DCU Comic Book Reviews

THE ALL NEW ATOM #19

Down In The Dark

March 2008

Written by Keith Champagne

Pencils by Jerry Ordway

Inks by Trevor Scott and Keith Champagne

Cover by Ladrönn

Synopsis

Ryan Choi (aka The Atom) prepares to enter an old abandoned mine in order to rescue Panda and others who disappeared about two days ago when it caved in.  When Ryan reaches the bottom of the cave, he is attacked and knocked unconscious.  When he awakens he is chained up, along with Panda, by religious fanatics living in a small village underground.  When Panda is taken away, Ryan is able to cajole a young girl to help free him from the chains.  Ryan then rescues his friends and returns them safely back to Ivy Town.  Later, Ryan returns with materials for the people with the promise to check on them every so often. 

Review by Binkley (e-mail)

I think what I liked best about this issue is not so much the story that was presented here, but the ending that suggests the possibility of future issues.  Essentially, Simone (or whoever is writing the book) has the chance to step away from Ivy Town and the DC universe to delve into a contained setting, which can serve as a backdrop for more stories.  I realize that the Atom, due the ability to change to any size, can go anywhere he wants or wherever the writer can imagine, but the idea Ryan could have a home away from home, so to speak, opens up a bunch of possibilities.  Hopefully, we’ll get to see more of this town and its weird people.

As for this issue, I enjoyed the story and liked the fact that it was self-contained in this issue, but it didn’t really feel like it was an Atom story.  I guess I am so used to Simone’s idiosyncratic writing, that I really missed it here.  It just seemed like the story was written in a too straightforward manner, lacking the usual offbeat humor that I associate with this book.  Plus, there were no quotes in the book.  While Simone has been pulling back on these a little, I still noticed it wasn’t there, further reinforcing the feeling that it was quite the Atom that I was used to. 

This is the second fill-in writer for this series in about three to four months.  I wonder what is going on with Simone that would make the editors at DC pick up fill-in material.  Is Simone too busy with the Wonder Woman book that she just took over or is there another project that is taking away a lot of her time? 

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