Adam Graham's Blog: Christians and Superheroes - Posts Tagged "the-atom"

Showcase Presents: The Atom, Vol. 1 by Gardner F. Fox

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This book follows the early adventures of Ray Palmer, a scientist who using part of a white dwarf star gains the ability to transform himself into the Atom, a superhero who can shrink down six inches tall or even to sub-atomic level and back again. This book collects the Atom's three issue tryout in Showcase #34-36 and the first 17 Issues of the Atom.

The Atom stories are just plain fun, as author Gardener Fox uncorks one imaginative plot after another. They are 1960s science fiction at its most imaginative and fun. The book includes the beginning of the time pool stories as the Atom travels back in time on a time magnet and runs into such noted figures as Edgar Allan Poe and Jules Verne, as well as getting mistaken for the genie of Aladdin's lamp. Some good educational content is mixed to all of the wacky science fiction.

The stories are pleasurable but not perfect. The stories are short (pun intended) on super villains. Also, the Atom Character isn't well-developed, but it didn't bother me too much. With a tiny superhero who can travel through phone lines plus a crossover with Hawkman, this is just a fun book.





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Showcase Presents: The Atom, Vol. 2 by Gardner F. Fox

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This book collects Issues 18-39 of the Atom's solo series and it's a solid fun run of Silver Age stories. The book features two guest appearances by the Earth 2/Golden Age Atom as well as an appearance by Zatara and Hawkman.

The plots are fun and inventive, for the most part with some good scientific research put into the concepts as befits a story about a great scientist. It's amazing all the ways that the Atom's powers are used and how proficient he's gotten with them in this book. While the characterization isn't great, there is some nice sweet romance between the Atom and his intended Jean Loring.

Overall, this is another great volume about a truly underrated Silver Age superhero.



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