Review: Doctor Solar, Man of the Atom #5 - Dark Horse Comics

Doctor Solar, Man of the Atom #5
Writer: Jim Shooter
Artist: Roger Robinson & Agustin Alessio
Colorist: Wes Dzioba
Letterer: Blambot
Cover Artist: Michael Komark

Buy it now!
Doctor Solar, Man of the Atom #5 at TFAW.com

Take a look at the stunningly gorgeous panel below, and give me one good reason why you aren't reading Doctor Solar, Man of the Atom!
The fifth issue came out yesterday, and is the start of the second story arc. Well, it's actually the start of TWO new story arcs, both written by Jim Shooter but drawn by different artists; Roger Robinson and Agustin Alessio. The two stories take place a few weeks apart, but intertwine perfectly. We're given just enough info in each that one doesn't spoil the other, or anything to come.

Similar to how Marvel's Doctor Strange, with it's trippy visuals and mysticism, became popular in the 1960's counter culture at universities, Doctor Solar could easily become mandatory reading for today's science undergrads. There's some weird, trippy stuff going on in this book, but it's all science based. No magic hocus pocus here!

And if you ever need to know what an Ergosphere is, put down that Astrophysics text book. Jim Shooter explains all you need to know in two succinct panels! The entire description of the purpose of the black hole is so beautifully and concisely explained that I think Mr. Shooter missed his calling as a science teacher.

The first four issues of this series were a great introduction, and were infused with a lot of humour as the newly incarnated Doctor Solar found his way in the world. The first story in this second arc takes a bit of a twist and seems to have a far more sinister tone, hitting it's peak when a corpse carries a miniature black hole down the street. We also get another glimpse into villain Tanek Nuro's deviant nature. He is one sick puppy! The preview images had some posters rolling their eyes over Nuro's use of an "avatar", connecting it to the recent film of the same name, but there is no sense that Shooter is capitalizing or copying the film in any way.

The second story is the first part of Solar's origin. Reduced to a single sentence, it can be describes as a tale about a black hole consuming 80kg of mass. Somehow, Shooter and artist Agustin Alessio make it the most captivating book I've read in a long time, and I'll be surprised if it doesn't end up as my Book of the Year at the end of December.

The narrative jumps back and forth between Dr. Philip Solar describing the project's goal of creating a black hole to power the world with it's energy, and the day after disaster where the black hold consumes the earth.
If this were a movie, no doubt the scenes featuring the matter consuming black hole would be accompanied by some spectacular sound effects designed to unnerve the audience in their seats. The amazing thing about Allesio's artwork is that it gives you the same, ugly, terrifying feeling of impending doom in the pit of your stomach on the printed page, WITHOUT sound, motion, or high definition 3-D movie screens! I really did feel uncomfortable watching Solar get accreted.

Don't know what accrete means? Don't worry. Like I said above, Shooter does an uncanny job of making the science of black holes understandable to the layman!

While Allessio's artwork helps send this book into the stratosphere, it is not without it's faults, the main one being that it does seem to rely a little too much on photo reference in places. Phillip Solar is seen from different angles describing his experiment, yet it's obvious the same photo was used for reference in each case. In another scene where Gail Saunders is introduced, the fellow scientists in the crowd stare forward, as if this were a class photo, none of them focussing their attention on the character speaking. Also, doesn't anyone need to open their mouths to talk?
As enjoyable as Jim Shooter's Dark Horse work has been to date, this issue is elevated to an entirely different level. The pacing is perfect. The dialogue is natural. The stakes are high. It's a great story told from two different directions - the first arc with Robinson's more traditional comic art deals with the present, and the second featuring Allesio's more photorealist style looks back at a few weeks prior to Solar's origin.

The two stories look poised to merge over the next 3 issues, coming together to form a cohesive story arc that, judging by the first shot fired, is going to be epic.

Currently playing: Samantha Fox - True Devotion
Currently colouring: Marvel Masterworks: The Avengers Volume 11!
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