The All-New Atom #22

[Justin D.]

I didn't see a thread on this, so I'll ask here. I'm a huge fan of Rick Remender, and I'll buy pretty much any book with his name on it at this point because I haven't been let down yet. However, I didn't have a chance to make it to the comic book store last week to pick up Atom #22.

Did anyone else pick this up to see his and Pat Oliffe's debut issue?

Also, please don't post solely to gnash your teeth over Gail Simone and Mike Norton no longer being on the book.

[Jack Zodiac]

Rick and Pat actually debuted with issue twenty-one, last month. And it honestly wasn't that great. The entire tone of the book had changed. Ryan's character was almost completely without humor, the direction on what was messing up Ivy Town had shifted after, I thought, having been settled by Gail at the end of her run, and what little action there was wasn't very exciting.

The Atom #22, though, was a huge step up from their debut (which, aside from Oliffe's art, I'd almost dropped right then and there). Ryan's still a little too humorless, especially after Gail's amazing character-building, but because of the tone of the story, I can let that slide. The real significant change was the return to the craziness and creepiness of Ivy Town, with the action becoming more thrilling again. Also, we get some more interaction between characters (which the first issue was almost completely devoid of), which helps break up the monotony of Ryan's depressing monologuing.

So, it's not off to a great start, but I think they could make it enjoyable again. Pat's art's really great, and Rick can write some awesome, crazy stories, but I think once he gets a feel for the character, he'll have this book working for him. Also, more Head and Lighter Then Air Society wouldn't hurt, either.

[brundlefly]

Hmmm, I may have to give the book another shot based on your summary, Jack. I dropped it after the oppressively-dour #21. While I love Remender's FEAR AGENT, which is a great mix of humor and dark subject matter like genocide, I thought his first Atom issue was pretty one-note and humorless and was too jarring a change from Simone's prior work on the book. But it sounds like he maybe just needed a few issues to get his feet under him; I'll have to check out #22 at my LCS tomorrow.

[md62]

I have to admit it was a bit of a shock switching from Gail's style to Rick's. Rick seems to be going for the old fashioned science fiction aspect of the character. I also read rumors that Rick's first arc leads up to a big reveal in # 25. Possibly the return of Ray Palmer???

[carabas]

I dropped the book.

I can't really say that it's badly written or anything, but something's missing. The sense of wonder and fun seems to have disappeared. It almost seems like a completely different book.

[rwe1138]

The shift with Rick's writing is a big jarring (and it looks like Head might not do anything other than float around and ask for EZ-Cheeze), but I'm gonna stick with it. Hopefully once things start to gel he'll pick back up on Ryan's sense of humor, which was one of the first things that drew me to the character. I did enjoy the return of Dwarfstar, and Pat Olliffe's art is a perfect fit.

[Alex L]

I'll keep it for another couple of issues. When a book switches creative teams, it takes a little while for the new peeps to find a way to click with the character.

Hesitant to jump on the "This isn't Ryan!" wagon because, frankly, Ryan isn't a character with decades of previous adventures behind him. I will say that he is different than when Gail was writing him, though.

[Jack Zodiac]

Drastically different. Even if Ryan's only been around for a couple years, he's still had his character firmly established by his creators, and that character hasn't shown up very much in Rick's writing, yet. He used to be a serious, but light-hearted character, now he's completely somber. But like I said, given the plot right now, I can understand that a little, but if it doesn't change eventually, I don't think there'll be any hope for this run, or the future of the title itself.

[Evan Waters]

I don't think it's so much the entire character being got wrong, but the voice, absolutely. That internal monologue of his is just crushingly broody. Even before he (hopefully just thought he) got Panda killed it was really too grim and wordy and heavy. Maybe he'll snap out of it by arc's end.