Back when I was a kid, one of the comic books I read occasionally was a DC science-fiction title called MYSTERY IN SPACE, which featured the adventures of Adam Strange, an archeologist from Earth who was transported by the mysterious Zeta beam to the far-off planet Rann. Naturally, just like you and I would do if we were to find ourselves sent halfway across the galaxy to another planet, Adam donned a jet pack, picked up a ray-gun, romanced a hot babe who happened to be the daughter of Rann's resident mad scientist, and eventually became the protector of the entire planet. I enjoyed the Adam Strange series. The art was excellent, and while I don't remember much about the stories, I'm sure they were okay.
Last year, DC resurrected the character for a mini-series that's been reprinted recently in trade paperback. The concept is a good one: the Zeta beam periodically transports Adam Strange back to Earth, and during one of these normally brief returns to his home planet, Adam gets stuck here when the Zeta beam never reappears. Having left a wife and daughter behind on Rann, this naturally upsets Adam, whose spirits deteriorate until he becomes sort of a bum. Then Superman arrives to give him the bad news that Rann and the rest of its solar system has been destroyed when its sun went nova. But if this is true, why are two alien bounty hunters suddenly after Adam, dropping hints along the way that maybe Rann wasn't really destroyed.
This is the beginning of a planet-hopping plot that finds Adam battling his way across the galaxy to find out the truth about what happened to Rann, which also happens to tie into a little thing called the fate of the entire universe. The script by Andy Diggle is top-notch, and the art by Pascal Ferry, while a little modern for my tastes, is also pretty good most of the time. If you like galaxy-spanning, world-wrecking space opera -- and I certainly do -- this is wonderful stuff. Highly recommended.
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