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Terra Obscura #1-2
Terra Obscura 1-2: S.M.A.S.H. of Two Worlds
On a planet known as Terra Obscura, Tom Strong's heroic allies battle the forces of S.M.A.S.H. But after being out of action for decades and in suspended animation, can these heroes adjust to a strange world and its modern technology? This is a new collection from legendary writer Alan Moore (WATCHMEN, V FOR VENDETTA) that ties into his popular series Tom Strong.
Collections TERRA OBSCURA Vol. 1 #1-6 and Vol. 2 #1-6.
Collections TERRA OBSCURA Vol. 1 #1-6 and Vol. 2 #1-6.
336 pages, Paperback
First published January 14, 2014
About the author
Alan Moore
1,597 books20.6k followersAlan Moore is an English writer most famous for his influential work in comics, including the acclaimed graphic novels Watchmen, V for Vendetta and From Hell. He has also written a novel, Voice of the Fire, and performs "workings" (one-off performance art/spoken word pieces) with The Moon and Serpent Grand Egyptian Theatre of Marvels, some of which have been released on CD.
As a comics writer, Moore is notable for being one of the first writers to apply literary and formalist sensibilities to the mainstream of the medium. As well as including challenging subject matter and adult themes, he brings a wide range of influences to his work, from the literary–authors such as William S. Burroughs, Thomas Pynchon, Robert Anton Wilson and Iain Sinclair; New Wave science fiction writers such as Michael Moorcock; horror writers such as Clive Barker; to the cinematic–filmmakers such as Nicolas Roeg. Influences within comics include Will Eisner, Harvey Kurtzman, Jack Kirby and Bryan Talbot.
As a comics writer, Moore is notable for being one of the first writers to apply literary and formalist sensibilities to the mainstream of the medium. As well as including challenging subject matter and adult themes, he brings a wide range of influences to his work, from the literary–authors such as William S. Burroughs, Thomas Pynchon, Robert Anton Wilson and Iain Sinclair; New Wave science fiction writers such as Michael Moorcock; horror writers such as Clive Barker; to the cinematic–filmmakers such as Nicolas Roeg. Influences within comics include Will Eisner, Harvey Kurtzman, Jack Kirby and Bryan Talbot.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
August 22, 2014
At first this seems a little off-kilter. The brain recognizes an Alan Moore story, but is confused by the lack of Alan Moore dialogue. Then everything clicks and you're off on a wild, wonderful ride through the world of Terra Obscura. This is, technically, a Tom Strong spinoff, but prior knowledge is not necessary for enjoying these stories. The heroes of TO are both strange and familiar. There are some loving homages that aren't simply rip-offs. There are some elegant concepts that pay off nicely. Don't let the presence of a co-writer put you off. This is some excellent work. Recommended.
September 8, 2019
A part of me really loved this. Yannick Paquette's stellar artwork paired with solid dialogue from Peter Hogan made this a breeze to read, and breathed a lot of life into this world that had only briefly appeared in the pages of Tom Strong. There's a lot of great things going on in these stories.
However, overall, they just don't quite pan out, plotwise. The first story is presented as a mystery, as rolling blackouts and weird monsters start appearing in the Mojave, beginning to threaten the US and potentially the world. It's unclear why these things are happening, and the suspense builds perfectly for the first 4 issues or so. Throughout this, Hogan manages to play around with superheroes we've basically never met before, gradually introducing new characters, and giving them lives and personalities that really make you care about them. But then, the big reveal comes, and the air goes right out of the story.
It's not so much that the reveal is bad or unearned or anything. It's that, since this is a world we're still being introduced to, it just leaves no impact when the big twist is a reveal that the villain is another person we've never seen before. Once that happened and everything turned into fighting, I just didn't really care anymore. So, the first story went out with a whimper for me.
But then, the second story picks up, and we're back to character development. Hogan once again gives all of these characters great personalities that I wanted to spend more time with. But then, again, when the plot really starts to take over the narrative, I lost interest again. The story in the second half doesn't even really make sense or receive much of an explanation, so it just feels like it kind of fizzles out.
Liking this as much as I did in parts kind of makes me sad for the way Terra Obscura was constructed. If the series had been given a longer run and more room to breathe, I think Hogan would've found his way to some really standout, memorable characters. But since this was only given two 6-issue miniseries, it didn't have the room it needed to breathe.
