All New Atom #3 (Spoilers ahoy)

[mrorangesoda]

Spoilers may be up ahead....




I am growing fonder and fonder of this book with each issue. The third issue of the series shows that Ms. Simone is hitting her stride with Ryan and the supporting characters (or maybe I just understand them more now) anyway I like them. The plot thickens some with the mysterious bald man (I don't think it's Luthor, but that's what I think with "bald villian") giving Mr. Rundine a costume and his next assignment (Choi). Meanwhile Ryan's busy talking to M'Nagalah (sp?) who leads the "magic" side in an upcoming war against "science" (apparently the guys Ryan's been fighting so far). M'Nagalah tries to convince Ryan to switch sides, and Ryan makes a break for it. Other stuff happens, but things of note include- the reveal of Panda's love interest, more clues about the mysterious Pilgrims of Ivy Town, a really bad date for Ryan, and an uncertain future for one of the supporting cast.

Side note- I don't know if I just didn't notice it after I originally saw the costume design, but that giant gold thing on Ryan's back is gone, and I for one could not be happier. I'm glad Byrne took it off, the costume looks more classic and sleek without all the extra bling.

I'm planning on picking up the next several issues.

[Ranadiel]

Side note- I don't know if I just didn't notice it after I originally saw the costume design, but that giant gold thing on Ryan's back is gone, and I for one could not be happier. I'm glad Byrne took it off, the costume looks more classic and sleek without all the extra bling.

I'm pretty sure that he just hasn't gotten them yet. After all, didn't he have some kind of rod thing in the BNW preview that is currently being built?

[God-Man]

I liked this issue a lot. Simone did a good job balancing the superheorics with Ryan's civillian life.

I also think I'm starting to warm to the idea of Ryan being a hot chick magnet.

The scene with the pilgrims was pretty funny.

Finally, I hope Dwarfstar kills Panda. Not because I hate the character, but because it would show that Simone means buisness with this book. I wouldn't be terribly dissapointed if Panda lives(as I expect), either,

[chap22]

upon the third issue, my opinion is thus:


i'm sorry Gail. i shouldn't have doubted you. for the first time this issue i finally felt the sense of fun you keep telling us this book has. and all it took was a couple of apparently polar opposite arch-nemeses (or at least suitable villains) for our new shrinker. Giganta and Dwarfstar finally made me like the Atom, go figure. and the mystic sewer-dwelling cancer god with his Pilgrim followers and not-quite-faithful rendition in the late-night double feature are just weird and funky enough to be cool. add in some of the best work by Byrne i've seen in years (chalk me up as somebody who's gonna miss him on this book), and this issue finally won me over.


i still want to see Ray, and soon dammit! but i think you've finally got me to the point where that isn't the only reason i'm checking this book out. good work, keep it up! you rawk.

[md62]

Again a great issue. I miss Ray Palmer but I like the way Gail still manages to make his presence felt in the book. I also like the "weirdness" in the book like the movie scene. This book looks like it is shaping up to be the sleeper hit of the summer relaunches (Flash, WW, JLA).


And it ships on time!!

[SouthtownKid]

add in some of the best work by Byrne i've seen in yearsYeah, I agree. Plus, a lot of artists (including Byrne in some cases), knowing they were off the book after the issue, might have phoned in the art job. But Byrne went out on a high note here, doing what I think was the best art of the three issues.

Isn't the guy who did this week's 52 the artist taking over next issue? If so, I feel pretty good, because I liked his work in 52 a lot. I wish they could have kept Byrne a little longer for the sake of stability, if nothing else, but the series as a whole is looking more and more promising.

[motteditor]

Wish I could agree with chap22, since I usually love Gail's work, but I'm just not getting into this. I think it may be my usual antipathy for solo characters and my lack of knowledge about the DCU, but I'm just not finding anything grabbing me. There's absolutely nothing bad about the title, but it's just not grabbing me and making me care about it.

I think this'll probably be my last issue and I'll keep awaiting my Secret Six and Birds of Prey to get my Gail fixes.

[God-Man]

Yeah, I agree. Plus, a lot of artists (including Byrne in some cases), knowing they were off the book after the issue, might have phoned in the art job. But Byrne went out on a high note here, doing what I think was the best art of the three issues.

Isn't the guy who did this week's 52 the artist taking over next issue? If so, I feel pretty good, because I liked his work in 52 a lot. I wish they could have kept Byrne a little longer for the sake of stability, if nothing else, but the series as a whole is looking more and more promising.

Completely agree. As for the next artist, Eddy Barrows' art on 52 is very good. I'm curious to see his work without Giffen's layouts.

[Michael Hawk]

NAKED GIGANTA!!!

