventures stories and covers. The new material is not up to the classic Fox/Infantino/Anderson work but not without interest.The big downside to this collection is the aforementioned scaling back of the contents after solicitation. Many buyers felt robbed and I can sympathize. I have a quibble about not reprinting the covers of the issues where Adam Strange wasn't the cover feature but that is a minor nit.

I had never read an Adam Strange story before seeing this volume. I bought one issue for the Kindle just to sample it and absolutely loved it, so I ordered the whole omnibus. (Pretty risky, I know.)This hardcover collects every appearance of Adam Strange in the Silver Age from his debut in Showcase to his regular appearances in Mystery in Space to Strange Adventures and even includes an issue of Hawkman drawn by Joe Kubert. The artwork is gorgeous with most of the stories drawn by Carmine Infantino and inked by Murphy Anderson with a few covers by Gil Kane. I especially enjoyed the early stories drawn by Mike Sekowsky. The artwork is beautifully reproduced on a nice coated matte paper with bright colors.The stories were written by Gardner Fox and are your typical 1960s science fiction. They're fun if a little dated.The cover by Darwyn Cooke is what initially attracted me. It's very different from his usual style, but fits this collection perfectly and reflects the sense of fun and adventure to be found inside.If you are a fan of classic comics, I think you'll love this. It's a whole lot of fun.

The new July 2017 edition of The Silver Age Adam Strange Omnibus is well worth the money for anyone who is or was a fan of the series. The Omnibus starts out with the introduction of Adam Strange in issues 17 through 19 of “Showcase Comics”. It goes on to cover Mystery in Space 53 to 100 and 102 and Hawkman 18. The covers for Strange Adventures 157, 217, 218, 220, 221, 222, 224, 226, 235, 241, 242, and 243 are included in the back on the book. They have included small biographies in the back for all the people who have had and influence on Adam Strange during the Silver Age. They also added a never before published story.The stories are reproduced on a high quality shiny paper, you can see the glare in my photos.The book’s binding looks good, it’s not as well made as some of the Marvel Omnibus books I have, but it should hold up well.

It seems ....ahem, excuse the pun...strange that DC would choose to reprint Adam Strange stories in an omnibus. Even after being reinvented several times, Adam Strange is a second or third-rate character with limited popularity compared to the other heroes in the DC world. One reason could be that the stories were previously remastered in the now-defunct DC Archives series and were easy to reassemble with minimal effort.In any case, it's nice to have them all in one oversized omnibus. The recoloring uses a wider palette of colors and a better quality of paper than when the stories were first published. The volume weighs in at just under 900 pages....not too big to handle easily if you are careful. We also get the new covers done for the later reprint issues of Strange Adventures and bios of the creators. When you look back at who helped draw the covers and issues - Neal Adams, Gil Kane, Carmine Infantino, and a whole crew of others - it's easy to see why these stories are fan favorites.

I first came across Adam Strange through some old reprints in the 1970s, so this magnificent book is like a visit from an old friend. The artwork is universally good throughout and the stories are some of Gardner Foxes' very best. Character development is virtually nonexistent but the plots are fast moving and endlessly inventive. This omnibus is a lot of fun for fans of the silver age. I recommend it highly.

This item was a Christmas gift to my grandson. I was very pleased that it shipped in a timely manner, was well packaged, and in excellent condition on arrival.

Adam Strange is an awesome character and this omnibus collects all of his silver age stories. Admittedly, it takes a few stories to reach it's peak, but by the time Infantino and Anderson are the regular artists, the series is amazing. It's my favorite space opera comic by far!

This seems like an expensive purchase, but it isn't. It's definitely good value. Superb full color 800+ pages, collating all the Adam Strange stories from the Silver Age. I have quite a lot of these comics, but it's great to have this omnibus to treasure.

Per chi ama le atmosfere silver Age della DC comics è un omnibus sicuramente interessante

All I expected it to be.

Une partie ayant été publiée, en français, pour la première fois,aux éditions Artima, en noir et blanc, dans les BD Sidéral et Aventures-fiction.Le recueil The Silver Age Omnibus est d'une qualité exceptionnelle. À découvrir.

The artwork and stories are timeless. I love the DC omnibus editions (though I have to say the binding is occasionally suspect) but they are just great stories. I read many of them in the original as well as showcase but the omnibus books are a sheer pleasure to read and re-read