DCU Comic Book Reviews

THE ALL-NEW ATOM #10

Jia, Part Two:  Unwanted Advances

June 2007

Written by Gail Simone

Pencils by Eddy Barrows

Inks by Trevor Scott

Cover by Ladronn

Synopsis

Ryan recalls a time in school when was nearly beaten to death by the bully, Alvin.  Now, Ryan has flown to Hong Kong to face the bully once more at the request of his wife, Jia, once Ryan’s childhood sweet heart.  What Ryan did not know was that Alvin died two weeks ago and is now a zombie and they have captured Ryan, ready to beat him again.  However, this time Ryan is able to use the Atom’s powers to escape.  He then visits Jia, where they both fall asleep.  When they awaken it is night and they find the Zombies before them, holding Ryan’s belt.  Ryan tries to attack, but his blows are ineffectual.  Alvin then tells Ryan that he must kill Jia because they have his father.   

Review by Binkley (e-mail)

I still think, as I said in my last review, that the dark tone in this particular story arc is not the right one for this type of book.  It is very dark and sinister and doesn’t really hold up well with the wonder of scientific discovery.  I love the line one of the zombies gives about how scientists see more wonder because of their knowledge.  This is the type of tone this book should give, a sense of wonder at seeing small things become literally larger than life.  Zombies and murder just don’t seem to match that criteria, in my book.  Really, you could put most any hero into this plot and it would still work.

Having said that, this issue was fairly good even if it started and ended in pretty much the same scene:  Alvin about to bash in Ryan’s face.  Not much else in terms of plot was divulged; something about Jia rings false and I am sure he secret will come out soon.  Simone is doing a good of teasing this, dropping hints here and there, including the mumbling while she slept. 

It is interesting to note that Alvin mentions Ryan and his “stolen ornament,” which I assume means the belt.  This is something to remember as DC marches to the search for Ray Palmer.  Or it just means nothing at all. 

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