The TERRA OBSCURA volumes are among the more curious superhero narratives I’ve read in the last few months. They’re an extension of a two part Alan Moore story that I read in TOM STRONG BOOK 2 and I bought these books because they looked like fun, had a really cool name and had Moore’s imprint on them, although Peter Hogan performed the actual scripting duties. They were curious because I felt like I was reading Justice League or Justice Society stories and with certain modifications either volume probably could have fit neatly within the continuities of either of those two groups.
Like Kurt Busieck’s ASTRO CITY, the world of TERRA OBSCURA is purposely familiar to readers of superhero comics. But where the ASTRO CITY stories (particularly the more recent work) frequently approach the genre from an outsider's perspective -- i.e. non super-character -- Terra Obscura is insular; we are only introduced to the bare minimum of non-supertypes needed to carry out the story, although there so many costumed characters you’d hardly notice.
Stories that riff on superhero archetypes and conventions are so commonplace now, they’ve almost become their own subgenre. TERRA OBSCURA takes a similar approach to the one Moore used in SUPREME – the heroes here are analogs to the Golden Age JSA and the first volume in particular reads like an Earth Two Elseworlds offering. Despite the characters being a sort of mix-n-match JSA, the parallels are so apparent you can’t help but start transposing the originals over the top of their TO proxies. The Scarab is a reincarnated Egyptian priest – albeit with a power ring; The Liberator gains incredible strength and speed by drinking a chemical potion; Pyroman has control over electricity but has these familiar thunderbolts angling off the ears of his cowl; The Terror is a genius millionaire who strikes fear in the hearts of men, along with the help of his young ward, Tim (while many of the heroes have young sidekicks, none of these characters have superhero names - they’re simply Tim and Mike and Carol. A nice touch.);and Tom Strange is a Superman and Tom Strong analog at the same time. Although certainly more Superman than Tom Strong. (Update: Being the complete idiot that I am, I didn't realize that the Terra Obscura characters were actually resurrected from a long-past Golden Age publisher, Nedor Comics. Moore apparently co-opted them for his Tom Strong story. That doesn't change my opinion much since I still think Hogan was using them more as JSA/JLA analogs - but it does forgive the rather blatant Xeroxing.)
In their first Tom Strong appearance these heroes were freed by Strange and Strong after being frozen in time for more than 30 years. A fairly convenient device that allowed Moore to bring his JSA forward to the now without having to account for all that messy aging, continuity and crisis stuff. And Hogan’s first volume of TERRA OBSCURA paces us through familiar JSA (or JLA) storytelling. As Busieck does with Astro City’s character’s, Hogan allows our familiarity with the standard superhero tropes to stand in for backstory and focuses on the plot. The book is brisk and entertaining but fails to really break any new ground.
TERRA OBSCURA Volume Two is a different beast. Where the first volume stayed true to the best Gardner Fox traditions, Volume Two is darker, meaner and, through the eyes of Tom Strange and The Terror, more focused on the Superman/Batman relationship. I don’t know if this was an intentional mirroring of modern comic book storytelling and the directions these two icons have taken, but I thought this panel spoke volumes:
In the end I give Hogan a great deal of credit for successfully expanding on Moore’s initial Terra Obscura characters and plot threads and for managing to find a happy medium between blatant Xeroxed characters and loving homage. He leverages our built-in understanding of the superhero genre just enough to get us into the stories without rubbing our noses in the often obvious comparisons or thumbing his nose at the work of other creators. These books were interesting and fun, a perfect fit for an occasional limited series or better yet, trade paperback.
I don't know if this will change your perception of the books, but the characters aren't JSA analogues created by Moore, but actual Golden Age heroes, albeit quite obscure ones (with the possible exception of the Terror).
Posted by: Joel Hunt | September 28, 2005 at 10:47 AM
Thanks for the info!
Obviously, I didn't know that - which kind of suprises me. But now that I've done some Googling it appears The Black Terror and Tim were actual characters as well.
It doesn't really change my perceptions since idea that Hogan used established archetypes to serve as character foundation still holds. And it also shows just how little originality Nedor Comics had.
I do have to revise my post I suppose...
Posted by: Kurt | September 28, 2005 at 11:17 AM