The first issue of this miniseries left me with a smile on my face, and really, that's just about all I ask from the story of a pulp-inspired hero with a raygun and jetpack. The traditional take on Adam Strange is to treat him as an extension of the golden age of science-fiction and play everything with the same sort of gonzo, action-packed, maybe slightly tongue-in-cheek tone, but Diggle's story also plays into the gritty street noir of the pulps, and surprisingly, the mix works rather well. Diggle's story hints at a darker tone, one too dark for my tastes just like the Richard Bruning take on the character, but it becomes clear by the end of the story that this is a high adventure story that is perfect for the character. And the artwork, digitally painted by Dave McCaig over Pascal Ferry's pencils, is just gorgeous.
From the outset, Adam Strange looks like a "New Marvel" take on the character. He's not in costume, he's just a regular guy who has found himself arrested and charged with blowing up his apartment building. There's some question from the detectives, and maybe from the readers, as to whether or not he actually had these space adventures or whether he's a crazy man. However, Diggle quickly establishes that Strange is not crazy, but that he is in fact a superhero in a situation where superheroes are usually just deluded crazy people. I'm reminded pleasantly of Kyle Reese's encounter with the police in Terminator in the way that Strange lays out his backstory, and these scenes serve the same purpose, showing the reader why the cops might consider our protagonist crazy as well as providing necessary background information.
While Adam Strange's experiences are not at all like my life, or indeed most anyone's life, Diggle does a great job of making the character easy to relate to. His desire to spend time with his wife and child, and the frustration of being away from them for so long, resonates pretty well for this dad, and maps nicely onto the dilemma every dad faces of having to leave his family to go off and work so they can support them. This empathy also extends to Diggle's tale of what has happened to Rann, which really makes one feel for Adam Strange, as it looks like he has pretty much lost everything.
However, for all that this serious stuff, putting Adam into a difficult situation and seemingly destroying his life, the best moments of Adam Strange #1 for me came toward the end of the issue when the space-faring/superhero elements make their appearance. Diggle and Ferry do a terrific job of showing that Adam is a hero with or without his equipment because of his skills and his courage, and I got a huge kick out of the dogfight that takes place in the closing pages of the issue. Diggle is no slouch at writing action, as his work on The Losers attests, and Ferry delivers a fantastic sense of speed as well.
I've always liked the idea of Adam Strange, but haven't really read a lot of stories that I liked with him in it. Most of them aim either too goofy or too serious, missing the essential joy of the character or revelling in it to such an extent that it feels like there aren't any consequences or anything human to relate to. Diggle hits the blend nicely, and this is a very promising start to the story.
