DCU Comic Book Reviews

THE ALL-NEW ATOM #8

The Entropy of the Universal Tends To A Maximum

April 2007

Written by Gail Simone

Pencils by Mike Norton

Inks by Andy Owens

Cover by Ladronn

Synopsis

Now...Ryan Choi (aka The Atom) and Dr. Hyatt are falling through time.  Earlier...Dr. Teddy Hyatt described how his father, along with Ray Palmer, discovered the time pool.  They watched over the time pool, but when Ray Palmer disappeared, Dr. Hyatt was left to watch it alone and eventually he went a little mad.  Teddy attempted to help his father, but in the process lost half of himself.  Suddenly, Ryak (one of the Linear Men) appears to restore order to the timestream by killing Dr. Hyatt.  Ryan tells Ryak no and with Dr. Hyatt, they slip into the timestream.  The land in Ivy Town somewhere in the future.  They are immediately attacked by the Atom police.  Suddenly, the city itself is attacked by Superman and Batman ships.  In the confusion, Ryan and Teddy get away to find Teddy’s other half.  They also find Ryak.  It is then revealed that Teddy is really the elder Dr. Hyatt, who attempted to became younger:  he got a young body, but his 78-year-old mind remained.  With Ryan agreeing to look after, Ryak restores the timestream, and Dr. Hyatt to his correct age.   

Review by Binkley (e-mail)

“Respectfully, doctor...move your bisected ass!”

I like this conclusion, although the ending seemed a little rushed, almost forced as if Simone had originally intended three issues for this story but for some reason made it two.  I say this because the scenes in the futuristic Ivy Town are relatively short for a scene that generated so many questions, like what was the deal with the police and why were Batman and Superman attacking, and how did the Atom’s ability to shrink play a role in the formation of this version of the town.  Then there is the ending in which we get what felt like a deus ex machina, but read like exposition, as Ryan explains who Teddy really is and how he became that way.  We don’t get any clues up to that point; the answers seemingly come out of nowhere.  Despite the reservations, I have to admit that Simone is keeping up the weird and this issue was no exception. 

The idea of a literal half-man seems like a good one, but I think the idea was mostly wasted in this issue.  At one point we see Dr. Hyatt drink a cup of tea or coffee.  But we don’t see the result, such as the liquid falling out or just sloshing around the stomach.  Or even disappearing into the part of the body that was elsewhere and then reappearing as it moves back to the visible side of the body. 

The single page of the futuristic Ivy Town shows three statues, all with legs spread apart.  The next page shows the statue of Jia Choi with her legs crossed.  And then a couple of pages later, her legs are apart, but not as wide as the first drawing. 

Quotables

Wm. Shakespeare -- English poet and playwright, perhaps one of the most know writers in the world. The quote comes Richard II, a play written in 1595 about the King of England.