Solar, Man of the Atom: Second Death

Solar, Man of the Atom (Valiant)

by Jim Shooter, Don Perlin (Illustrator), Barry Windsor-Smith (Illustrator)

Collects Solar: Man of the Atom (1991-1996) #1-4. Written by Jim Shooter. Art by Don Perlin, Barry Windsor-Smith, Bob Layton, and Tom Ryder. Includes a 4-pages introduction by Seaborn Adamson retelling the history of Doctor Solar in the comic books

Genres: Comics, Comic Book, Graphic Novels

Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

James Charles Shooter was an American writer, editor and publisher in the comics industry. Beginning his career writing for DC Comics at the age of 14, he had a successful but controversial run as editor-in-chief at Marvel Comics, and launched comics publishers Valiant, Defiant, and Broadway.

Reviews

[Tom Ewing · Rating 4 out of 5]

Long out of print (since the people who own the other Valiant characters don’t own the rights to Solar or Magnus), this was one of the stories that launched Jim Shooter’s 90s iteration of the Valiant Universe, and which quickly became monstrously expensive as back issues. Which is odd in a way, as it’s quite a complex, cerebral story, unlike certain other of the early 90s hot comics.

It’s also the same story Jim Shooter always writes, the one about an omnipotent guy who is a dick but trying not to fuck up. Every time he wrote it he got better at it - the Korvac Saga is tedious; Secret Wars II is far less boring but a total mess; Star Brand is good but runs out of steam fast. Solar is the best version, the one where Shooter’s own control was most complete and where he could build a universe for his ultra powerful dude to fit into.

Of course between Star Brand and Solar, Watchmen had been and gone and the story we have here is not just a smarter version of Star Brand, it’s a dumbed down version of Dr Manhattan. But it still works - the central idea of the “superhero” trying to prevent his own origin is strong; the conflict between “Solar” and his alter ego is fun ; the Barry Windsor Smith origin inserts look gorgeous and dripfeed ominous notes into the story proper; and the usual Shooter cast of supporting schlubs (including the nerdy friend and the horny single mom, two of Jim’s staples) work better than usual. It’s rarer these days for comics writers to be allowed to bring their hang ups into every job, and in some ways that’s for the best, but I’m glad Shooter finally got the chance to tell his signature story right.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing start for a superhero comic, because it enter en media res with Solar already having gained his powers ... and trying to stop that from happening. Which means we get some wonderfully timey-wimeyness too, as Solar's origin slowly dovetails on itself.

There's also a lot of superhero realism here, of a sort that was a lot less common in the early '90s. Solar's actions have real repercussions, and he's concerned with reintegrating into real life.

Add in some beautiful art, and it's obvious how this, even moreso than the Magnus that preceded it, became the strong foundation of the VH-1 universe, which was entirely full of great storytelling and realistic heroes. There's even the first hint of that expanding universe in this volume, with the debut of the Harbinger foundation.

[Jacob · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of (if not THE) best comic books out there. Deals with deep themes in an interesting fashion.

[Rex Hurst · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dr. Solar was originally published by Gold Key comics in the 1960s and it reads as such. It was a cut above the others with a consistent villain and some of the best covers ever produced for comic. When reincarnating the character however, Shooter took the route that D.C. did when reintroducing the Flash back into their fold. The old series was a comic that the new protagonist of the series used to read as a kid. In this case however, his nuclear accident, giving him powers over all energy, also allowed him to cause the manifestation of the original fictional Man of the Atom.

What has happened previously is that the new Solar, has accidentally destroyed the world and now travels back in time to prevent himself from recreating the accident. Not only does he have to struggle against his younger self, but the new Solar, unaware that he is fictional, brands him a villain. A decent story, but it might get a little confusing if you hadn’t read the previous volume Alpha and Omega. Still if you like the older Solar, you will appreciate this. The author has obvious affection for the character, while still making a few jokes at the old series expense.

[Judah Radd · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve been reading a lot of VEI lately. VEI is the cool term for the post 2012 Valiant Universe that people in the know use 🥃 🧐.

So anyway, between books, I felt curious. So, I decided to check out VH-1. VH-1 is what we call the original Jim Shooter Valiant universe. For some reason, it was also the name of MTV for old people in the 90s. I digress.

This is where VH-1 begins. It’s pretty good, too. Maturity wise, it feels like it belongs somewhere between 80s/90s hero shit and 80s/90s grownup Vertigo shit. Excepting some dated moments (and some silly sci fi stuff), I thought it was good. The art was phenomenal. Really top notch. It’s a well paced TPB with a cool story, spectacular character development and a lot of really fun scenes.

You could do a lot worse. Jim Shooter’s love of superhero comics definitely shines through in the writing, and as one of the few remaining humans who like Jim Shooter, it was endearing. Definitely worth your time.

[Daniel Powers]

Did not like this one nearly as much as Alpha Omega, but it was okay.