It feels strange to be reading new Dr. Solar stories in 2010—not that I read a lot of new Dr. Solar stories when they were being published at the late lamented Valiant, and later, Acclaim Comics. When I was younger, there seemed to be something so tragically uncool, so terribly serious about the adventures of the nuclear man with the New Wave visor. Instead, I gravitated towards ShadowMan and The Eternal Warrior, with their largely more street-level adventures. I don’t know if the stories have gotten better (possibly) or if I’ve changed as a reader (hopefully), but I really found something enthralling about this latest incarnation of Dr. Solar who, in this issue, has math fights with kaiju-sized deities.
For those not in the know: Dr. Solar is physicist Phil Seleski, destroyed and reformed by nuclear sabotage and reformed as a being able to manipulate energy. Now he’s able to fly, generate powerful blasts, and, most interestingly, control the very nature of things by targeting the basic elements of their mathematics. Consider him a Dr. Manhattan still in possession of his humanity.
Jim Shooter gives the script a sort of delirious, enthusiastic weirdness—highlights: the “gods” Dr. Solar fights are actually accidental constructs by a failed writer granted reality-warping powers; the Dr. takes a momentary break from the battle to check in on his possibly-maybe new girlfriend. Shooter winks at the audience on occasion—he, and by extension his characters—acknowledge precisely how goofy some of the action is, and it keeps the script in a place where it’s enjoyable in and of itself.
Another thing of note about this issue: most of it is actually one long high-flying fight scene with cutaways to a couple of other characters, spread out over a seemingly brief timeline. I think, all told, the story takes place over the span of a couple of hours—if that. This compression of events contributes to the unusual (but still effective) tone. Far from being the dour, off-putting book of my youth, Dr. Solar is now a fast-moving, pop-fueled action-adventure. But then again, maybe back in the Valiant days it was the same, and I didn’t appreciate it as a reader.
The vibrant art is handled by Roger Robinson, who’s equally adept at the wall-to-wall action in the book as well as the smattering of quiet scenes. The most interesting contribution to the series is his version of Solar, a bit bulkier and maybe more ripped than the 90’s incarnation. I wonder if, in the process of rebuilding himself, Dr. Seleski went for a physical upgrade. I suppose we’ll find out next issue, which promises boldly, “The Origin of Dr. Solar.” I’m torn over which version I prefer (there is something striking in retrospect about the skinnier version of the character) but this one seems to be a bit more emotionally and physically brawny.
Check out a preview of Doctor Solar, Man of the Atom #4!
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