DCU Comic Book Reviews

THE ALL-NEW ATOM #5

My Life In Miniature:  Part Five.  Redline Shift

January 2007

Written by Gail Simone

Pencils by Eddy Barrows

Inks by Trevor Scott

Cover by Ariel Olivetti

Synopsis

Small tiny alien creatures with syntax problems have declared war on Giant earth beings and especially the Atom, who may be the only one to stop them.  However, Ryan Choi (aka Atom) is being requested by his father to give up being the Atom and to come home to China.  Ryan is able to talk to his father and calm him down to discuss things later.  It was Dean Mayland who called Ryan’s father and it is Dean Mayland who is working Rudine Sylbert to help the alien creatures.  Back at his home, Ryan hopes to convince his father to let him stay.  During their conversation, Panda arrives to show Ryan some of the items he and the others built with the alien engine he found.  In a laboratory across town, Dean Mayland confronts an inventor who refused to work for him and then kills him, to set an example for others.  Back at Ryan’s home, M’nagalah appears upstairs and demands Ryan pick a side just as the aliens appear downstairs attack Panda.  The war has begun; the aliens have attacked the White House.

Review by Binkley (e-mail)

“I have not know but I will told.  Earthman meats are tasty cold.”

This was a typically good issue and sets the stage for the finale.  While it was nice to see Simon connect this book to the bit preview to Brave New World, it is a little disappointing that it comes so late.  I am not thrilled to go digging into my long box to find the issue and re-read the six or so pages to familiarize myself with what happened.  On the other hand, I hope the BNW section gets added to the eventual trade paperback for this storyline. 

The dialogue for the aliens still grates on my nerves, but that chant quoted above is hilarious.  As usual, Simone’s talent for good comedy is on display here, including the line, “Do not presume to plunge M’nagalah” as Ryan sticks a toilet plunger to her face.  I also like the way the tiny aliens not only use dogs as their base of operations, but they also praise dogs like a deity. 

The best part of the issue was Ryan’s attempts to convince his dad of everything is going on in Ivy Town and why he should remain.  Second best part was the death of Ricky Robot; disgusting, effective, and disturbingly evil all at the same time.  Unfortunately, Mayland comes across as Luthor-lite, but it works for the moment.  The entire scene with Ryan and Panda fighting the villains while dad is in bad felt more like a bad episode of Three’s Company and I think made the entire sequence more dense and complicated than it needed to be. 

On the two-page splash at the end, on the side of science (the aliens) there is Brain and Mallah, Captain Cold, and Dr. Light.  On the side of M’nagalah there is Murmur, Strega, Gentleman Ghost, Felix Faust, and Giganta.  And others, I know I am missing some.  -- Review by MRB

Quotables

Nicolaus Copernicus - an astronomer who was one of the first to suggest the Earth revolves around the sun in 1497

Dr. Phil Plait - a physicist and astronomer who runs the website www.badastronomy.com.

James Randi (aka The Amazing Randi) - a stage magician and scientific skeptic best known as a debunker of pseudoscience.

Penn Jillette - The larger and more verbose of the Penn and Teller comedic magical team. 

ïPREVIOUS	Main		Page	NEXTð

Home ●  Blog ● Who Are We? ● Site News
Alive and Well since April 16, 2006

 DC Universe Reviews.  All Rights Reserved
  Characters, trademarks, brands are property of DC Comics

For problems or questions regarding this website, please contact our kindly webmaster.
Last updated: 08/06/11.