Tom Strong is an American comic book series created by writer Alan Moore and artist Chris Sprouse, initially published bi-monthly by America's Best Comics, an imprint of DC Comics' WildStorm division. Tom Strong, the title character, is a "science hero", with a wife, Dhalua, and a daughter, Tesla, both with enhanced physical and mental abilities and longevity. He lives in a building called The Stronghold in Millennium City. He is also helped by Pneuman, a steam-powered robot, and King Solomon, a gorilla with human characteristics. His greatest foe is tuxedo-clad "science villain" Paul Saveen. The series explores many different timelines and universes, which are a nod to different comic genres. The primary characters are tributes to and spoofs of early pulp heroes.
Spin-offs include Tom Strong's Terrific Tales, Terra Obscura, and the one-shot The Many Worlds of Tesla Strong. A limited series titled Tom Strong and the Planet of Peril was published in 2013 by Vertigo.
Tom Strong appears in The Terrifics, a DC Comics series about a group of the same name formed by Mr. Terrific, Metamorpho, Plastic Man and Phantom Girl.
Fictional character biography Tom is reared in a high-gravity chamber and given an intensive education by his eccentric scientist parents on the fictional West Indian island of Attabar Teru. His upbringing, plus ingesting a root used by the natives of the island for health and long life, makes him nearly physically and mentally perfect. Though born at the dawn of the 20th century, by the year 2000 he looks as if he is only in his 40s.
Tom Strong frequently has adventures alongside his younger self. There is also a parallel cartoon universe where a talking bunny is a version of Tom Strong, as well as a Western universe, and even "Tom Teen", where characters are similar to those from Archie Comics.
Powers and abilities Tom Strong has super-strength and is an inventive genius. Strong maintains his physical health and longevity through the regular consumption of a mysterious herb called Goloka Root. He is an explorer with vast personal wealth and has contributed greatly to the technology available in Millennium City.
Publication history Issues #1–7 The following issues are collected in Tom Strong Book One: NoTitlePublication dateCreators1How Tom Strong Got Started 7 April 1999w: Alan Moore p: Chris Sprouse i: Alan Gordon c: Tad EhrlichTimmy Turbo receives his Strongmen of America membership, which also includes the story of How Tom Strong Got Started. As he reads of Tom Strong's origins and upbringing on Attabar Teru, Tom Strong defeats Blimp Bandit in the very cable car in which Timmy is riding, but Timmy is too engrossed in his reading to notice.2Return of the Modular Man12 May 1999w: Alan Moore p: Chris Sprouse i: Alan Gordon c: Tad EhrlichThe Modular Man, the unique mechanical-molecular megalomaniac Tom first destroyed in 1987, returns to Millennium City after two nerds download Modular Man's plans from the internet and accidentally reactivate him. Tom must find a way to stop the Modular Man before he envelops the whole city.3Aztech Nights8 July 1999w: Alan Moore p: Chris Sprouse i: Alan Gordon c: Tad EhrlichWhen a mysterious Aztec building materialises in Millennium Park, Tom discovers that it belongs to a brutal futuristic race from an alternate Earth. These Aztecs worship a sentient computer program that models itself after Quetzalcoatl.4Swastika Girls! 