WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Strange Adventures #1 by Tom King, Mitch Gerads, Evan "Doc" Shaner and Clayton Cowles, on sale now.

From cover-to-cover, the opening issue of Tom King, Mitch Gerads and Evan "Doc" Shaner's Strange Adventures is a love letter to DC Comics' Silver Age, with a particular focus on the cosmic side of the DC Universe. From its main protagonist as space-faring superhero Adam Strange to flashback sequences illustrated by Shaner set on the faraway world of Rann in the finest pulp science fiction tradition, the creative team's love for the genre and publishing time period is on full, postmodern display. However, one of the issue's most overt nods to the pivotal era in DC's history comes in the form of a surprise cameo of sorts by one of its most influential comic book creators: Carmine Infantino.

A prolific artist and editor, Infantino is one of the most pivotal figures in the entire history of the American comic book industry; he should be as ubiquitous to the medium and superhero genre as Stan Lee and Jack Kirby -- indeed it was Infantino that played a vital role in Kirby leaving Marvel Comics to join DC where he created the Fourth World's New Gods.

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Adam Strange Silver Age

Infantino himself effectively helped launch the Silver Age of comics in 1956's Showcase #4, co-creating Barry Allen with writer Robert Kanigher by reimagining the Golden Age Flash for a new generation. Its success led to DC to revamp many of its extensive catalog of superheroes while leading to a more sci-fi emphasis for the publisher overall, including the eventual creation of Adam Strange in 1958's Showcase #17 by Julius Schwartz and Murphy Anderson, with Infantino later serving as the comic series' main artist.

Working together with Schwartz, Infantino and the creative team would pack Adam Strange stories with numerous real-world science influences and inspirations making them markedly different from contemporary science fiction stories. Infantino's cameo in the first issue of Strange Adventures is an attributed quote that receives its own dedicated panel at the end of the issue. In the quotation, Infantino reflected that contemporary science suggested humanity may relocate to suspended or floating cities, leading him to design the cities of Rann accordingly, with its cities on columns over terra firma.

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Adam Strange Carmin Infantino Quote

This idea of vaulted cities would become prevalent in science fiction stories in the 1960s and 1970s, perhaps most notably with the risen cities from the classic Hanna-Barbera animated series The Jetsons and, of course, Star Wars' Cloud City from The Empire Strikes Back. While other contemporary science fiction had similarly depicted the visual concept of floating cities, Infantino's designs throughout Strange's starring appearances the Mystery in Space comic book series helped popularize the trope in sci-fi comics and beyond.

In their previous work, Tom King and Mitch Gerads have worn their inspirations on their sleeve, with Mister Miracle containing thinly veiled allusions to both Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. The end of every issue of King's previous maxi-series The Omega Men concluded with a quotation from noted American philosopher William James. It is unclear if a quotation from Infantino will appear in the remaining eleven issues of Strange Adventures, but the creative team has certainly set a precedent.

Carmine Infantino is one of the biggest unsung creators in the history of American comic books. From helping launch the Silver Age to introducing the DC Multiverse in The Flash #123, Infantino's influence continues to reverberate across the medium, long after the initial publication of his work. And with the immersive sci-fi worlds of Mystery in Space designed by the prolific comic creator, the surprise cameo in Strange Adventures is a meta-textual nod to Infantino's work throughout both the genre and comic book medium itself.

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