''Strange Adventures'' is a series of American comic books published by

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with their f ...

, the first of which was August–September 1950, according to the

cover date The cover date of a periodical publication is the date displayed on the cover, which is not necessarily the true date of publication (the on-sale date or release date); later cover dates are common in magazine and comic book publishing. More unu ...

, and published continuously until November 1973.

Original series

''Strange Adventures'' ran for 244 issues and was DC Comics' first

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imagination, imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, Paral ...

title. It began with an adaptation of the film '' Destination Moon''. The sales success of the gorilla cover-featured story in ''Strange Adventures'' #8 (May 1951) led DC to produce numerous comic book covers with depictions of gorillas. The series was home to one of the last superheroes of the pre-

Silver Age of Comic Books The Silver Age of Comic Books was a period of artistic advancement and widespread commercial success in mainstream American comic books, predominantly those featuring the superhero archetype. Following the Golden Age of Comic Books and an int ...

era,

Captain Comet Captain Comet (Adam Blake) is a superhero appearing in American Comic Books published by DC Comics, created by editor Julius Schwartz, writer John Broome, and artist Carmine Infantino. Once a minor character in the DC Comics canon, he occupies an ...

, created by writer John Broome and artist

Carmine Infantino Carmine Michael Infantino (; May 24, 1925 – April 4, 2013) was an American comics artist and editor, primarily for DC Comics, during the late 1950s and early 1960s period known as the Silver Age of Comic Books. Among his character creations are ...

in issue #9. A combination of the "Captain Comet" feature with the "gorilla craze" was presented in issue #39 (December 1953). Other notable series included Star Hawkins which began in issue #114 (March 1960) and the

Atomic Knight Atomic Knight is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC comics, and was briefly a member of the Outsiders team. He is sometimes depicted as one of a group of Atomic Knights, which first appeared in ''Strange Adventures'' #11 ...

s which debuted in issue #117 (June 1960). In "The Strange Adventure That Really Happened" in issue #140 (May 1962), real life comics creators editor

Julius Schwartz Julius "Julie" Schwartz (; June 19, 1915 – February 8, 2004) was a comic book editor, and a science fiction agent and prominent fan. He was born in The Bronx, New York. He is best known as a longtime editor at DC Comics, where at various t ...

and artist

Sid Greene Sidney Greene (June 18, 1906 – October 1972)Sidney Greene
at the Gardner Fox Gardner Francis Cooper Fox (May 20, 1911 – December 24, 1986) was an American writer known best for creating numerous comic book characters for DC Comics. He is estimated to have written more than 4,000 comics stories, including 1,500 for ...

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 in ''Strange Adventures'', one panel mentions Gardner Fox having previously met the

Flash Flash, flashes, or FLASH may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional aliases * Flash (DC Comics character), several DC Comics superheroes with super speed: ** Flash (Barry Allen) ** Flash (Jay Garrick) ** Wally West, the first Kid F ...

in the iconic Silver Age story "

Flash of Two Worlds "Flash of Two Worlds!" is a landmark comic book story that was published in ''The Flash'' #123 (Sept. 1961). It introduces Earth-Two, and more generally the concept of the multiverse, to DC Comics. The story was written by Gardner Fox under the e ...

". ''Strange Adventures'' #180 (September 1965) introduced

Animal Man Animal Man (Bernhard "Buddy" Baker) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. As a result of being in proximity to an exploding extraterrestrial spaceship, Buddy Baker acquires the ability to temporarily "borrow" th ...

in a story by Dave Wood and Carmine Infantino. The character was revived by writer

Grant Morrison Grant Morrison, MBE (born 31 January 1960) is a Scottish comic book writer, screenwriter, and producer. Their work is known for its nonlinear narratives, humanist philosophy and countercultural leanings. Morrison has written extensively for the ...

in 1988. Writer

Bob Haney Robert Gilbert Haney, Jr. (March 15, 1926 – November 25, 2004) was an American comic book writer, best known for his work for DC Comics. He co-created the Teen Titans as well as characters such as Metamorpho, Eclipso, Cain, and the Super-Sons. ...

and artist Howard Purcell created the supernatural character the Enchantress in ''Strange Adventures'' #187 (April 1966). The Enchantress appears in the 2016 live-action movie ''

Suicide Squad The Suicide Squad is an antihero/supervillain team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The first version of the Suicide Squad debuted in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #25 (September 1959) and the second and modern version, cre ...