1 September 1999w: Alan Moore p: Chris Sprouse, Arthur Adams (untold tale) i: Alan Gordon c: Tad EhrlichIngrid Weiss and her Nazi cohorts attack Tom Strong's home, The Stronghold, in Millennium City. When Tom attempts to defend his home and family, he finds himself drawn into a sinister plot. Untold Tale of Tom Strong shows Weiss and Strong first meeting in Berlin in 1945. This is the first sequence of a four-part arc.5Memories of Pangaea, Escape from Eden! 13 October 1999w: Alan Moore p: Chris Sprouse, Jerry Ordway (untold tale) i: Alan Gordon c: Tad EhrlichHaving been sent backwards through time to a primordial Earth, Tom Strong must defend himself from its single inhabitant, which spans the Earth's entire solitary continent: The Pangean. Tom's first expedition to ancient Earth, with his wife, Dhalua, in the 1950s, appears in the flashback, drawn to resemble an EC Comics story.6Dead Man's Hand, The Big Heat?29 December 1999w: Alan Moore p: Chris Sprouse, Dave Gibbons (untold tale) i: Alan Gordon, Dave Gibbons c: Mike GarciaTrapped by villainous Paul Saveen, Tom must fight his way out of his captor's grasp; even if he succeeds, Ingrid Weiss has one last trump card to play: their son, Albrecht, who was conceived after she stole Tom's sperm while he was unconscious. Along the way the story shows first encounter between Tom and his arch-nemesis Saveen in the 1920s.7Sons and Heirs, Showdown in the Shimmering City1 March 2000w: Alan Moore p: Chris Sprouse, Gary Frank (untold tale) i: Alan Gordon, Cam Smith c: Mike GarciaHeld emotionally to ransom by Paul Saveen and Ingrid Weiss, Tom Strong must come to terms with his shocking piece of news. The story also shows futuristic Tom Strong in 2050 and is the conclusion of the four-part arc.
Issues #8–14 The following issues are collected in Tom Strong Book Two: NoTitlePublication dateCreators8Riders of the Lost Mesa; The Old Skool!; Sparks17 May 2000w: Alan Moore p: Chris Sprouse, Alan Weiss i: Alan Gordon, Alan Weiss c: Wildstorm FX, Mike GarciaRiders of the Lost Mesa – A prospecting town in Arizona that disappeared on New Year's Eve of 1849 suddenly reappears again 150 years later. Tom Strong and King Solomon investigate.
The Old Skool! – During a school trip, Timmy Turbo and other members of the Strongmen of America find themselves sucked into a warp dimension where harsh teaching methods are enforced by massive robots.
Sparks – Tesla Strong investigates sudden unexpected volcano activity in San Mageo amid native talk of "fire-devils" and "salamanders", and finds a little more than she bargained for. First appearance of Val Var Garm.9Terror Temple of Tayasal; Volcano Dreams; Flip Attitude! 19 July 2000w: Alan Moore p: Chris Sprouse, Paul Chadwick i: Alan Gordon, Paul Chadwick c: Matt HollingsworthTerror Temple of Tayasal – En route to meeting with his wife and his father-in-law on Attabar Teru, Tom Strong stops off to investigate an intriguing archaeological find amongst the ruins of the Mayan city of Tayasal.
Volcano Dreams – Tom Strong arrives late on Attabar Teru to meet his wife, Dhalua, and father-in-law. Dhalua recounts the story of her "Vision Ordeal" (a rite of passage for Omotu women) on Attabar Teru.
Flip Attitude! – Tesla Strong meets Kid Tilt, daughter of science-villain King Tilt who Tom Strong captured and placed in jail, while Tom and Dhalua are away.10Tom Strong and his Phantom Autogyro; Funnyland!; Too Many Teslas? 20 September 2000w: Alan Moore p: Chris Sprouse, Gary Gianni i: Alan Gordon, Gary Gianni c: Matt HollingsworthTom Strong and his Phantom Autogyro – In 1925 Tom makes a journey into the land of the dead using the late Foster Parallax's final invention and learns a little about his parentage.
Funnyland! – Inspired by his visit to a parallel dimension in Aztech Nights, Tom builds and uses a "searchboard" capable of pan-dimension travel. His first stop takes him to the anthropomorphic animal world of Warren Strong.
