DCU Comic Book Reviews

THE ALL NEW ATOM #21

Inside-Out, Chapter 1:  Positive Aspect of Negative Thinking

May 2008

Written by Rick Remender

Pencils by Pat Olliffe

Inks by John Stanisci

Cover by Ladrönn

Synopsis

Ryan Choi (aka The Atom) decides to determine if it is the dwarfstar belt that is causing all of the strange happenings in Ivy Town.  To do this, he draws a drop of blood from himself and then shrinks down into it.  There, he finds some type of creature.  He attempts to destroy it before returning back to normal size.  Later, Ryan is feeling sick.  He sleeps for three days straight and awakens to find strange markings all over his body.  Despite that he continues to investigate his own blood.  This time he enlarges his blood sample, which also means the creature is just as big as it sucks Panda into it before coming after Ryan...

Review by Binkley (e-mail)

With the first issue featuring a new writer as well as a new artist, I was not that impressed.  In the age of decompression, it feels odd to say that this issue was overflowing with too much from the heavy, heavy narration to a plot that seems to circle around on itself.  Basically, the idea is that the Atom is being attacked by his own blood.  This happens twice and I am not sure why.  The events after the last attack don’t seem to do anything important (beyond the size thingy) other than to bring Ryan right back to where he had been originally.  I really liked the set-up to the issue and Ryan’s investigations, including what he found, but after the first attack, it felt like the rest of the issue just dragged before it came right back to where it had been (much like the way this review comes coming back to the same point).  So, I just get on with it, right?  Having said all that, I like the direction Remender is taking the character and the book, but I miss Simone’s idiosyncratic writing and the strange characters that make up Ryan’s supporting cast.  It was nice to see Head and Panda, but they didn’t quite seem like the characters from Simone’s run.  However, I think that feeling will disappear in time as I get used to Remender.  So, ultimately, an average start, but I look forward to see what comes next. 

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