Solar Man of the Atom #1 - Mobile Edition

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Solar Man of the Atom #1
By Hervé St-Louis
May 16, 2014 - 18:46

Dynamite Entertainment
Writer(s): Frank J. Barbiere
Penciller(s): Joe Bennett
Inker(s): Joe Bennett
Colourist(s): Lauren Affe
Letterer(s): Frank J. Barbiere
Cover Artist(s): Juan Doe, Bob Layton, Garry Brown, Stephen Mooney, Ken Haeser
$3.99

Solar plays super hero stopping a bank robbery. But something goes wrong and he loses control over his powers and endangers the hostages and the robbers at the bank. There is more to this new Solar Man of the Atom as he seeks refuge in his lab and asks for his daughter to come meet him one last time before he dies. Will Solar’s daughter survive the death of her father?

Dynamite is attempting to match the rebellious Valiant Comics reboot. It serves good iterations of classic comic book characters that Valiant and Dark Horse Comics reintroduced. Solar was always the most important of these characters and in a sense the least unique. He is after all a direct cipher for Captain Atom. This version of Solar reminds me a lot of the short Dark Horse reboot. The premise of the crazy benevolent scientists is the same. Again, his powers seem to influence the world around him in weird ways. And just like the Valiant version, reality seems shifts when Solar is nearby. This is good but it has not breached any new ground in the story of Solar Man of the Atom yet. The new angle with Solar’s son and daughter is an opening that seems to be important for the writer.

The artwork is simpler in places and has a Steve Rude polish when it comes to spaceships and buildings. The characters’ designs and postures are not from Steve Rude’s repertoire though. It’s solid comic book fair that appears in many current DC and Marvel comics. It is not a criticism. Dynamite is publishing solid works these days. Gone are the days of Green Hornet Blood Ties. Thank God.

Rating: 8.5/10