Broken Frontier

One of the first Silver Age characters makes his return to comics. This is Doctor Solar’s third chance at life. What’s in store for the character this time?   

One of the most interesting parts of comic book history is how success leads to expansion. During the Golden Age, after the debut of Superman, it seemed that anyone who had access to a printing press started publishing superhero comics. In the fifties, with the success of EC Comics’ horror and sci-fi lines, comic publishers offered their own horror and sci-fi tales in the EC mold.

It was no different during the resurgence of the superhero at the dawn of the Silver Age. Many companies followed in the footsteps of Marvel and DC and put out superhero lines of their own. One of these companies was Gold Key Comics.

Gold Key Comics was a new offshoot of Western Publishing, and was known for publishing comics based on licensed properties such as popular TV shows, movies and cartoon characters. In late 1962, the company jumped feet first into the resurgent superhero comic trend with Doctor Solar, Man of the Atom.

Doctor Phillip Solar was a nuclear physicist who was exposed to massive amounts of radiation in the process of stopping an evil mastermind from sabotaging the nuclear reactor he was working on. Instead of killing him, the radiation gave him the ability to transform his body into any type of energy. He would use his newfound powers to track down the people responsible for his accident.

Doctor Solar did not have the most original origin—radiation played a part in the origins of most of the Marvel characters and Captain Atom, created two years earlier, had a similar origin story—but he did catch on with readers. The character enjoyed a successful quarterly run from 1962 to 1969, with a brief return in 1981-1982.

Gold Key shut up operations in 1984, and Doctor Solar sat dormant for almost a decade. Then Jim Shooter tapped the Gold Key superhero characters to be cornerstones of the new comic book company he was involved with—Valiant Comics.

Doctor Solar followed fellow Gold Key alum Magnus, the Robot Fighter into the Valiant pages. The new series was called Solar, Man of the Atom. Shooter tweaked the character’s origin. Instead of a fission reactor, it was a nuclear fusion reactor that was the source of the accident that gave Phil Seleski the power to manipulate energy. A fan of the Gold Key comic book, he decided to take the identity of Doctor Solar and fight crime.

Solar was one of Valiant’s bestselling and most critically acclaimed books. However, financial difficulties by parent company Acclaim spelled doom for Valiant. When the company went under, the rights to Doctor Solar and the Gold Key heroes reverted back to the holders of Western Publishing’s assets, Random House.

At the 2009 San Diego Comic Con, it was announced that a deal was brokered that would return the Gold Key character to comics with Jim Shooter at the helm. The comic would be published with Dark Horse Comics, the company that previously had an agreement with Random House to reprint the classic Gold Key superhero tales.

Shooter’s new take on Doctor Solar arrived this week. Will it be a continuation of the Valiant storyline, a revamp of the 1960s original, or a totally new interpretation? We’ll find all that out tomorrow.

Also out this week:

Adventure Comics #516:

Usually, when a title returns to its “historical numbering,” it’s when it’s about to hit a special anniversary. Not the case this week, as Adventure Comics picks up the numbering of its previous installment, with a number that doesn’t feature two zeroes at the end of it.

But this doesn’t mean there’s nothing special going on inside.

Paul Levitz and Kevin Sharpe still have the lead position with their Legion of Superheroes tale, but, starting in this issue, they have a new co-feature. This issue starts The Atom done by Jeff Lemire and Mahmud Asar, which spins off from last week’s Brightest Night special. Is this an event big enough to ruin fan’s filing systems? Probably not, but it is something.

Paul Levitz & Jeff Lemire (W), Kevin Sharpe & Mahmud Asrar (A), DC Comics, $3.99. Ongoing Series.

X-Force: Sex and Violence #1:

Oh, look and see how far we’ve come. In just a little over 50 years, we have gone from when having even a trace of sex or what might be considered excessive violence in your books would result in your being called before a Senate sub-committee to being able to advertise the two things boldly in your title. That’s progress, folks!

It appears that Wolverine and Domino have begun a relationship. That’s too bad for Domino because women in relationships with Wolvie usually end up dead. And the couple doesn’t even have time for a romantic weekend together before the hit squads come out for Domino. But there are two differences this time around. First, Wolverine knows it’s coming and two, Domino can take care of herself. Expect copius amounts of blood.

Craig Kyle & Christopher Yost (W), Gabriele Del’Otto (A), Marvel Comics, $3.99. Three-Issue Miniseries.

Conan the Cimmerian #22:

With most comics, when a brand new arc starts, you’re really not sure exactly what you are getting. With Conan, you do know, because each new arc adapts a new Robert E. Howard story. Which one it is, I don’t know. Dark Horse was being a little coy with the title in the solicitation.

Maybe this will ring a bell for Conan fans. Conan has just survived the Ilbars Massacre. His next assignment is to just lay low until the military calls off its dogs. But with Conan, laying low is never an option. He soon finds himself in the middle of a mystery surrounding some ancient iron statutes and caught in some pirate politics. While this is happening, a strange beast is stalking him. So much for laying low.

Timothy Truman (W), Tomás Giorello (A), Dark Horse Comics, $2.99. Ongoing Series.

Jane Wiedlin’s Lady Robotika #1:

Many know Jane Wiedlin from her stint as rhythm guitarist for The Go-Go’s, but over the years she has build up a fair amount of geek cred. She has had a cameo in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, acted as Joan of Arc in Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, and voiced a character in The New Batman Adventures.

Now, the self-professed sci-fi and fantasy “geek-girl” becomes the latest celebrity to lend their name to a comic book. But unlike other celebrities in the past, Wiedlin is actively co-writing the series with Bill Morrison. She also stars as a rock star who is kidnapped by aliens and forced to perform for them. The aliens inject nanobots into her in order to make her their slave, but she gains control of the nanobots and becomes a super-powered cyborg who leads a revolt against her alien captors.

Jane Wiedlin & Bill Morrison (W), Bill Morrison & Tone Rodriguez (A), Image Comics, $3.50. Ongoing Series.

Astro City: Silver Agent #1:

A national hero, a super soldier if you will, is imprisoned and his jailing leads to his death. But his death is only the beginning, for his demise leads the character on a metaphysical trip through time.

Yeah, I know what you are saying. Didn’t Captain America: Reborn finish months ago? It did, but this is an entirely different series, Astro City. And the character you thought was Captain America is actually Silver Agent.

The world of Astro City usually features thinly veiled versions of Marvel and DC characters, but seldom do the storylines come so close together.  Maybe Kurt Busiek is just making some kind of statement (the Silver Agent was killed for no good reason, hint, hint). But anyway, this miniseries will detail the Silver Agent’s life and final fate.

Kurt Busiek (W), Brent Anderson (A), DC/Wildstorm Comics, $3.99. Two-Issue Miniseries.

Strange Science Fantasy #1:

As IDW moves from an independent publisher to one of the premier publishers Diamond distributes, there will be growing pains. They grew as big as they are through their smart choices in licensed comics, but they also are home to some of the most exciting names in the world of art-house comics. A true sign of their success will be how they balance the two as one of the major publishers.

This series is a step in the right direction. Animator and indie creator Scott Morse has come up with a concept custom made for indie books. This series is a love letter to the sci-fi and horror themed comic books that ruled the racks right before the Silver Age began. It’s good to see such an esoteric subject matter can still find a home in the bigger IDW of today.

Scott Morse (W/A), IDW Publishing, $3.99. Ongoing Series.

Pat Lee’s Widow Warriors #1:

Pat Lee had a meteoric rise in the comic industry after being discovered by Rob Liefeld. The path he took led him from Image to Extreme to Wildstorm to Marvel then to his own imprint. But stories began to arise that Lee, who was known for his speed as an artist, had used ghost artists to draw for him, he would submit their work as his own and they would never get credit. Then the stories began that these creators and others that worked for Lee were not being paid. Controversy followed controversy.

