The Fall and Rise of Captain Atom #2
Writer: Cary Bates/Greg Weisman
Artist: Will Conrad/Ivan Nunes
Publisher: DC Comics
While DC is mainly focusing on Rebirth, they have also been quietly reclaiming the lost art of the miniseries. While ongoing stories are great, there’s something alluring about a self-contained story with a definitive beginning, middle, and end. Bringing back seminal Captain Atom alum Bates and Weisman makes it even sweeter. “The Fall and Rise of Captain Atom” continues the trend of these small stories after an explosive debut issue found him “dying” in 2012, only to reawaken in 1994.
1994 was a special time. Kurt Cobain. OJ’s white Bronco. The MLB strike. So much flannel. As the now powerless Nathaniel Adam pilots his way through a familiar past we see glimpses of storytelling I forgot DC was capable of. In a majority of time travel stories I’ve read, the traveler becomes a fish out of water , stuck in a period in which they don’t belong. So the story moves on to the inevitable acclimation period, so on and so forth. Having the traveler go back to a time they are already familiar with alieves the writer of that hurdle. I appreciate that they can get right back to the story without the slow-down. At times I almost forgot I was reading a “superhero” book. I was lost in the story of a man freed from his ties to his superheroic identity as he makes a path for himself. Adam draws from his knowledge of the future to set himself up in the past, making sure to not step on too many butterflies, so to speak. Years progress with Adam in a normal life, getting married, starting a career. All things he gave up when he became Captain Atom. He builds a life in this pages in a way we don’t get to see for many heroes. We’ll never see Batman spend six years as a normal person in-continuity. But you know what the best part about building a tower is, right? Knocking it down. A concept the team is familiar with as they rip apart Adam’s life in the closing pages. It’s heartbreaking. But it’s really, really good comics.
The art team gets kudos too. While the majority of this book is slow character building stuff with intermittent action beats, visually things never get boring as creative panel layouts keep things fresh. Some of the character positioning feels a bit wooden, but the point of each scene is effectively made. The visual story is told well. Conrad has done a little bit of everything throughout his career. His work here is easily some of the best I’ve seen from him.
I’ve never been a huge Captain Atom guy. He’s always been a side character who occasionally pops up in a story. Giving him a chance with this book was a great move on DC’s part, and you should do the same.
Artist: Will Conrad/Ivan Nunes
Publisher: DC Comics
While DC is mainly focusing on Rebirth, they have also been quietly reclaiming the lost art of the miniseries. While ongoing stories are great, there’s something alluring about a self-contained story with a definitive beginning, middle, and end. Bringing back seminal Captain Atom alum Bates and Weisman makes it even sweeter. “The Fall and Rise of Captain Atom” continues the trend of these small stories after an explosive debut issue found him “dying” in 2012, only to reawaken in 1994.
1994 was a special time. Kurt Cobain. OJ’s white Bronco. The MLB strike. So much flannel. As the now powerless Nathaniel Adam pilots his way through a familiar past we see glimpses of storytelling I forgot DC was capable of. In a majority of time travel stories I’ve read, the traveler becomes a fish out of water , stuck in a period in which they don’t belong. So the story moves on to the inevitable acclimation period, so on and so forth. Having the traveler go back to a time they are already familiar with alieves the writer of that hurdle. I appreciate that they can get right back to the story without the slow-down. At times I almost forgot I was reading a “superhero” book. I was lost in the story of a man freed from his ties to his superheroic identity as he makes a path for himself. Adam draws from his knowledge of the future to set himself up in the past, making sure to not step on too many butterflies, so to speak. Years progress with Adam in a normal life, getting married, starting a career. All things he gave up when he became Captain Atom. He builds a life in this pages in a way we don’t get to see for many heroes. We’ll never see Batman spend six years as a normal person in-continuity. But you know what the best part about building a tower is, right? Knocking it down. A concept the team is familiar with as they rip apart Adam’s life in the closing pages. It’s heartbreaking. But it’s really, really good comics.
The art team gets kudos too. While the majority of this book is slow character building stuff with intermittent action beats, visually things never get boring as creative panel layouts keep things fresh. Some of the character positioning feels a bit wooden, but the point of each scene is effectively made. The visual story is told well. Conrad has done a little bit of everything throughout his career. His work here is easily some of the best I’ve seen from him.
I’ve never been a huge Captain Atom guy. He’s always been a side character who occasionally pops up in a story. Giving him a chance with this book was a great move on DC’s part, and you should do the same.
A Look Inside
