Tom King on blurring the line between myth and reality in Strange Adventures

Back in 2018 and 2019, Tom King and artist Mitch Gerads left their stamp on Jack Kirby's Mister Miracle with a critically acclaimed 12-issue miniseries. Now, King and Gerads have added artist Evan 'Doc' Shaner to the lineup of their new miniseries, Strange Adventures. Their latest collaboration puts Silver Age hero Adam Strange into the spotlight. However, this isn't just about Flash Gordon-like heroics illustrated by Shaner; Gerards' side of the story uncovers the darker side of Strange's history on Rann, and not everyone there thinks he's a hero.

One of the reasons King and his collaborators decided to examine the line between myth and reality. According to King, those themes were always a part of the project.

"Mitch and I were going back and forth over what kind of story we wanted to tell," recalled King. "It was at the height of the Mueller investigation was going on, and I said 'I want to write a story about people lying to you.' Because I feel like a lot of people in government are lying to us and I want to write about the differences between lies and truth, and the seeking of truth."

"When we were looking for how to tell the story, Mitch came up with Adam Strange. I immediately saw it in my head," added King. "There's two stories to be told here. There's that story of the super adventure of him living this life, and there's a story of what that life was really like. What the reality of that was, the distance between the myth of the hero who goes off and solves all of our problems and the reality of colonialism."

For more Strange Adventures details from King, check out the latest episode of SYFY WIRE's Behind the Panel!