DC has a long history of “legacy” heroes, characters who take the name of a past hero and try to live up to it. And one of the best, in recent years, was Ryan Choi, a physicist who took over the cowl of the Atom, Ray Palmer. What makes Choi’s return in JLA Rebirth: The Atom (DC Comics) so intriguing, though, is the twist Steve Orlando puts on a reluctant superhero.
Orlando’s take on Choi is to depict him as a classic comics nerd: Ryan is shy, allergic to almost everything, has no social skills, and is uncertain about pretty much everything in his life. So, basically he’s Peter Parker. So the story is all about how Choi, essentially, grows up, how he becomes more confident, and how a good mentor brings him out of his shell. The tone is pitched smartly: Instead of Choi being thrown into superheroics, he gets recruited to be mission control. Until, of course, the day comes that he has to put on the belt and become the hero.
Andy McDonald offers some crisp, bright artwork that’s often inventive and nods to the past without distracting from the story. For example, the opening pages feature a powers-of-ten sequence zooming out from the Atom, in a riff on a ’70s storyline where he basically became a tiny Conan the Barbarian, fighting viruses on what turns out to be Choi’s glasses. Overall, this book is a perfect return for a hero we’ve been missing.
U.S.Avengers #1, Marvel
Granted, Al Ewing and Paco Medina assembling a multiethnic team of superheroes who are largely also immigrants couldn’t be a more pointed concept these days, if you put it on the end of a spear. But Ewing has always had great skill with team books, able to bring out the individual characters and the team dynamics at the same time, and Medina has a brisk, kinetic art style that’s able to contrast the grounded with the absurd while making it believable: This book is simultaneously about the mundanity of public relations and fighting a flying volcano fortress. It’ll be interesting to see where this team goes, and what roadblocks might be thrown in its way.
Fall And Rise Of Captain Atom #1, DC Comics
Captain Nathaniel Adam’s problem has always been he’s a walking nuclear weapon, and this issue kicks off with him nearly losing his containment. Cary Bates, Greg Weisman and Will Conrad take an interesting approach, here, exploring Adam’s struggles with his lack of humanity — considering he’s literally energy in a containment suit — and his struggle with duty. What seems to be the ending is shocking, but by the end of the issue, it makes sense; Adam views himself as a threat. Of course, there’s more to the story, but we’ll let you find that for yourself.
Giant Days #22, BOOM! Studios
John Allison and Max Sarin’s college comedy has always had an emotional undercurrent to it, but this issue’s focus on shy nerd Daisy is simultaneously hilarious and touching. Daisy finds herself with an admirer, the German exchange student Ingrid, the problem being Ingrid parties all night and Daisy is a bookish nerd. Allison and Sarin are always funny, but this book in particular is packed with jokes while at the same time opening Daisy up a little, as a person. It’s sweet, but funny as hell, and not to be missed.
Deadpool The Duck #1, Marvel
Stuart Moore and Jacopo Camagni have the unenviable job of mixing Deadpool with yet another Marvel hero, and, in truth, Deadpool here is Deadpool everywhere. This time he’s got an obsession with interior decorating and he’s decided the voice in his head is Wolverine. It seems odd that the anthropomorphic duck would be the emotional anchor here, but Howard, it turns out, has been feeling that whole “trapped in a world he never made” thing particularly keenly lately, and just wants to get away. One problem: Howard’s luck being what it is, he stumbles into the middle of a fight between Deadpool and a special guest and, well, you’ve seen the cover. If Moore can keep up the contrast between Howard’s real emotional struggle and, well, everything about Deadpool, this promises to be a fun book.
Unstoppable Wasp #1: While meeting Nadia, Hank Pym’s lost daughter, is fun, and the book focusing on bits of Marvel lore like Mockingbird’s scientific background is welcome, this book is so far all sugar and needs a little salt to stand out, especially if it wants to stand next to Moon Girl And Devil Dinosaur and Ms. Marvel.
Faith #7, Valiant: Valiant’s best superhero finds herself struggling with survivor’s guilt, possibly helped along by a supervillain.
Midnighter & Apollo #4: Leave it to Midnighter, and writer Steve Orlando, to make a trip through Hell look like a fun action movie.
World of Tanks #4: Garth Ennis’ war comics are always worth reading, and this story, telling Normandy from the perspective of both British and German tank corps, continues to be one of his most compelling.
Big Trouble In Little China/Escape From New York #4: Come for the massive brawl of alternate reality Snake Plisskens, stay for Daniel Bayliss’ gorgeous artwork.
This Week’s Collected Editions
Star Wars: Han Solo, Marvel (Softcover, $17): Han Solo is in his element in this miniseries, racing spaceships, finding spies and, of course, winging it when he gets into trouble in a delightful miniseries that feels just like the original trilogy.
Astro Boy Omnibus Vol. 6, Dark Horse (Softcover, $20): Osamu Tezuka’s manga was heavily influential in comics, on both sides of the Pacific, and it remains a fascinating read.