Some folks may hate an extended origin, but damn by page 20 of this book I was pumping my fist at how slow this story is taking it. Solar, aka Doctor Phil Seleksi, was in an accident that made it so he could do everything. Period. Who needs bad guys when you’ve got a crisis like being God!? I loved issue #1, giving it a 9 out of 10, but what about #2? Is it good?
Solar: Man of the Atom #2 (Dynamite Entertainment)
This issue opens with Solar’s kids playing. The dynamic between them is very much like most siblings: fighting, confusion, anger, really it’s showing how imperfect humanity can be. Sure, they’re kids, but all our little issues carry on into adulthood. Do we ever grow up? Now think about the power of God in a person’s hands and you can see how frightening the idea is that a person can do anything. Last issue Solar blew up an entire building and has put his daughter in the hospital. This issue focuses on the daughter, with all of the narration coming from her. She’s got a bad mouth and a wicked attitude, and she’s getting confused with what is going on in reality. Hmm, does she have Solar powers?
Writer and letterer Frank J. Barbiere is a very good writer. As our protagonist appears to be losing her mind he’s got some wit mixed in with a whip of a character on his hand. I simply loved the dialogue and her attitude. She swears all the time, which is used at one point to show us maybe her reality is bending in an inventive way. When she’s eventually attacked there’s some epic battling going on, and it’s clear he’s taking the hero of Solar and putting those powers and responsibility on this girl. She was never a scientist, so to have been given these powers without notice is an exceptionally interesting turn of events.
The art by Joe Bennett is very good, with most of it coming in close ups, but it works well since we’re very much inside the protagonist’s head. He balances the flashbacks well in a sepia tone, and the faces and their expressions are always clear and understandable. I get a Bryan Hitch feel, only better, because there are no awkward panels and nothing looks rushed.
Is It Good?
This is a very good comic that grabs you by the balls from page one and doesn’t let go. You grow to love then adore the protagonist and by book’s end if you aren’t interested in where she’s going next, well, you’re probably incapable of feeling. Officially my second favorite comic on the stands.
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