Who Needs The EPA When You've Got A Radioactive Giant? Doctor Solar Man of the Atom #10, January, 1965

In Doctor Solar Man of the Atom #10 by Dick Wood and Frank Bolle, the Earth's Polar Ice cap has fractured and is beginning to fissure into thousands of giant ice floes. The culprit is not Global Warming (yet) but rather a massive earthquake.



Deciding that this is "Washington stuff " (hey, the Navy doesn't even trust these guys with gloves) the "Big Berg" scouts send out a red alert that immediately gets forwarded to Atom Valley.

Luckily for those star-crossed nuclear physicists, Dr.Solar and Gail, Dr. Clarkson is on hand to explain the magnitude of the problem:


not Sverdrup!!

Anyway, a brain trust of scientists and military men is immediately called into action and Dr. Solar decides to attend- in his hero alter-ego of The Man of the Atom. For some reason, all the generals (and one snarky colonel who keeps calling Solar a "freak") want to use A-bombs to blow up or melt the icebergs. The Man of the Atom interjects that although he could melt the icebergs, it would flood the world. He also states that if he were to vaporize the ice, it would change our climate drastically, making Earth unlivable (like now). He does, however, propose another solution:


In order to pull this off, however, Solar is going to need more atomic energy than the Nuclear reactor at Atom valley can supply. Taking a tip from his own name, Solar heads to the biggest nuclear reactor he can find- Earth's Sun!


It's like a psychedelic, Dr. Solar Dance Party!!

Returning to Earth all charged up (the trip takes about 6 minutes at light speed) Solar seals the fissures in the Polar Ice Cap. He then returns to Atom Valley to make a startling discovery:



He's gotten big. Like Apache Chief big. Like Jimmy Olsen the Turtle Man big. BIG.

And, to make things weirder, there's suddenly a worldwide epidemic of electromagnetic disturbances. The Man of the Atom is immediately blamed.

I don't want to give away the rest of the story, but, as the cover implies, things get ugly before they get better. It is later discovered that the EM disturbances are caused by Sun Spots!

Also, I'm sure more than a few of you sharp cookies have noticed the resemblance between Doctor Solar and The Watchmen's Doctor Manhattan. Although Captain Atom is usually credited with being Dr. M's main inspiration, it's pretty apparent that more than a pinch of Dr. Solar has made it into that mix.

Hangin' Tough. Tonto -Everyone's First Suspect.

These days, there's a lot of talk about the dubious practice of "Racial Profiling", the idea that an individual is a more likely suspect based on their ethnicity.


Well, this idea is certainly nothing new, as The Lone Ranger's pal, Tonto can attest:



Yep, it seems that just about everywhere he goes, somebody wants to see Tonto hanged:


In fact, I've lost track of how many episodes of the old TV show feature an angry mob trying to give Tonto a new necktie, just for coming to town. And Tonto goes to town a lot. In fact, The Ranger usually stays at their campsite and sends Tonto to get information. (I'm sure many of you have heard the old Bill Cosby bit about this).

What's funny to me, is why The Lone Ranger can't just go to town himself? It's not like anyone out there knows who John Reid is or what he looks like. There's nothing to stop the Ranger from taking off his mask and moseyin' into town to get some supplies or information.

You'd think after the first time some bunch of angry rednecks tried to hang his best friend, The Ranger would reconsider the division of labor on his team.

Sadly, no matter how many people Tonto saves, The Ranger always gets the credit. And what does Tonto get? A rope.

Tonto- Upstaged by a Horse!

Let me start by saying that I am a huge fan of The Lone Ranger and of Tonto. I enjoy the TV series, the Radio shows, and especially the Dell/Gold Key/Whitman comics. I even liked Joe Lansdale's L.R. miniseries over at Topps. And, honestly, one of the best things about the Lone Ranger IS Tonto. Tonto is by far the more dynamic of the two characters. While the Ranger looks cool and solves mystery after mystery, Tonto lays the beat down on bad guy after bad guy.

Not that the Ranger is a wuss or anything, but Tonto is a serious Man Of Action.

Which brings me to today's topic. In 1951 the good folks at Dell Comics decided to give the Lone Ranger's Faithful Indian Companion his own comic book. And man, does it rock. Out of all the Lone Ranger comics I've scraped up over the years, my copy of The Lone Ranger's Companion Tonto #19 is my prized possession.


No, that's not The Shadow!
In his own comic, Tonto has lots of adventures as a young man, living with his own tribe (where they all-including Tonto- speak normal, flawless English; clearly because they are all speaking their native tongue) and as an Army scout (where he speaks the broken English associated with Tonto). The Tonto comics or at least issue #19 are very exciting and good, sturdy Western comics with rather nice art and beautiful painted covers.

But here's the crazy thing. Tonto wasn't the only Lone Ranger character to get his own series. Dell also published "The Lone Ranger's Famous Horse Hi-Yo Silver".

First of all, I would like to state that the horse's name is Silver, not Hi-Yo Silver. I have yet to read an issue of Silver's comic, as I have never been able to AFFORD one. Silver has a much higher resale value than Tonto. Apparently, Silver spends a LOT of time fighting other animals



and actually has arch-nemeses of sorts in the recurring characters of an angry puma


and an Indian named Keenay who wants to capture Silver.

