The Great Comic Book Heroes
ushers in 2015 with Tom Strong's Timekeeper and the
Tower at Time's End!
The Timekeeper and the Tower at Time's End was presented in Tom Strong #13, July, 2001 and was created by Alan Moore, Chris Sprouce, Russ Heath, Kyle Baker and Pete Poplaski. |
The Timekeeper
and the Tower at Time’s End is a
wonderful love letter from Alan Moore and friends to the Golden Age
Captain Marvel, the wizard Shazam
and the Rock of Eternity.
Regular Tom Strong artist and co-creator, Chris Sprouce handles the prologue with the Timekeeper in his Tower at Time's End. |
With the Timekeeper, Moore spins a whimsical tale of the how the Clan Saveen (Tom Strong's arch enemy, Paul Saveen taken from different points in time) try to take control of the Tower at Time's End in order to rule all of eternity.
The Timekeeper sends out the three pieces of the Capstone into history for Tom Strong and friends to find.
The first is found by the adult Tom Strong and his daughter Tesla Strong.
Meanwhile, in chapter two young Tom Strong on his home island of Attabar Teru confronts a little Saveen.
Here adult Tom, Tesla and young Tom get acquainted with each other. Adult Tom's boyhood memories are coming back to him as the situation unfolds. |
Pete Poplaski, who drew and edited books for Kitchen Sink in the 70's, did an amazing job on the final climatic chapter where the Strong Family confronts the Clan Saveen |
Young Tom and Tesla find the Timekeeper and free him from his bonds.
Alan tosses in cryptic dialog of the Timekeeper hinting at, but never fully explaining, the greater understanding that he has of the scenario. |
Artist Pete Poplaski shows off his expressive abilities when he draws the old man Saveen in distress. |
The threat is over and the Saveens get sent back home to their respective places in time while the Family Strong digest their experiences at the Tower and get more cryptic words from the Timekeeper.
And that is the end of our tantalizing, time-twisted tale of two Toms. From the very beginning of Alan's career he has beguiled us with brain-twisting stories about time and the paradoxes of it's nature. With the Tower at Time's End we get another fascinating glimpse into the nature of time with the Timekeeper who appears to know all about what is happening, what has happened and what will happen and yet is subject to reliving it endlessly for eternity.
Alan also tantalizes us with hints about the identity of the Timekeeper without spelling it out for us. Judging by the facial features of the Timekeeper and the fact that he wears a red triangle on his robe, Alan indicates that he is probably a very ancient version of Tom Strong himself as fate has seemed to have placed him here to live eternally at the end of time. Though, if this is Tom all alone in the Tower, then one wonders what fate has befallen Tesla, Dalua and friends.
Tom Strong was a great series and issue #13 was a high point for me. It's been said that Moore steals from others to create his best work and in this issue he steals from Captain Marvel, the big red cheese, and the whole Shazam mythos, but I think homage is a better word because Moore doesn't try to hide his inspiration but rather indulges in it by making the cover itself a recreation of Marvel Family #1 (Dec 1945) as artist Chris Sprouce indicates by his initials with the words after (C. C.) Beck sorta (detail right).
This issue is Alan Moore's love letter to the Golden Age Captain Marvel, totally honoring it with all of it's characters and yet developing them into the own original creation.
Thanks Alan, wherever you are.
Thanks Alan, wherever you are.
Tom Strong was such a great title! I really miss that time when Moore was writing America's Best Comics: Tom Strong, Promethea and Top Ten.
ReplyDeleteFun comics but hardly "much more intriguing" than the real thing. Standing on the shoulders of giants elevates Moore. I'd much rather see Alan Moore (or someone else qualified) revive Captain Marvel in the spirt of the original instead of what we always seem to get: awful sadistic "modernizing" replete with repulsive violence and an adolescent's idea of what "mature" sexual content means. I think Moore is one of very few who could do it well.
ReplyDeleteThe Tower at Time's End is perhaps the funniest comic I've ever read.
ReplyDeleteTotally brilliant down to the smallest detail!
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