| Strange Adventures | |
|---|---|
 Strange Adventures #1 (September 1950), art by Howard Sherman. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | (vol. 1, 3 &JSA...) DC Comics (vol. 2 & 4) Vertigo (vol. 5) DC Black Label |
| Schedule | (vol. 1) Bimonthly (#1-2, #212-244 Monthly (#3-211) (vol. 2 &JSA...) Monthly |
| Format | (vol. 1) Ongoing series (vol. 2, 3,JSA..., and vol. 5) Limited series |
| Genre | Horror Science fiction |
| Publication date | List
|
| No. of issues | List
|
| Main character | Adam Strange |
| Creative team | |
| Written by | Neal Adams,Arnold Drake,Gardner Fox, Jack Miller |
| Artist(s) | Neal Adams,Steve Ditko,Carmine Infantino,Gil Kane,Bernard Krigstein,Mike Sekowsky, andAlex Toth |
Strange Adventures is a series ofAmerican comic books published byDC Comics, the first of which was August–September 1950, according to thecover date, and published continuously until November 1973.
Strange Adventures ran for 244 issues and was DC Comics' firstscience fiction title. It began with an adaptation of the filmDestination Moon.[1] The sales success of the gorilla cover-featured story inStrange Adventures #8 (May 1951) led DC to produce numerous comic book covers with depictions of gorillas.[2][3] The series was home to one of the last superheroes of the pre-Silver Age of Comic Books era,Captain Comet, created by writerJohn Broome and artistCarmine Infantino in issue #9.[4] A combination of the "Captain Comet" feature with the "gorilla craze" was presented in issue #39 (December 1953).[5] Other notable series includedStar Hawkins which began in issue #114 (March 1960)[6] and theAtomic Knights which debuted in issue #117 (June 1960).[7]
In "The Strange Adventure That Really Happened" in issue #140 (May 1962),real life comics creators editorJulius Schwartz and artistSid Greene struggle to make writerGardner Fox recall a story he has written that holds the key to saving the Earth from alien invasion. In a rare acknowledgement of the rest of the DC universe inStrange Adventures, one panel mentions Gardner Fox having previously met theFlash in the iconic Silver Age story "Flash of Two Worlds".
Strange Adventures #180 (September 1965) introducedAnimal Man in a story by Dave Wood and Carmine Infantino.[8] The character was revived by writerGrant Morrison in 1988. WriterBob Haney and artistHoward Purcell created the supernatural character theEnchantress inStrange Adventures #187 (April 1966).[9] The Enchantress appears in the 2016 live-action filmSuicide Squad, portrayed byCara Delevingne.[10]
Initially a science fictionanthology title with some continuing features starring SF protagonists, the series became a supernatural-fantasy title beginning with issue #202, for which it received a new logo. Deadman's first appearance inStrange Adventures #205, written byArnold Drake and drawn by Carmine Infantino,[11] included the first known depiction of narcotics in a story approved by theComics Code Authority.[12] The "Deadman" feature served as an early showcase for the artwork ofNeal Adams.[11]
With issue #217, the title gained another new logo and began reprinting stories ofAdam Strange and the Atomic Knights, among other stories. SeveralStrange Adventure stories were also reprinted in some of DC Comics' later anthologies such asFrom Beyond the Unknown.
In 1978, DC Comics intended to reviveStrange Adventures. These plans were put on hold that year due to theDC Implosion, a line-wide scaling back of the company's publishing output. When the project was revived a year later, the title was changed toTime Warp and the series was in theDollar Comics format.[13][14]
Continuing features inStrange Adventures included:
The series was nominated and awarded several awards over the years, includingAlley Awards in 1963 for "General Fantasy", in 1965 for "Best Regularly Published Fantasy Comic", in 1966 for "Best Fantasy/SF/Supernatural Title", in 1967 for "Best Cover" (for issue #207 by Neal Adams), in 1967 for "Best Full-Length Story" ("Who's Been Lying in My Grave?" in issue #205 by Arnold Drake and Carmine Infantino), and the 1967 for "Best New Strip" ("Deadman" by Drake and Infantino).
In 1999, DC Comics'Vertigo imprint released a four-issuemini-series reviving theStrange Adventures title and concept.
It featured stories written byBrian Azzarello,Brian Bolland,Dave Gibbons,Bruce Jones,Joe R. Lansdale,John Ney Rieber,Robert Rodi,Doselle Young andMark Schultz. Artists includedEdvin Biuković,Richard Corben,Klaus Janson,Frank Quitely,James Romberger, andJohn Totleben. The miniseries is cover-dated November 1999 to February 2000.
In 2004,Strange Adventures was again revived, in modified format, as the six-issuelimited seriesJSA Strange Adventures, which presented a newGolden AgeJustice Society of America story incorporating fantasy-fiction themes. It was written byKevin J. Anderson, with art byBarry Kitson andGary Erskine. The miniseries is cover-dated October 2004 to March 2005, and was collected in trade paperback in 2010.[15]
Jim Starlin wrote an eight-issue limited series calledStrange Adventures which focused onAdam Strange,Bizarro andCaptain Comet, which started in May 2009. This series continued the "Aberrant Six" storyline, as well as plot developments from theRann/Thanagar Holy War andCountdown to Adventure.[16] This series was collected in trade paperback in 2010.[17]
An 80-pageStrange Adventures #1, an anthology one-shot, with short science fiction and fantasy stories was released with a July 2011cover date. Contributing writers and artists includePeter Milligan,Scott Snyder,Jeff Lemire, Brian Azzarello,Eduardo Risso,Paul Pope, andPaul Cornell.[18]
A newStrange Adventures series was written byTom King with Mitch Gerads and Doc Shaner. The series was released in March 2020,[19] under theDC Black Label imprint. The limited series ran for 12 issues, ending in October 2021.[20] For the 2022Hugo Awards, the series received an award in theBest Graphic Story category.[21]
In 2019,WarnerMedia andGreg Berlanti, the producer ofThe CW'sArrowverse, wanted to produce a "super hero anthology" series under the titleStrange Adventures for the streaming serviceHBO Max. The series had reportedly been in development previously for theDC Universe streaming service.[22] In August 2022,Kevin Smith, who was writing the script with Eric Carrasco, said that the series was cancelled.[23]
DC picked up on renewed public interest in science fiction by launching its first comic in the genre, the anthology series,Strange Adventures. The series kicked off its 244-issue run with an adaptation of the first color science fiction movie,Destination Moon (released that same month), written by Gardner Fox and drawn by Curt Swan.
{{cite book}}:|first2= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)The eighth issue ofStrange Adventures achieved some sort of classic status. The cover showed a gorilla in a zoo holding up a slate that read 'Please believe me! I am the victim of a terrible scientific experiment!' This 'Incredible Story of an Ape with a Human Brain' had strong sales, and [editor Julius] Schwartz recalls that 'Irwin Donenfeld called me in and said we should try it again. Finally all the editors wanted to use gorilla covers'.
One comic that I know preceded the 1971 amendment [to the Comics Code] wasStrange Adventures #205, the first appearance of Deadman!...a clear reference to narcotics, over THREE YEARS before Marvel Comics would have to go without the Comics Code to do an issue about drugs.