The saddest thing, in my opinion, is not that Silver got his own comic, nor is it that Silver's comic is more valuable. No, the saddest part of all is that Silver's comic lasted for 34 issues. Tonto's only lasted for 33.

Why I love Turok, Son of Stone

Many years ago, when I was a child, I mostly read funny comics. I preferred Archie and Chip 'n' Dale and Casper. I had a couple of superhero comics, but I didn't understand why Green Lantern and Green Arrow seemed so angry, or why they had such hip, adult lives. I bought a Batman once and was devastated when the story was continued next issue. How would I ever get that comic? Would Crazy Quilt win??

One day, my dad brought me home a new comic. New to me, anyway. It had Indians fighting a dinosaur on the cover. Now you're talkin'! I had cut my teeth on both Dinosaurs and Cowboys 'n' Indians. I was in heaven.

For anyone out there who is unfamiliar with Turok, Turok and Andar are a pair of frontier-era Plains Indians who have stumbled into a "lost world" of the Arthur Conan Doyle or Edgar Rice Burroughs type.

It's probably my favorite "lost world" comic, as Turok and Andar really don't have a clue what dinosaurs are and, even with their relatively primitive, bow and arrow technology are still amazingly technologically superior to the various axe and spear level natives they encounter.

Add in a few quaint, innocent touches like the way all the cave folk speak broken English amongst themselves or the way Turok and Andar (and everyone they subsequently meet) call Dinosarus "honkers" and you have a comic that is both thrillingly adventurous and unbelievably charming.

But you needen't take my word for it, Mykal at the Gold Key Comics! blog has posted a classic issue of Turok, Son of Stone for the benefit of everyone.

For me, Turok, Son of Stone is always a window into a fantastic Lost World in more ways than one.

Thank the Gods 'Tis Thor's Day will return next week.

Captain Flash, Doctor Solar, Captain Atom and Nukla... Radioactive and Fabulous!

There's a whole subgenre of superhero that sprung up after WWII, the atomic superhero. Doubtless, after the U.S. dropped two atomic bombs on Japan, the subject of atomic power was on everyone's minds. A lot.

But unlike in Japan, where atomic energy produced nothing but giant monsters a'la Godzilla in film after film (inspired, doubtlessly, by the country's growing fears of possible genetic mutation due to having been exposed to so much radiation- sorry Japan.) here in the U.S. , we put a more positive spin on things. Atomic Power, which had made us the victors of WWII and the world's preeminent superpower MUST be a good thing. Instead of monsters, it gave us HEROES (to be fair, it gave US monsters, too. In the atomic age, monsters tended to shy away from the supernatural and more and more into embodiments of our own anxieties about the bomb).

Enter Captain Flash.

Published by the soon-to-be defunct Sterling Comics in 1954, Captain Flash was physicist Keith Spencer, who accidentally exposes himself to a deadly dose of cobalt. But instead of killing him, it gives him the ability to become an atomic superhero for two hours any time he claps his hands together. Heck, he's even riding a bomb on the cover of his first issue!

Captain Flash is also noteworthy because he is considered in some circles to be the first new superhero of the Silver Age. Captain Flash was drawn by Mike Sekowsky, who would go on to draw the Justice League of America.

Next up, Doctor Solar, Man of the Atom.


Published by Gold Key comics in 1962, Doctor Solar (or just Solar, or sometimes The Man of the Atom) was Doctor Phillip Solar. Dr. Solar was exposed to a deadly dose of radiation trying to save another scientist during a meltdown caused by a saboteur. Rather than killing him, the radiation caused him to be able to convert his body into any type of energy. And, for some reason, makes him green when he's a superhero. Dr. Solar's costume is actually a radiation suit that keeps him from irradiating everyone around him.

And they just keep coming. In 1960, Charlton Comics brought us Captain Atom.
Captain Atom was Dr. Allen Adam, who was working on a experimental rocket when it somehow launched prematurely with him inside it. He was launched into the upper atmosphere where his rocket exploded, atomizing him. He somehow reformed his body on Earth, now with super powers. (If any of you were wondering, Doctor Manhattan from The Watchmen is based on Captain Atom.) Captain Atom wears a costume that doubles as a radiation suit to protect the people around him from the deadly levels of radiation he emits. Sound familiar?

Hey, when an idea is hot, keep trying it. In 1965 , Dell Comics gave us Nukla.

Nukla (Created by Captain Atom Writer Joe Gill ) was Matthew Gibbs a pilot and spy for the CIA. When his spy plane was blown up by the Red Chinese, the nuclear energy of the corresponding explosion somehow allowed Matt to keep his consciousness and re-form his atomized body. Nukla has fabulous nuclear powers, like the ability to become immaterial at will and fire "radiation free"atomic energy bolts. How does THAT work?

Of course, most of Marvel's Silver Age pantheon of heroes have some sort of link to radiation, but these four heroes have a common theme. All were exposed to deadly radiation and all were transformed into heroic figures. They are each hoping to be the Superman of the Atomic Age. Sadly, none of them made it. Perhaps because, as the cold war continued to escalate, we just didn't want a hero who reminded us of our own tenuous position.