Customer Reviews

Doctor Solar: Man of the Atom Volume 1

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

One year after Dell split with Western Printing, Gold Key(Western's new imprint) began creating some new characters,rather than just producing licensed properties as it had during its partnership with Dell. Doctor Solar and Magnus, Robot fighter were two of the best new creations. As a kid I always loved the George Wilson painted covers with amazing depictions of Dr. Solar, and was always disappointed by the interior illustrations as not living up to the expectations. Gold Key seemed embarrassed to do a straightforward superhero, and it seemed like you never got to see Dr. Solar in action in many panels in his cool uniform. Many years later I find he never even HAD a uniform untill the fifth issue! But time has allowed me to appreciate the wonderful "realistic" artwork of Bob Fugitani on the first five issues and Frank Bolle in six and seven.Both were longtime masters of nonsuperhero genres. This collection of the first seven issues holds up better than expected. Each issue had two 12 or13 page stories or chapters in one long expanding continuity. Gail Sanders is an interesting hotter-than-I-remembered love interest for Phillip Solar. The stories are a mixture of pseudoscience and espionage. Not great but not bad. Dr.Solar's tragic and alienating accident ( he's WAY radioactive and can be around people only for a short time) is barely touched on - only one story explores this theme. Stan Lee would have drenched him in pathos. His powers are a dizzying compendium of heat, radiation, magnetism, flight as a beam of light,with mystifying turns as green-skinned and normal hued ( does anyone around him notice this??).His weakness is that he can run dangerously low on energy when performing his feats. The uniform with Cyclops-like eyepiece was published the same month as X-men #1-Sept 1963. In a later issue he is referred to as an atomic mutant. Hmmm. Any way all of these quirks and flaws actually help to make these issues charmingly interesting. All in all a better trip down nostalgia lane than I would have predicted. If this character ever intrigued you pick up this edition-you may be pleasantly suprised too.

Like most people of my generation, I discovered Doctor Solar when he was revived, along with Magnus, Robot Fighter, by Valiant Comics in the early 1990s. And I did read that series for a little while, but right when the whole company was on the down-turn. But, I was excited to learn that the original "Doctor Solar" series from Gold Key was being reprinted by Dark Horse.

First, it's worth pointing out that the original Doctor Solar and his Valiant counter-part are very different. Magnus was simply picked up where the Gold Key series left off (although there was a different slant on the nature of "evil" robots). Solar, however, was rebooted completely. Indeed, the original Doctor Solar was treated as a comic book (a la the Flash). His Valiant counter-part was a fan, who received his powers in a similar accident, and then went somewhat crazy. The origin was pretty confusing.

Returning to the book in question. I enjoyed it, but not quite as much as the "Magnus" hardcover. While Bob Fukjitani and Frank Bolle were both excellent artists, they never quite got to the heights of Russ Manning. Another problem is that the character never quite seem as strongly developed as Magnus was.

Doctor Phillip Solar (his first name is never used in this volume)is involved in a nuclear accident, his whole body is rebuilt at an atomic level, making him a "man of the atom", allowing him great power. He then spends the next several issues, handling various menaces while trying to keep his new powers under wraps (literally, as long term exposure to him would be fatal). The central villain is the mysterious Nuro, whose face is never seen. This is one of the strengths of this volume: Nuro deduces Solar's existence only about issue four, whereas Solar doesn't even consider that there is a maestro of the events in the series until issue seven. It makes for an interesting relationship.

Solar was in many ways different from other out-and-out super-heroes of the time. For example, Solar doesn't get his famous red costume until issue five. The only reason he does is because he begins to get the vague inkling that he is being targeted, and so he needs a means to distract Nuro. Up to that point, he simply solved problems covertly.

However, there are some obvious similarities to the comic book characters of the time. Most of the characters of the Marvel Universe got their super-powers as a result of radioactive events. Indeed, there are some interesting similarities to Marvel's own Hulk. Both characters get their powers after the actions of sabateurs, and whenever Solar goes into action, his skin turns green.

"Doctor Solar" is fun, if not the best the Silver Age of comics has to offer. I am looking forward to further volumes in this series.

