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Sep 26, 2011 DC Comics By Jeremy Nisen

As much as I was rather pleased to find that Kyle Higgins’ Nightwing #1 was far better than his Deathstroke relaunch, I was pleasantly surprised with J.T. Krul’s Captain Atom #1 in the face of his rather lackluster Green Arrow #1 from a few weeks ago. Plus the art is different than standard comic fare—a really nice departure from Freddie Williams II’s classic clean lines that he exhibited in Robin and JSA a few years ago.

Captain Atom #1 reintroduces us to an atomic-powered hero that seems to be expanding his powers (affecting things on a molecular level, versus just blasting atomic rays, for instance), even as he is losing some control of them. Classic Captain Atom supporting character Dr. Megala is back; this time he’s a bit more obvious of a Stephen Hawking analog.

In brief, it’s a man with a heroic mentality caught in sci-fi circumstance, where using godlike abilities is sure to have a consequence of one kind or another. Given Captain Atom’s penchant for time travel (he jumps forward in time when he absorbs too much energy), perhaps Megala’s notably young research assistant is a tease that it will happen again, since maybe she’ll be alive in the future. Even if that doesn’t pan out, Krul’s created something rich enough here that we can at least speculate.

It seems that “first-person narration” is the standard trope in most of these DC relaunch books, and Captain Atom is able to share thoughts with an audience that go beyond super-expository…yet the expository stuff is there too. And some of the dialogue (“Firing energy cannons at a guy who absorbs energy—not the smartest strategy”) is rather exposition heavy. Calling it “clunky” would be an overstatement, but it’s distracting at times. Show us, don’t tell us.

Speaking of “show us”—I’ll admit the art by Williams took a little getting used to, but I came to really enjoy it. The Captain here seems more a mass of blue energy than his former metallic-shelled self, and it conveys a little more palpably how dangerous and majestic such a being might be. Props also to Jose Villarrubia, the colorist.

This could really go either way, but I liked the kick-off. (www.dccomics.com)

Author rating: 6/10