'', portrayed by Cara Delevingne. Initially a science fiction anthology 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 in ''Strange Adventures'' #205, written by Arnold Drake and drawn by

,McAvennie "1960s" in Dolan, p. 125: "In a story by scribe Arnold Drake and artist Carmine Infantino, circus aerialist Boston Brand learned there was much more to life after his death...Deadman's origin tale was the first narcotics-related story to require prior approval from the Comics Code Authority. In addition, Neal Adams, the artist who succeeded Infantino with the second issue, would soon become an industry legend". included the first known depiction of narcotics in a story approved by the

Comics Code Authority The Comics Code Authority (CCA) was formed in 1954 by the Comics Magazine Association of America as an alternative to government regulation. The CCA allowed the comic publishers to self-regulate the content of comic books in the United States. ...

. The "Deadman" feature served as an early showcase for the artwork of

Neal Adams Neal Adams (June 15, 1941 – April 28, 2022) was an American comic book artist. He was the co-founder of the graphic design studio Continuity Associates, and was a Creator ownership, creators-rights advocate who helped secure a pension and re ...

. With issue #217, the title gained another new logo and began reprinting stories of Adam Strange and the Atomic Knights, among other stories. Several ''Strange Adventure'' stories were also reprinted in some of DC Comics' later anthologies such as ''

From Beyond the Unknown ''From Beyond the Unknown'' was the title of an American science fiction comic book series published by DC Comics from 1969 to 1973. Publication history ''From Beyond the Unknown'' was published as a bi-monthly comics anthology series for 25 iss ...

''. In 1978, DC Comics intended to revive ''Strange Adventures''. These plans were put on hold that year due to the

DC Implosion The "DC Explosion" and "DC Implosion" were two events in 1978 – the first an official marketing campaign, the second a sardonic reference to it – in which DC Comics expanded their roster of publications, then abruptly cut it back. The DC Explos ...

, a line-wide scaling back of the company's publishing output. When the project was revived a year later, the title was changed to '' Time Warp'' and the series was in the Dollar Comics format.

Publication history

Continuing features in ''Strange Adventures'' included: *

Chris KL-99 Chris KL-99 is a 1950s science fiction comic book character whose adventures were published by National Comics, now known as DC Comics. He first appeared in '' Strange Adventures'' #1 (cover-dated August 1950), and was created by science fiction a ...

(issues #1–3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 15) * Darwin Jones (issues #1, 48, 58, 66, 70, 76, 77, 79, 84, 88, 93, 149, 160) *

(issues #9–44, 46, 49) (cover feature many times) * Space Museum (issues #104, 106, 109, 112, 115, 118, 121, 124, 127, 130, 133, 136, 139, 142, 145, 148, 151, 154, 157, 161) * Star Hawkins (issues #114, 119, 122, 125, 128, 131, 134, 137, 140, 143, 146, 149, 152, 155, 158, 162, 173, 176, 179, 182, 185) *

s (issues #117, 120, 123, 126, 129, 132, 135, 138, 141, 144, 147, 150, 153, 156, 160, with reprints in 217–231) * Faceless Creature from Saturn (issues #124, 142, 153) * Star Rovers (from '' Mystery in Space'', #issues 159, 163) *

(issues #180, 184, 190, 195, 201) * Immortal Man (issues #177, 185, 190, 198) * Enchantress (issues #187, 191, 200) * Deadman (issues #205 to 216) * Adam Strange (reprints in #217 to 244; new stories in #222, 226 and 227 text stories with illustrations)

Awards

The series was nominated and awarded several awards over the years, including Alley 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

), in 1967 for "Best Full-Length Story" ("Who's Been Lying in My Grave?" in issue #205 by Arnold Drake and

), and the 1967 for "Best New Strip" ("Deadman" by Drake and Infantino).

Revivals

Vertigo miniseries

In 1999, DC Comics'

Vertigo Vertigo is a condition where a person has the sensation of movement or of surrounding objects moving when they are not. Often it feels like a spinning or swaying movement. This may be associated with nausea, vomiting, sweating, or difficulties ...

imprint released a four-issue

mini-series A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format ...

reviving the ''Strange Adventures'' title and concept. It featured stories written by

Brian Azzarello Brian Azzarello (born August 11, 1962 in Cleveland, Ohio) is an American comic book writer and screenwriter who first came to prominence with the hardboiled crime series ''100 Bullets'', published by DC Comics' mature-audience imprint Vertigo. Az ...

Brian Bolland Brian Bolland (; born 26 March 1951)Salisbury, Mark, ''Artists on Comic Art'' ( Titan Books, 2000) , p. 11 is a British comics artist. Best known in the United Kingdom as one of the definitive Judge Dredd artists for British comics anthology ' ...

Dave Gibbons David Chester Gibbons (born 14 April 1949) is an English comics artist, writer and sometimes letterer. He is best known for his collaborations with writer Alan Moore, which include the miniseries '' Watchmen'' and the Superman story " For th ...

Bruce Jones Bruce Jones may refer to: * Bruce Jones (actor) (born 1953), British actor *Bruce Jones (American football) (1904–1974), American football player *Bruce Jones (comics) (born 1944), American comic book writer *Bruce Jones (surfboards) (?–2014), ...

