Solar, Man of the Atom: Second Death (Superhero)

by Jim Shooter, Don Perlin (Illustrator), Barry Windsor-Smith (Illustrator)

Publisher: Valiant (1994)

Softcover, 150 pages

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This is the four issues of the second arc rebrand by Valiant comics of Dr. Solar: Man of the Atom. It was written by Jim Shooter after his ignoble exit from Marvel, where he help to solidify some of the best plots for Marvel and steered it to number one in the industry. Plus he wrote Secret Wars, which was my introduction to the comic industry. That and G.I. Joe # 24. Shooter attempted to recreate the second golden age of comics (the 1980s) over which he founded and presided over a new company.

Unlike the other company to attempt to do this in the 1970s - Atlas/Seaboard - Valliant made a valiant effort. Its downfall was the same reason nearly every other small publishing company went bust in the mid-1990s, the implosion of the comic industry. The company was sold off to Acclaim Entertainment and while Valiant is technically still around, it isn’t the same company. But then what comic company is nowadays?

Dr. Solar, if you remember, was originally published by Gold Key comics in the 1960s and it reads as such. It was a cut above the others with a consistent villain and some of the best covers ever produced for comic. When reincarnating the character however, Shooter took the route that D.C. did when reintroducing the Flash back into their fold. The old series was a comic that the new protagonist of the series used to read as a kid. In this case however, his nuclear accident, giving him powers over all energy, also allowed him to cause the manifestation of the original fictional Man of the Atom.

What has happened previously is that the new Solar, has accidentally destroyed the world and now travels back in time to prevent himself from recreating the accident. Not only does he have to struggle against his younger self, but the new Solar, unaware that he is fictional, brands him a villain. A decent story, but it might get a little confusing if you hadn’t read the previous volume Alpha and Omega. Still if you like the older Solar, you will appreciate this. The author has obvious affection for the character, while still making a few jokes at the old series expense.

  For more readings, try books by Rex Hurst.