As his 1980"s masterwork Watchmen proved so magnificently, Alan Moore"s greatest talent is taking a classic format and re-imagining it with a fresh perspective. After years of heated animosity with the comics industry while chucking out the odd masterpiece (From Hell), Moore returned to the mainstream with a vengeance with "America"s Best Comics", writing no less than five titles a month at the turn of the Millennium. Headlining ABC is Tom Strong, Moore"s supremely enjoyable take on the "Thrilling Tales" pulp comics of the 1930s and 40s. A square-jawed hero of the classic mould, Tom Strong is the peak of mental and physical perfection, raised on the mysterious island of Attabar Teru after his parents became shipwrecked there in 1899. A century later, he"s the saviour of Millennium City, still fighting fit thanks to the age-defying powers of the "Goloka Root" and aided by his wife, daughter, his steam-powered butler Pneuman and an intelligent (English) ape called King Solomon. In these first seven issues Moore provides a wonderfully rendered homage, with Tom constantly leaping into danger with a sense of selfless heroism that would make Superman envious. Whether it be alien threats, ancient curses, the fiendish plans of Tom"s nemesis Paul Saveen or struggles facing the lethal landscape of Prehistoric Earth, Moore weaves short, sharp and undeniably thrilling stories that are free of the tired grim"n"gritty cynicism so common in comics. With such high-calibre storytelling, and Chris Spruce"s engaging art, you cannot fail to enjoy such an honest, engaging re-telling of throwaway adventures as seen through Moore"s ever-incisive and beautifully observant gaze. --Danny Graydon