Joe R. Lansdale Joe Richard Lansdale (born October 28, 1951) is an American writer and martial arts instructor. A prose writer in a variety of genres - Western, horror, science fiction, mystery, and suspense - he's also written comic books and screenplays. Se ...

, John Ney Rieber, Robert Rodi,

Doselle Young Doselle Young is an American science fiction author, graphic novelist and contributor to both prose and comics anthologies. Biography Doselle Young is a Los Angeles-based author, story consultant and graphic novelist. He has written stories for ...

and Mark Schultz. Artists included Edvin Biuković,

Richard Corben Richard Corben (October 1, 1940December 2, 2020) was an American illustrator and comic book artist best known for his comics featured in '' Heavy Metal'' magazine, especially the '' Den'' series which was featured in the magazine's first film a ...

Klaus Janson Klaus Janson (born January 23, 1952) is a German-born American comics artist, working regularly for Marvel Comics and DC Comics and sporadically for independent companies. While he is best known as an inker, Janson has frequently worked as a pe ...

Frank Quitely Vincent Patrick Deighan (born 1968), better known by the pen name Frank Quitely, is a Scottish comic book artist. He is best known for his frequent collaborations with Grant Morrison on titles such as '' New X-Men'', ''We3'', '' All-Star Supe ...

, James Romberger, and John Totleben. The miniseries is cover-dated November 1999 to February 2000.

''JSA Strange Adventures''

In 2004, ''Strange Adventures'' was again revived, in modified format, as the six-issue

limited series Limited series may refer to: *Limited series, individual storylines within an anthology series *Limited series, a particular run of collectables, usually individually numbered * Limited series (comics), a comics series with a predetermined number ...

''JSA Strange Adventures'', which presented a new

Golden Age The term Golden Age comes from Greek mythology, particularly the '' Works and Days'' of Hesiod, and is part of the description of temporal decline of the state of peoples through five Ages, Gold being the first and the one during which the Go ...

Justice Society of America The Justice Society of America (JSA, or Justice Society (JS)) is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team was conceived by editor Sheldon Mayer and writer Gardner Fox during the Golden Age of Comic Boo ...

story incorporating fantasy-fiction themes. It was written by Kevin J. Anderson, with art by

Barry Kitson Barry Kitson is a British comic book artist. Biography Kitson's first professional work was ''Spider-Man'' for Marvel UK. He also drew many stories for '' 2000 AD'', beginning with a "Future Shocks" tale written by Peter Milligan as well as ot ...

and

Gary Erskine Gary Erskine is a Scottish comic book artist. Career Born in Paisley, Renfrewshire, Paisley near Glasgow in 1968, Erskine grew up in Rutherglen and attended Burnside Primary and Stonelaw High School. Fellow comic artist Frank Quitely (Vincent ...

. The miniseries is cover-dated October 2004 to March 2005, and was collected in trade paperback in 2010.

''Strange Adventures'' (2009)

Jim Starlin James P. Starlin (born October 9, 1949) is an American comics artist and writer. Beginning his career in the early 1970s, he is best known for space opera stories, for revamping the Marvel Comics characters Captain Marvel and Adam Warlock, a ...

wrote an eight-issue limited series called ''Strange Adventures'' which focused on Adam Strange,

Bizarro Bizarro () is a supervillain/anti-hero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Otto Binder and artist George Papp as a "mirror image" of Superman, and first appeared in '' Superboy'' #68 ( ...

and

, which started in May 2009. This series continued the "Aberrant Six" storyline, as well as plot developments from the '' Rann/Thanagar Holy War'' and ''

Countdown to Adventure ''Countdown'', also known as ''Countdown to Final Crisis'' for its last 24 issues based on the cover, was a comic book limited series published by DC Comics. It debuted on May 9, 2007, directly following the conclusion of the last issue of '' 52' ...

''. This series was collected in trade paperback in 2010.

''Strange Adventures'' (2011 Vertigo one-shot)

An 80-page ''Strange Adventures'' #1, an anthology one-shot, with short science fiction and fantasy stories was released with a July 2011

. Contributing writers and artists include

Peter Milligan Peter Milligan (born 24 June 1961) is a British comic book writer who has written extensively for both British and American comic book industries. In the UK, Milligan has contributed to numerous anthology titles including '' 2000 AD'', '' Revo ...

, Scott Snyder,

Jeff Lemire Jeff Lemire (; born March 21, 1976) is a Canadian comic book writer, artist, and television producer. He is the author of critically acclaimed titles including the '' Essex County Trilogy'', '' Sweet Tooth'', and ''The Nobody''. His written work i ...