On the whole, though, I would still recommend reading this if you're at all a fan of Tom Strong or the greater ABC Comics world. It's still entertaining, it just never quite reaches the heights it could have.
However, overall, they just don't quite pan out, plotwise. The first story is presented as a mystery, as rolling blackouts and weird monsters start appearing in the Mojave, beginning to threaten the US and potentially the world. It's unclear why these things are happening, and the suspense builds perfectly for the first 4 issues or so. Throughout this, Hogan manages to play around with superheroes we've basically never met before, gradually introducing new characters, and giving them lives and personalities that really make you care about them. But then, the big reveal comes, and the air goes right out of the story.
It's not so much that the reveal is bad or unearned or anything. It's that, since this is a world we're still being introduced to, it just leaves no impact when the big twist is a reveal that the villain is another person we've never seen before. Once that happened and everything turned into fighting, I just didn't really care anymore. So, the first story went out with a whimper for me.
But then, the second story picks up, and we're back to character development. Hogan once again gives all of these characters great personalities that I wanted to spend more time with. But then, again, when the plot really starts to take over the narrative, I lost interest again. The story in the second half doesn't even really make sense or receive much of an explanation, so it just feels like it kind of fizzles out.
Liking this as much as I did in parts kind of makes me sad for the way Terra Obscura was constructed. If the series had been given a longer run and more room to breathe, I think Hogan would've found his way to some really standout, memorable characters. But since this was only given two 6-issue miniseries, it didn't have the room it needed to breathe.
On the whole, though, I would still recommend reading this if you're at all a fan of Tom Strong or the greater ABC Comics world. It's still entertaining, it just never quite reaches the heights it could have.
Want to read
August 9, 2019Like Tom Strong, another collaboration between Alan Moore and Steve Hogan, this looks like great fun, packed with ideas and creativity, along with a strong sense of adventure, exploration, and curiosity, fusing elements of history, science-fiction, and the supernatural, brought vividly to the page with great artwork.
February 5, 2020
Edición integral del spin-off de Tom Strong, protagonizado por Tom Strange y demás personajes en dominio público de Nedor Comics.
September 19, 2020
Historias de la otra Tierra, que no está en otro universo pero casi. Incluye reinterpretaciones de varios personajes en dominio público, como el mismísimo Tom Strange.
February 14, 2019
Spun from the pages of Moore's Tom Strong series. Terra Obscura is a world mostly mirroring our own on the other side of the Milky Way Galaxy, home to a few dozen powered people and future science!
I picked this up on sale as it has Moore's name on the cover, knowing nothing about Tom Strong. I did a quick wiki read on that series to catch up and hopped right into this one. Terra Obscura is Moore's usual excellent super hero satire that actually had me enjoying it as a super hero story in many moments. Hogan handled most of the dialogue, but worked with Moore to script.
It's a very novel twist on the superhero genre and turns many tropes on their heads, plus it's just plain fun. If you read Tom Strong, love Alan Moore, or off-kilter hero comics, I highly recommend seeking this short series out.
I picked this up on sale as it has Moore's name on the cover, knowing nothing about Tom Strong. I did a quick wiki read on that series to catch up and hopped right into this one. Terra Obscura is Moore's usual excellent super hero satire that actually had me enjoying it as a super hero story in many moments. Hogan handled most of the dialogue, but worked with Moore to script.
It's a very novel twist on the superhero genre and turns many tropes on their heads, plus it's just plain fun. If you read Tom Strong, love Alan Moore, or off-kilter hero comics, I highly recommend seeking this short series out.
April 1, 2018
The science-heroes of Terra Obscura face a mysterious power outage and some time-traveling anachronisms in these two pulpy stories about a dimension parallel to Tom Strong’s. Very enjoyable, with a wide cast of fun and engaging characters. Yanick Paquette turns in some very sturdy pencil work.
December 30, 2020
Everything seems wonderful on the surface; great premise, great talent, great obscure heroes and villains, everything needed for a great thrilling ride. And with Alan Moore as one of the creative forces you are in good hands. Terra Obscura is a copycat Earth light-years away and this feels like it was written by a copycat Alan Moore from Terra Obscura. Not a bad thing I suppose.
October 22, 2020
Recopila los doce issues de Terra Obscura que fueron recopilados en castellano en dos hardcovers (y en inglés creo que en softcover también).
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews