They were once a horde of street beatniks. But they would become Frank Einstein’s closest friend, as well as his fellow heroes. Your Major Spoilers Retro Review of The Atomics #1 awaits!
THE ATOMICS #1
Writer: Mike Allred
Penciler: Mike Allred
Inker: Mike Allred
Colorist: Laura Allred
Letterer: Mike Allred
Editor: Jamie S. Rich
Publisher: AAA Pop Comics
Cover Price: $2.95
Current Near-Mint Pricing: $4.00
Release Date: January 5, 2000
Previously in The Atomics: Reanimated from a corpse by genius scientists Dr. Flem and Dr. Boiffard, Frank Einstein was named after Flem’s idols: Frank Sinatra and Albert Einstein. Frank has become known as The Madman of Snap City, wearing a full-body costume and mask to cover his green, zombie-like skin, since only a madman would go out in costume and do what he does. In his travels, he has crossed paths with a number of unusual folks, but among the strangest were the mutant street beatniks, whose exposure to unexplained alien spore-like substances turned them into pustulous, misshapen creeps. This issue opens with an unexplained confrontation between another costumed weirdo and a giant monster!
As he stands against the strange creature, Madman arrives with a group of other costumed characters, joining the strangely garbed Zapman in fending off the giant alien. Madman gets his bell rung, but the other supers combine forces to run the creature away, much to Zapman’s discomfort and dismay.
We then get a flashback to the events of the previous volume, Madman Comics, and the origins of Mister Gum, a former beatnik who managed to transform into a stretching superman. That’s when the other beatniks decide that he cannot be trusted, turning on Gum and calling him “Booger,” all the while disbelieving that he brought their sworn enemy, Frank, into their secret lair. Gum tries to talk sense into them, to no avail.
I know that Mike’s storytelling style is something of an acquired taste, but the cleanness of the art (especially when combined with Laura Allred’s silky coloring) is incredibly attractive to me. This series is actually the point where my love of Madman’s world started to gel for me, as the previous volumes were in a constant state of evolution as Mike’s creative voice evolved and coalesced. As for the rest of the Street Beatniks, Mister Gum explains that their transformation back to human form is a simple matter of concentration.
Of course, no procedure is without its flaws.
With the help of costumes that Frank is able to synthesize with Dr. Flem’s lab, the team discovers how their super-powers work, flashing forward and back to show the present time, where the team plus Zapman track the alien wearing the same costume as him, as well as the recent past, which is how we see Zapman’s arrival on Earth!
As the issue ends, the team has dubbed themselves The Atomics (after arguing whether or not it should be spelled “Atomix”), but the opening sequence is still not quite explained. In fact, it kind of won’t be, as Mike is a very seat-of-the-pants storyteller, with this book still reflecting the independent sensibilities that launched Madman (as they will until his brother Lee joins the team later in this book’s run). As far as first issues go, The Atomics #1 isn’t particularly good at the “first” part, but it does switch up the status quo in Madman’s life by giving him a team of allies with which to share his mad, masked adventures, combining excellent art, fine coloring and an esoteric melting pot of story into 4 out of 5 stars overall. Honestly, I remember when this book came out just like it was last week (can it really have been TWENTY-FIVE years ago?), and I’m still appreciative of what the volume becomes. This one is well worth your time.
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THE ATOMICS #1
While Allred still hadn't quite become the writer he is today, the art is top-notch stuff, and Laura's coloring enhances it's best qualities.
Mister Gum is still the among my favorite of comics offbeat, goofball heroes.
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Writing5
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Art10
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Coloring8
Once upon a time, there was a young nerd from the Midwest, who loved Matter-Eater Lad and the McKenzie Brothers... If pop culture were a maze, Matthew would be the Minotaur at its center. Were it a mall, he'd be the Food Court. Were it a parking lot, he’d be the distant Cart Corral where the weird kids gather to smoke, but that’s not important right now... Matthew enjoys body surfing (so long as the bodies are fresh), writing in the third person, and dark-eyed women. Amongst his weaponry are such diverse elements as: Fear! Surprise! Ruthless efficiency! An almost fanatical devotion to pop culture! And a nice red uniform.