Too Many Teslas? – Eager to try out her father's new invention, Tesla sneaks into her father's laboratory and activates the "searchboard", but it seems like all the Teslas in the different dimension have the same idea at once. This issue marks the first appearance of several alternate Earths later featured in The Many Worlds of Tesla Strong.11Strange Reunion20 December 2000w: Alan Moore p: Chris Sprouse i: Alan Gordon c: Matt Hollingsworth, David BaronTom gets a surprising visit from old acquaintance Tom "Doc" Strange, who arrives all the way from Terra Obscura, an alternate version of Earth on the other side of the Milky Way galaxy which Strong visited in 1969. This is the first appearance of Terra Obscura, which would later have its own spin-off series.12Terror on Terra Obscura! 18 April 2001w: Alan Moore p: Chris Sprouse i: Alan Gordon c: Matt HollingsworthPart two: Tom Strong and Doc Strange return to Terra Obscura together to battle the evil that threatens the planet, freeing many of the science-heroes that have been trapped for the past 30 years in the process.13The Tower at Time's End! 16 May 2001w: Alan Moore p: Chris Sprouse, Kyle Baker, Russ Heath, Pete Poplaski i: Alan Gordon c: Matt HollingsworthThe mysterious Time-Keeper at the End of Time itself is forced to split the ruby capstone of Eternity into three, and send it back through time to into the care of three different versions of Tom Strong, in the hope of saving it from the evil clutches of Paul Saveen and thus foiling his plans to dominate history.14Space Family Strong; The Land of Heart's Desire!; Baubles of the Brain Bazaar! 8 August 2001w: Alan Moore p: Chris Sprouse, Hilary Barta i: Alan Gordon, Hilary Barta c: Matt HollingsworthSpace Family Strong – Tom Strong's family go into space for their vacation of 1954, and everything goes wrong. This is a comedy episode, featuring a caricature of Tom Strong.
The Land of Heart's Desire – During the Strong family vacation of 1955, Tom and Dhalua are drawn to a mysterious and dangerous planet.
Baubles of the Brain Bazaar! – When the Strong family attempt to return home from their vacation they find themselves 40,000,000 years in the future alongside Johnny Future battling a heartless slaver of souls. This is the first appearance of Johnny Future, the predecessor of Jonni Future. This issue was most likely an inspiration for the spin-off series Tom Strong's Terrific Tales, featuring a comedic "untold tale", a story featuring Young Tom Strong and an adventure set in Jonni Future's universe.
Issues #15–19 The following issues are collected in Tom Strong Book Three: NoTitlePublication dateCreators15Ring Of Fire! 4 January 2002w: Alan Moore p: Chris Sprouse i: Karl Story c: Matt HollingsworthTesla Strong is kidnapped by the mysterious "fire devil" from Tom Strong #8 (story "Sparks") and it is up to her parents to rescue her.16Some Call Him The Space Cowboy27 February 2002w: Alan Moore p: Chris Sprouse i: Karl Story c: Alex SinclairPart One: While Tom Strong is struggling to come to terms with his daughter's new boyfriend, a mysterious three-eyed stranger arrives in Millennium City with a warning for Tom Strong17Ant Fugue! 3 July 2002w: Alan Moore p: Chris Sprouse i: Karl Story c: Alex SinclairPart Two: Tom Strong and the Weird Rider attempt to prepare a force to tackle the impending invasion of Earth.18The Last Roundup 30 October 2002w: Alan Moore p: Chris Sprouse i: Karl Story c: Dave StewartPart Three: Tom Strong and company defend Earth against the alien menace.19Electric Ladyland!; Bad To The Bone; The Hero-Hoard Of Horatio Hogg! 19 February 2003w: Alan Moore, Leah Moore p: Chris Sprouse, Howard Chaykin, Shawn McManusi: Karl Story, Howard Chaykin, Steve Mitchell c: Dave StewartElectric Ladyland! – Dhalua is kidnapped by a secret society of women.
Bad to the Bone – The details of Paul Saveen's death are revealed as he searches for the Temple of Everlasting Life.
The Hero-Hoard of Horatio Hogg! – Tom and Tesla are trapped inside a booby-trapped comic-book by crazed collector Horatio Hogg.
Issues #20–25 The following issues are collected in Tom Strong Book Four: