Comic Book Review: Doctor Solar, Man of the Atom Volume 01 Written by Paul S. Newman & Matt Murphy; Art by Bob Fujitani & Frank Bolle
Dr. Gail Sanders’ first day on the job at Atom Valley is also almost her last, as an experimental rocket goes off the rails. Fortunately, she is saved by her friend from college, Dr. Phillip Solar. He introduces her to her new colleagues, Dr. Clarkson (head of the lab), Dr. Bently (who works with Solar on the energy-to-matter project, and Dr. Rasp, who will be working with her on anti-gravity.
Unfortunately, Dr. Rasp’s real employer, the archcriminal known only as Nuro, isn’t interested in antigravity. He wants the energy-to-matter project, and directs Rasp to kill one of the project scientists to take their place. After a couple of failed attempts, Dr. Rasp succeeds in overloading an atomic pile, which results in a lethal dose of radiation within the lab, killing Dr. Bently…and doing something entirely other to Dr. Solar.
Through some freak of fate, Dr. Solar becomes a man of the atom, subsisting on radiation and himself radioactive to a dangerous degree. With Dr. Clarkson’s connivance, Dr. Solar is concealed within the lab, still technically alive, but working in secret and seeing no one. When Dr. Rasp makes another attempt to discover Solar’s secret, the man of the atom learns that he has incredible powers granted by his new radioactive form.
Doctor Solar was created in 1962 as the first original character for the Gold Key line of comic books from Western Publishing. The publisher had previously been partnered with Dell Comics, and doing almost all licensed adaptations of TV shows and movies. This influenced the look and feel of the series, especially in the early issues where the hero didn’t even wear a brightly colored costume.
Interestingly, Dr. Solar did wear dark glasses at all times, even indoors, and this was never explained or even remarked on by other characters. After his transformation, he had green skin whenever full up on radiation. Eventually, he learns how to appear human again, but must wear special clothing to damp his radioactivity so that he can mingle with mere mortals (and forget intimate contact!)
Western Publishing’s reputation for family-friendly comics was so strong that Gold Key was one of the few lines of comics that could be successfully distributed without submitting their work to the Comics Code Authority. This mostly showed itself in the fact that Nuro remains unpunished throughout the first seven issues reprinted in this volume.
Once Dr. Solar does get himself a distinctive costume, his superhero name is “Man of the Atom” (something that got dropped in later revivals of the character as it’s a bit clumsy.) In these issues he primarily deals with Nuro’s repeated attempts to steal the secrets of Atom Valley and natural disasters.
The good: Excellent art, especially the distinctive covers. Innovative use of the main character’s powers. The plots do a good job of establishing tension and making Dr. Solar seem not too overwhelming to be a sympathetic character.
The less good: Characterization is thin on the ground; we learn all we need to about the characters in the first story, and there’s no character development after that. Gail is a damsel in distress, and we almost never see her use her science skills (and never in a way that helps resolve the story’s central plotline.)
Nuro’s the kind of villain who sits in a chair in obscuring shadows and orders minions about; by the seventh issue, Dr. Solar still doesn’t even know who he is. As the hero’s control of his powers grows, the threats Nuro, a mere human being, can throw at him become much less threatening. This undercuts the menace considerably.
Also, the binding of this collection is fragile, and my copy has already fallen apart.
Primarily recommended to fans of the type of superhero who was created for television back in the day, as that’s what this series reminded me of most, and who like good art. Other superhero fans might want to check to see if the library has a copy they can read.