In some worlds, these kind of allegations and actions would blacklist a person for life. However, Lee still keeps getting work in comics. His latest comes from Dynamite Entertainment this week. I don’t know if he has made amends for what he has done in the past, but if he hasn’t, I’d imagine the people he’s slighted aren’t too happy now.   

Lloyd Chao & Christine Chi-Long To (W), Pat Lee (A), Dynamite Entertainment, $3.99. Ongoing Series.

The Playwright:

You can’t see a dark comedy about the sex life of a celibate middle-aged man being something Marvel would assign Brian Michael Bendis and Steve McNiven to work on for their next summer blockbuster crossover. That’s why we have publishers like Top Shelf. It’s there where a legendary creator like Eddie Campbell can have a home to examine that very subject.

The middle-aged man in question is the titular Playwright, and he spends his day on a park bench examining his life and surroundings. He’s the type who if a friend was diagnosed with cancer, he’d be glad it wasn’t him. He’s the type of guy who ogles women half his age but never has the chance to bed any of them. He is a rich character written by a master of the artform.

Eddie Campbell (W), Daren White (A), Top Shelf Productions, $14.95. Original Graphic Novel.

X-Files/30 Days of Night #1:

When you think about it, this pairing is a natural and you wonder what took them so long to do it. Mulder and Scully investigate things that go bump in the night. A tribe of vampires who live in an Alaskan town that enjoys months of night would certainly garner their attention. So a crossover between the X-Files and 30 Days of Night seems like a no brainer and long overdue.

Well, the wait is over as Wildstorm and IDW team up to bring us said crossover. The FBI agents are investigating a possible cannibalistic serial killer in Wainright Alaska. What they find is a town full of secrets whose residents are not exactly what they appear to be. And as darkness begins to fall, Mulder and Scully find themselves at a great disadvantage.

Steve Niles & Adam Jones (W), Tom Mandrake (A), DC/Wildstorm Comics/IDW Publishing, $3.99. Six-Issue Miniseries.

The Stuff of Legends: The Jungle #1:
 
This concept is so great that one can hardly believe that it took so long for someone to think of it. A boy is kidnapped by the Boogeyman and taken away to the closet-bound land that is the Dark. A band of his loyal toys decide to set out after him to bring him back safe and sound.

A story with that going for it needs a sequel. And since the toys didn’t find their master the first time around, a sequel was pretty much a given. This time, they travel further into the Dark with the Boogeyman’s army hot on their heels. But they are soon to find out that there are things in the Dark that are far more dangerous than the Boogeyman’s henchmen.

Mike Raicht & Brian Smith (W), Charles Paul Wilson III (A), Th3rd World Studios, $4.25. Four-Issue Miniseries.

Sweets #1:

New Orleans has always been an attractive location to set fiction in. It’s sultry nature, it’s spiritual legends, it’s colorful history makes it a great backdrop for stories in all sorts of medium. And while Hurricane Katrina was one of the worst tragedies to hit the area in it’s history, the tales of desperation and loss, or survival and redemption, has made it an even better setting for the creative mind.

This new series straddles both eras of New Orleans. It deals with a homicide detective named Curt Delatte working on a case just before Katrina hits. A spree killer has racked up an impressive tally of victims. The race against time to stop his killing spree gets more hectic, because Delatte has the feeling that when the hurricane arrives, solving the case will become all but impossible. 

Kody Chamberlain (W/A), Image Comics, $2.99. Five-Issue Miniseries.

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William Gatevackes is a professional writer living in Mamaroneck, NY with his wife Jennifer and daughter Vanessa. He also is a comic reviewer for PopMatters, has written for Comic Foundry magazine and is the comic book movie editor for Film Buff Online. Links to his writing can be found at his website, www.williamgatevackes.com.