, Eduardo Risso,

Paul Pope Paul Pope (born September 25, 1970, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American alternative cartoonist. Pope's work combines the precision and romance of European comics artists with the energy and page design of the manga tradition. Pope's ...

, and

Paul Cornell Paul Douglas Cornell (born 18 July 1967) is a British writer best known for his work in television drama as well as '' Doctor Who'' fiction, and as the creator of one of the Doctor's spin-off companions, Bernice Summerfield. As well as ''Doct ...

''Strange Adventures'' (2020 DC Black Label series)

A new ''Strange Adventures'' series was written by Tom King with Mitch Gerads and Doc Shaner. The series was released in March 2020, under the DC Black Label imprint. The limited series ran for 12 issues, ending in October 2021. For the 2022

Hugo Awards The Hugo Award is an annual literary award for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year, given at the World Science Fiction Convention and chosen by its members. The Hugo is widely considered the premier ...

, the series received a Best Graphic Story of 2021 nomination.

Collected editions

* '' Captain Comet Archives'' Vol. 1 collects

stories from ''Strange Adventures'' #9–44, 46, and 49, 400 pages, August 2013, * '' Showcase Presents: Strange Adventures'' Vol. 1 collects ''Strange Adventures'' #54–73, 512 pages, December 2008, * '' Showcase Presents: Strange Adventures'' Vol. 2 collects ''Strange Adventures'' #74–93, 520 pages, November 2013, *''The Steve Ditko Omnibus'' Volume 1 includes ''Strange Adventures'' #188: "Don't Bring That Monster to Life" by

Otto Binder Otto Oscar Binder (; August 26, 1911 – October 13, 1974) was an American author of science fiction and non-fiction books and stories, and comic books. He is best known as the co-creator of Supergirl and for his many scripts for '' Captain M ...

and

Steve Ditko Stephen John Ditko Page contains two reproductions from school yearbooks. A 1943 Garfield Junior High School yearbook excerpt lists "Stephen Ditko". A 1945 Johnstown High School yearbook excerpt lists "Stephen J. Ditko" under extracurricular act ...

and ''Strange Adventures'' #189: "The Way-Out Worlds of Bertram Tilley" by Dave Wood and Ditko, 480 pages, September 2011, * ''DC Goes Ape'' collects ''Strange Adventures'' #201, 168 pages, October 2008, * ''Deadman'' ** ''The Deadman Collection'' hardcover collects ''Strange Adventures'' #205–216, 356 pages, December 2001, ** ''Deadman'' Vol. 1 trade paperback collects ''Strange Adventures'' #205–213, 176 pages, July 2011, ** ''Deadman'' Vol. 2 trade paperback collects ''Strange Adventures'' #214–216, 160 pages, February 2012, * ''JSA: Strange Adventures'' collects ''JSA: Strange Adventures'' #1–6, 200 pages, February 2010, * ''Strange Adventures'' collects ''Strange Adventures'' volume 3 #1–8, 256 pages, April 2010, * ''Adam Strange: The Silver Age Omnibus'' collects (in addition to ''Showcase'' #17–19 and ''Mystery in Space'' #53–100, 102) ''Strange Adventures'' #157, 217, 218, 220, 221, 222, 224, 226, 235, and 241–243, 848 pages, July 2017,

In other media

In October 2019,

WarnerMedia Warner Media, LLC ( traded as WarnerMedia) was an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate. It was headquartered at the 30 Hudson Yards complex in New York City, United States. It was originally established in 1972 by ...

announced that

Greg Berlanti Gregory Berlanti (born May 24, 1972) is an American screenwriter, producer and director of film and television. He is known for his work on the television series ''Dawson's Creek'', '' Brothers & Sisters'', '' Everwood'', '' Political Animals'', ...

, the producer of

The CW ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...

Arrowverse The Arrowverse is an American superhero media franchise and a shared universe that is centered on various interconnected television series based on DC Comics superhero characters, primarily airing on The CW as well as web series on CW Seed ...

, would be producing a new "super hero anthology" under the title ''Strange Adventures'' for the streaming service

HBO Max HBO Max is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in the United States on May 27, 2020, the service is built around the libraries of HBO, Warner Bros., Cartoon Netwo ...

. The series had reportedly been in development previously for the

DC Universe The DC Universe (DCU) is the fictional shared universe where most stories in American comic book titles published by DC Comics take place. Superheroes such as Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Robin, Martian Manhunter, The Flash, Green Lante ...

streaming service. In August 2022,

Kevin Smith Kevin Patrick Smith (born August 2, 1970) is an American filmmaker, actor, comedian, comic book writer, author, YouTuber, and podcaster. He came to prominence with the low-budget comedy buddy film '' Clerks'' (1994), which he wrote, directed, ...

, who was writing the script with Eric Carrasco, stated that the series had been cancelled.

References

External links

* * *
''Strange Adventures''
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