[chap22]

NAKED GIGANTA!!!
yeah, that was a big point to my sudden turnaround. i was just gonna act ashamed to dmit it...:o ;)

[furioso2012]

I agree: another great issue. I'm mildly concerned about the new artist (anybody seen his work? Too lazy to google right now), but Gail Simone has such a great handle on the cast, concepts, tone etc that even if I'm less than psyched (it was nice to read a book involving Byrne), I'm sure I'll still enjoy the series.

[ORACofSEVEN]

This is a title that continues to get better with each issue. I never doubted Gail as with all her work and she came through with fliying colors. As for Byrne here is hoping he continues to get work because unlike someother professionals I can name he did his 3 issues with flair and style and like the other person said he did not phone it in.

And it was on time. After this issue I took another look at the Demon series and as with the art in this issue we missed alot by just shrugging it off as Byrne doing a hack job. He will be missed on the Atom. (compare his work on this Atom series compared to his work on the Power of The Atom series and you'll see that the man has improved and not gotten worse)

Gail continue to wow us and make this book a top seller.

[furioso2012]

Completely agree. As for the next artist, Eddy Barrows' art on 52 is very good. I'm curious to see his work without Giffen's layouts.

So Eddie is the fill-in or the regular?

[SouthtownKid]

(compare his work on this Atom series compared to his work on the Power of The Atom series and you'll see that the man has improved and not gotten worse)No offense, but that's like saying a guy who weighed 180 pounds, then ballooned up to 500, then back down to around 310 pounds, has "lost weight." Yes, Byrne's work on Atom and Demon is easily the best we've seen from him in years, but I honestly don't think you can hold it next to his old X-Men/FF/Man of Steel work and say, "improved." He's definitely moving in the right direction, though.

[Bane122]

I'm still absolutely in love with this book.

This and Blue Beetle are the best new books DC has right now.

I have to agree, though, that Byrne really wowed me this issue. I have to say I wish he'd stick around at least until the arc is done.

[ORACofSEVEN]

No offense, but that's like saying a guy who weighed 180 pounds, then ballooned up to 500, then back down to around 310 pounds, has "lost weight." Yes, Byrne's work on Atom and Demon is easily the best we've seen from him in years, but I honestly don't think you can hold it next to his old X-Men/FF/Man of Steel work and say, "improved." He's definitely moving in the right direction, though.
Well I chalk that up to the bad inking he had been giving himself and by others for years..

Somehwere along the line i think it was during his Forth World stint his inkers and him parted styles. The work I have seen posted onmany messages board by the so-called Byrne fanatics have shown his detailed pencils are much better than what gets inked. I kept hearing how Demon was horrible and finally looked at it and it has some of the most detailed pencils and panel structure he had even done and wasn't at all what some people were portraying about him. Just goes to show you can't always listen the message board for detailed advice.
The Atom is another case of where -if I had listened to the masses I would have missed what clearly is some of his best work in years. But i think he layout pencils and panel structure are sound are long as he has a decent inker that doesn't try and redraw whatever is on the page.

to belittle his work by say it is good but he still has done better is a diserviceto the man and his craft. This is still a man despite his flapping mouth (which by the way -what he does on his site is not different that most of the fanboys do on a daily basis) he is still a consumate professional that delivers his work on time and without phoning it in unlike so many others. He manages to do his work as well as his side-work.comissions and find time to flap his mouth. Maybe someone should give him more work so he has less time to post on a message board

ORAC OUT

[SouthtownKid]

Well I chalk that up to the bad inking he had been giving himself and by others for years..

Somehwere along the line i think it was during his Forth World stint his inkers and him parted styles. The work I have seen posted onmany messages board by the so-called Byrne fanatics have shown his detailed pencils are much better than what gets inked. I kept hearing how Demon was horrible and finally looked at it and it has some of the most detailed pencils and panel structure he had even done and wasn't at all what some people were portraying about him. Just goes to show you can't always listen the message board for detailed advice.I agree about Demon, and I agree that you can NOT make up your mind about someone's art by what you read on an internet forum.

But I think Byrne had a dry spell during the mid-'90s and (hopefully) ending around the time he started Demon, that went beyond inappropriate inking. A lot of his stuff from that period just seemed lifeless in its layout and storytelling; like he was just going through the motions (keep in mind, this is just my opinion). I'm really starting to enjoy his work again, but for me it's like talking about the artistic equivalent of a recovering alcoholic -- I want to think he's going to be okay from now on, but I'm still cautious; not quite ready to get my hopes up all the way. Which makes his leaving Atom all the more disappointing.

[ORACofSEVEN]

True I wish he had been in this style when he was doing Generations. That need some lighter inks and that would have been nice overall.

The best he did in the late 90's was his ART of the Amazing Spider-man run and his X-men hidden years with inking by Tom Palmer. Again a pooor inker can kill a good penciler or an inappropriate inking style can kill everything and make it seem flat. (JLA) Byrne and Ordway while very close in style on the FF were vastly different years later.

