Written by Tim Palmer, Fanboy Comics Contributor
The Atomic Legion is a tale from a bygone era, and that is exactly what its creators, writer Mike Richardson and artist Bruce Zick, are going for; a tale from yesterday transported to the world of today, and to the readers of now. Told from the perspective of Robby, a young orphan who wishes superheroes still existed like they did in the thirties and forties, we are propelled on a journey through space and time, as Robby suddenly finds himself in a secret, scientific compound, under the care of The Professor and his Atomic Legion, a gathering of the most brilliant, powerful, misunderstood, and forgotten heroes culled and preserved from the past. The Professor, who is a loose representation of Albert Einstein, has provided a sanctuary for these heroic anomalies, so that they can continue serving humanity and exist in peace, without fear of prejudice or judgment from the outside world. One of the strongest jokes in the book is how so many of these heroes were born out of freak accidents, much like the majority of the superheroes from the thirties and forties, along with the running joke of Tomorrow Man trying to find the right words to use as his call to action.
There are a plethora of fantastic characters, all fantastically realized through Bruce Zick’s art. Zick has illustrated numerous young adult and children’s graphic novels, as well as comics for Marvel, and he works as a concept artist for numerous major animation studios, so he is the perfect candidate to bring Richardson’s all-ages book to life. Richardson, perhaps best known as the President and Publisher of Dark Horse Comics, has written quite a few books himself, including 47 Ronin, with art by Stan Sakai, and non-fiction treats such as Blast Off!: Rockets, Robots,Ray Guns, and Rarities from the Golden Age of Space Toys, so it is obvious that his heart is behind this story. Drawing from famous characters such as Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, to lesser-known ones such as The Shadow and The Phantom Stranger, to pop-culture classics like King Kong and Frankenstein, Richardson creates a cavalcade of heroes out of the past, and all with his own unique spin.
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