Flashback Friday: "Captain Atom: Armageddon," Was a Random Little Fun Comic

I like Captain Atom when he is written well. He most recently had a big role in the Black Label, "Jenny Sparks," comic where he was portrayed as a psychotic villain. I didn't like how he was written per se but did like that series. For a fun Captain Atom comic that isn't too old, however, you can always read, "Captain Atom: Armageddon." Originally published in 2005-2006 with writing by Will Pfeifer and pencils by Giuseppe Camuncoli, it is random, but enjoyable.

The gist of the comic is that even though Captain Atom thought he died saving Earth from a kryptonite meteor in, "Superman/Batman," he wakes up on Earth..but not his Earth! That's right, it is a fun alternate-universe yarn where Captain Atom finds himself in the Wildstorm Universe...you know, back when it still existed as a separate-ish entity from the main DCU. Captain Atom sees how things are done quite differently in the Wildstorm Universe, gets in some fights, has some fun adventruing, and eventually ends up back in the regular DC Universe just in time for, "Infinite Crisis," and then the, "Countdown to Final Crisis," comics that kinda-sorta led into, "Final Crisis," even though it (confusingly enough) disregarded parts of those series--comics, they're a gas!

Captain Atom attempts to get help from the President and fails.

When I went browsing around the internet, I found some old posts by other folks who really enjoyed, "Captain Atom: Armageddon," with one from 2007 and another from 2012. The series wasn't exactly consequential to either the then-"Regular," DC Universe or the Wildstorm one--although it did lead to a minor reset and some new series as a part of a, "Worldstorm," event. Then, Wildstorm itself would not last too much longer before a series of mini-series that led to its Earth literally being destroyed in 2008, some series following the ruined Earth, and then it got folded into the DC Universe in general with the, "New 52," in 2011. So yeah, "Captain Atom: Armageddon," is a minor footnote in the publishing history of DC/Wildstorm, but it is also a good time with nine issues that a review from 2017 (the most recent I can find) concludes makes it a bit overlong, but they still liked it too. You can probably find a paperback collection of it dirt cheap. Go give it a read, and have some universe-traveling adventures!

Comics of the Year Part 2--2021 in Review

Now for Part 2!

I now present the rest of my comics of the year from 2021! Again, in no specific order here they are...

The Other History of the DC Universe

Probably the best thing published by DC in years, "The Other History of the DC Universe," is an out-of-continuity take on various characters who are parts of underrepresented groups. John Ridley writes and Giuseppe Camuncoli provides some stellar art in this raw, deep, and emotional anthology of sorts with each character getting an issue.

Moon Knight

There have been some runs on Moon Knight I loved and runs that made me shake my head in disappointment. After reading the issues of, "Moon Knight," that we've gotten this year from Jed Mackay and Alessandro Cappuccio, I am happy to say this is the best damn Moon Knight material I've read since the Charlie Huston & David Finch stuff that got me into the character in the first place. From the debut issue to now, Mackay takes everything in Moon Knight's confusing continuity and lets it all count, acknowledging just how messy a character Moonie can be. He lets this somewhat convoluted background bring us superb stories about a man struggling to come to terms with his personal life, religious views, and how he can help others when he can barely help himself. Plus, there's a dab of humor too so that everything avoids being a bit too dreary. I hope Mackay and Cappuccio get to write Moon Knight for a long time.

Jinx Freeze

When I reviewed, "Jinx Freeze," I put in the title how it was the weirdest comic I'd read in a while. It still is probably the strangest thing I read in 2021, and that's a good thing. Lord Hurk gives us the story of a town dealing with a heist, but it is so much more than that. An assortment of odd characters in seemingly unrelated vignettes begin to tell one epic story, and Hurk illustrates it all in an astonishing grotesqueness that results in this being one of the most striking comics I read this year.

Dead Dog's Bite

Tyler Boss did everything for this surreal little comic. He wrote it, drew it, lettered it, colored it, Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if he was at the printing press stapling the thing together. Now, someone can do everything for a comic and it still could suck, but Tyler Boss is a damn fine creator. "Dead Dog's Bite," was impressing me before it even finished and upon the conclusion of this four-issue series, I knew it was a real treat. A little dark, quite funny, and with a mystery that actually pays off at the end in a satisfying manner, this is an example of how a labor of love can be a masterpiece.

"The Other History of the DC Universe," is the Best thing DC has Released in Years

If you love comics and don't mind a slightly unorthodox format to them, you really ought to read, "The Other History of the DC Universe." Written by Oscar-award winning director John Ridley (who has written some other stellar comics too), it presents a prose-ish style of storytelling with illustrative additions that isn't quite a prose book with some pictures or a straight-up comic. This is also out of continuity as it dramatically ages our heroes in a manner the usual sliding-timeline of mainstream comics doesn't work with. The comic follows a young-to-older Jefferson Pierce from 1972 through 1995 as he realizes he has powers and uses them to fight crime as Black Lighting, all the while observing the, "Big name," heroes who happen to all be white (or a green alien) getting acclaim while his Black self receives scorn. It's really good writing and the illustrations by Giuseppe Camuncoli are gorgeous too. Seriously, this is the best thing DC has released in years.

"The Other History of the DC Universe," is going to be a series that sets out to examine the DC comic universe from the perspective of minority characters. It provides a unique take on people seeing these beings of amazing power in their World, but few of these people look like them or seem to care about everyday struggles. As Pierce remarks when Superman first confronts him, it seems the League is happy to fight interdimensional threats to reality, but cares little for stopping drug dealers or helping repair the deteriorating buildings of the inner-city.

Pierce is the protagonist of this comic, with his journal-style writings, but he has many flaws of his own. He lies to his wife about being a hero, and admits it is a bit of an addiction beating-up those who harm his city, almost as if he needed a way to target his rage lest someone innocent get hurt, and thankfully there were plenty of outlets. Pierce is all too human despite having powers, and he learns as the comic goes on many of the supposedly, "Perfect," beings people admire are flawed too.

"The Other History of the DC Universe," is not a, "Black," comic as I saw some remark online when they heard about it. It is a comic for everyone that happens to provide an interesting take on DC's heroes by giving a voice to often-overlooked characters. I loved what I read in this issue and eagerly await the upcoming ones.

5 out of 5 stars.