Byrne as an artist still is very much in the game (as long as you tend to separate him from the net persona that has grown up around him)

Thank you for having a very civil discourse about this without devolving into the flame wars that seem to spring up on message boards any time this guy is mentioned

ORAC OUT

[Stressfactor]

I loved this issue and I think things are moving along at a fine, weird, and funny pace. Just one question though -- were my eyes decieving me or was Gail indicating that this "Cancer god" had had a run-in with Swamp Thing some time in the past?

[God-Man]

I loved this issue and I think things are moving along at a fine, weird, and funny pace. Just one question though -- were my eyes decieving me or was Gail indicating that this "Cancer god" had had a run-in with Swamp Thing some time in the past?

Ooooh, that silhouette did look a little like Swamp Thing, didn't it? Curiouser, in the lastest issue of Detective Comics, Batman mentions Alec Holland briefly. COuld Swamp Thing come back to the DCU?

[God-Man]

So Eddie is the fill-in or the regular?

He's going to be the regular penciller.

[furioso2012]

I loved this issue and I think things are moving along at a fine, weird, and funny pace. Just one question though -- were my eyes decieving me or was Gail indicating that this "Cancer god" had had a run-in with Swamp Thing some time in the past?

In the Wein-Wrightson run, wasn't there an appearance by some sort of blobby, protoplasmic alien with waving tentacles?

[Hobowatcher]

A huge step up from the previous two issues. Everything flowed nicely, and nothing was forced. Good job all around.

[punjeb]

I loved this issue and I think things are moving along at a fine, weird, and funny pace. Just one question though -- were my eyes decieving me or was Gail indicating that this "Cancer god" had had a run-in with Swamp Thing some time in the past?

Yep. Kinda Hazy about the Wein/Wrightson run, but I do remember this M'nagalah facing Swampy in a Challengers Of The Unknown arc in their late 70s (Dollar Comic) era, M'nagalah ended up absorbing Prof. Deadman also co-starred, and maybe Rip Hunter. The Stranger may have been in there too. Beautiful art (Michael Golden maybe, but I don't think so). I'll try to dig up more info on it. I'm surprised anyone remembered this.

As to this issue, it has officially become my favorite book...and the first one in a long time I've laughed out loud at ("I'm home free. Oh yeah, these guys."; "We are to be revengeful"/"I always say revengeful is a dish best served coldly like saladish"; "Who is just here goofing around to get drunk and waste their parents' money? Yikes. The freaking aliens were less hostile! I'm doomed" and all the scenes with Dr. Zuel).

But the amazing thing (it seems to be these days) is yes it was laugh-out-loud, but it was also a very intriguing story. I can't wait to find out what happend next...and I can't wait for Ryan to meet some of Ray's old friends & foes! Finally, this is about the best Byrne art I've seen in ages. I am really gonna miss it!

[punjeb]

OK, here's some more about M'nagalah. He/It first appeared as near as I can tell in Swamp Thing (first series) #8, circa 1973, I assume by Wein & Wrightson. The Challengers issues I was thinking of were The 1977-1978 revival of the Challengers Of The Unknown, mostly issues 81-85 (although the plots continued in issues #86-87 [final issue] and Adventure 493-497). Gerry Conway was the writer (does he do any comics work anymore?) and art was Mike Nasser (how could I forget) with inks by Mike Nasser and Berni Wrightson.

[Evil Twin]

Yeah, the first appearance of the cancer god was indeed by Wein & Wrightson. It's, of course, included in the Dark Genesis collection. Wein & Wrightson made sure to hit most of the expected horror story types during their run, except for vampires, and it most definitely reads like a good Lovecraft story.

[gwangung]

Aren't fan boys all over the comics companies to respect their continuity? Well....

[Evil Twin]

Having now read Atom #3, let me say that the movie at the end is indeed a fairly accurate recreation of the climax of Wein & Wrightson's Swamp Thing #8 "The Lurker in Tunnel 13". Only Swamp Thing succeeds and collapsing the mine on M'Nagalah rather than getting his head popped off. Although his final words before dropping the beam and the mine on M'Nagalah in that story are indeed "In a word M'Nagalah.. NO!".

This is a definite case of creators doing their homework.

Incidentally, the Wein/Wrightson Swamp Thing is a terrific collection.

[AdamYJ]

Surprising amount of Swamp Thing connections in this issue. Alec Holland even got a quote in this issue (along with Albert Einstein and the one and only Dr. Ray Palmer).