I support the favorable reviews of the material contained in DOCTOR SOLAR: MAN OF THE ATOM VOLUME 1. These are some great stories; however, I question Dark Horse's need to charge fifty dollars for a reprint of this quality. Similarly-priced "archive editions" from other companies are shrinkwrapped, have recolored artwork, and use a thicker, flat-finish paper that enhances the line and color. Dark Horse's reprints are not shrinkwrapped, frequently leading to scuffed or damaged dust jackets on brand new copies I've seen. Also, the art appears to be scanned directly from the original comics and printed on glossy paper - as a result, it's blurry and dull. Printing of this quality may work with a less-expensive trade edition (see the Gold Key Star Trek reprints from Checker Books), but if Dark Horse seriously wants to compete with the other publishers in the archive arena, they really need to step it up. The quality of this book is embarrassing and doesn't justify the price. Buying these Dark Horse archives at a discount is the ONLY way you'll get your money's worth.

I loved Dr. Solar when I was a kid. The writing and art were so much more sophisticated than what I saw in most other comics and the painted covers were Alex Ross-quality long before anyone knew what that meant. I would compare Doctor Solar to the early Challengers of the Unknown or the Doom Patrol rather than to your average superhero comic.

So, why not five stars? I guess because I came away from the book vaguely unsatisfied. The potential for what this series could become was not realized at this stage...maybe I'll buy one of the later volumes and report back. Dark Horse certainly did a great job in putting it together and it's definitely worth a read, but I wouldn't pay list-price.

Gold Key (an imprint of Western Publications, thru its subsidiary "K.K. Publications) was an overall strange comic book company. Most of its products were licensed titles (tv shows, Disney, Walter Lantz, Tarzan, etc). It did do some original stuff (Magnus, Brothers of the Spear, Dr Spektor, Tragg, Dagar), including Doctor Solar. But, as usually, they did them different. All the adventure titles had full painted covers. They really didn't do any straight superheroes. Doctor Solar was probably the closest, but even then he was different.

Doctor Solar was one of a handful of 'atomic superheroes', almost all of whom (like Captain Atom and Nukla) were 'destroyed' in an atomic explosion, but somehow able to come back. Doctor Solar did (btw, that's the character's real name, not his superhero alter-ego), but when he 'powered up', his skin turned green and he radiated. (uh, if he has control of his nuclear powers, he should be able to prevent that, right? and what's with the green skin?).

Doctor Solar (that's his real name, tho no first name was given) is a nuclear scientist working at Atom Valley. In the first issue we also are introduced with the two other main characters, both of whom know his secret: Dr Clarkson, the head of Atom Valley, and Dr Gail Sanders, the sort-of love interest. Also introduced is the main villain of the series: Nuro. Nuro is a james bond-style villian, a bald evil genius (tho we never see his face), who is head of a secret organization. Is he under the control of another country? It doesn't appear so. He is so secretive, that it takes awhile before the hero realize WHO it is he is up against.

A sabotage at Atom Valley, caused by an agent of Nuro, kills another scientist, but give Doctor Solar his powers. But it transforms him into a living nuclear reactor. His skin is green, he has no vital signs, and he gives off radiation. In the second issue he only turns green when using his powers, but he must still be isolated. For some reason, from the begining he wears dark glasses all the time, even inside. Over time, it is forgotten that he's radiotive, and he interacts with people with this forgotten. (some of the pathos of the strip was his isolation from others and no way to be a friend and possible love for Sanders. while they never dated, some of the pathos sort of disappears when the issue of his danger was downplayed in later issues.)

In the fifth issue, his hair turns white (except for a dark streak). This is commented on by the 2 other main characters, but no one else seems to notice. Also in issue 5, he gets his all-red outfit so he can more easily go into action as "The Man of the Atom" (his "superhero" name).

Some of the stories have Solar go up against menaces caused by Nuro, and others by other sources. In all cases, Solar has to figure out how to use his powers to address the issues.

There are 3 more volumes collecting the rest of the series. In this issue we also get a good intro that gives background on Western.

That works hard to give pseudo/scientific explanations for the hero's powers.
There's also less flash and more concentration on character and storywork. Fujitani's linework is sharp. I'd recommend this series to anyone who thinks that all "comics" are merely for children and are immature.