Anyway, I'm wondering why it is that Dwarfstar was sent to kill Panda. That mysterious bald figure said that the person he originally chose for Dwarfstar's job was not meeting his expectations. I'm thinking maybe that guy actually hired Panda to sabotage Ryan's continuation of Palmer's "Atom experiment". However, Panda's attempt didn't work, so he sent someone more dangerous, but first he's got to tie up loose ends. It could explain why Ryan almost destabilized that time. Panda could have sabotaged the belt.

[diana_fan]

The best thing about this title right now is that it isn't at all clear what is going to happen.

#3 was definitely a fun ride, and I'm glad I decided to pick this title up. I was on the fence, but it has paid off so far.

As to the artwork, I just can't get into it at all. Whatever it is that Byrne is trying to do, I don't get it. So, I'm not at all sad to see Barrows come in. His work in 52 has been pretty darned good so far. It will be interesting to see what he does without Giffen doing the layouts.

[JoeZhang]

There is something about the artwork that's bugging me and it's...

not Byrne (bet ya that surprises some of you!)...


Whatever his other faults, Byrne is pretty good as drawing different body types. His Choi is a athletic but lean Atom. However whenever someone else draws this Atom (covers mainly so far and some posters), he reverts to some big steroid freak with big rippling muscles!

Look at the cover for this issue - besides looking 1) not Asian, 2) and forty - the guy on the cover looked pumped to hell!

[Chuck 64]

I'm thinking the bald guy is Chronus. There is a little clock looking thing on Dwarfstar's costume, on his chest, that reminds me of Chronus' symbol.

And I keep threatening to drop this book as well, but it keeps getting better. I'm glad you guys told us about the continuity with Swamp Thing.... just makes me appreciate this book even more

Later,

[grendel25]

Sorry if I missed this somewhere but why is Byrne leaving the book, and what's he going to work on next? I know he was vocal about his short stint on Superman with Simone.

[mrorangesoda]

Sorry if I missed this somewhere but why is Byrne leaving the book, and what's he going to work on next? I know he was vocal about his short stint on Superman with Simone.

I don't know, I've heard a lot about bad blood between Byrne and Dc having something to do with it, mainly the Superman Returns tie in thing.

[KyleCowstar]

I have no interest in this book.

[Borg 9]

Ooooh, that silhouette did look a little like Swamp Thing, didn't it? Curiouser, in the lastest issue of Detective Comics, Batman mentions Alec Holland briefly. COuld Swamp Thing come back to the DCU?

We can only hope. We can only hope!:D

[theblindparrot]

I'm upset I missed issue one.

[AdamYJ]

We can only hope. We can only hope!:D

The funny thing is that they've been referencing him as "Alec Holland" too. Last I checked, he got retconned into some sort of plant-god rather than the "scientist transformed into a monster" he started as. Now I don't read a lot of Swamp Thing, but it's weird that they'd keep talking about what is essentially a false identity.

[Evil Twin]

Alec Holland and his research still is part of continuity right up to his being blown up and falling into the swamp. What emerged may be different now than what was first established, but it falls neatly into established continuity. Alan Moore's changes weren't really, "everything that happened before didn't" but more along the lines of "here's what was really going on" that the Swamp Thing himself didn't even suspect.

[God-Man]

The funny thing is that they've been referencing him as "Alec Holland" too. Last I checked, he got retconned into some sort of plant-god rather than the "scientist transformed into a monster" he started as. Now I don't read a lot of Swamp Thing, but it's weird that they'd keep talking about what is essentially a false identity.

Unless DC planned on going back to the "scientist transformed into a monster" origin.

[Evil Twin]

It's probably worth mentioning that Swamp Thing was always called "Alec" during Alan Moore's run. Especially by Abigail Arcane.

[AdamYJ]

Unless DC planned on going back to the "scientist transformed into a monster" origin.

I doubt they would. People seem to like him more as an elemental. I was just under the impression that canon had been reworked so that he had never existed as Alec Holland.

Though, it is kind of unfortunate that DC really doesn't have any Universal style sympathetic monsters anymore. At least, ones that weren't reworked into something different. Swamp Thing's a god. Frankenstein's monster is now a monster hunter or something (I haven't read Seven Soldiers yet). And the last time I saw Dracula in the DC Universe, he blew up after trying to drink Superman's blood. They tried to introduce a new one with that miniseries Scratch. I tried to read it, but it just seemed like semi-random weirdness with a Batman narration.

They don't have any Tarzan types left either, I think. No one's seen Rima the Jungle Girl in decades and B'wana Beast's successor seems more likely to protect the cities and slums of South Africa.

[Clayton Emery]

The Challengers of the Unknown did indeed fight M'Nagahal (or however you spell it), who first fought Swamp Thing. You can read reviews of some books here:

http://challengersoftheunknown.com/AdvsRevival.html

Let's hope Gail brings the Challs into All-New Atom to pinch-hit!

Sarah Hargate, Webmaster
Challengers of the Unknown
http://www.challengersoftheunknown.com