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Atom #3 - COMPLETE STORY (Kane/Anderson)

The Atom first appeared in the Silver Age in DC’s Showcase #34. “ Showcase” was a comic for just that purpose, to try out new characters and see if the book would stick. Anyway, Showcase tried out a number of books, some of which were widely successful; others, not so much. After three issues in Showcase, The Atom was granted his own book. Successful characters that followed the same path? How about The Flash, Green Lantern, and Aquaman! Although it seems unlikely now, not all of these books were obvious successes. But, all started in Showcase for a short test run. I never realized all of that was going on. In the first 40 or so issues of Showcase, there were others that had some success, but never hit the truly big time as solo books; the Metal Men, Challengers of the Unknown, Rip Hunter, Lois Lane, and Adam Strange. And, there were others that got their start and basically finish in Showcase; Frogmen, Sea Devils, Space Rangers, and Tommy Tomorrow. Still, all of those were basically created during the early 60’s. Clearly, the DC teams weren’t just sitting around twiddling their thumbs.

But, back to the Atom. Written by Gardner Fox, and initially pencilled by Gil Kane and inked by Murphy Anderson (Sid Greene started filling in for Murphy in issue #11), Ray Palmer had virtually nothing to do with his Golden Age counterpart (certainly less than the other new characters). The Golden Age Atom was a “vertically challenged” individual who trained himself to be a super strong crime fighter. The new Atom had a super power (he harnessed the power of a dwarf star fragment to reduce his size at will), a new costume, and a new origin with an original supporting cast. Gil Kane, in an interview in Showcase #35, described his version of Ray Palmer as ‘Robert Taylor … with a touch of vanilla, a pinch of salt and a deep cleft on the chin-the last for a more positive identification.’ So, let’s be clear here. This was a wholly new character. There was absolutely no reference to the historical Atom, other than the name. Those early stories were crisply written, fun, and beautifully illustrated. Did he save the world? Not generally, and certainly not directly. As the creative teams tried new ideas, they asked for reader input, and as positive letters came in, ideas were enhanced or tossed entirely. In the first 13 issues (3 in Showcase and 10 is his own book), the Atom fought space aliens, travelled in time, and spent an inordinate amount of time courting a hot attorney, Jean Loring.

As for the level of creativity and writing, let me point out a nice example, “The Secret of Al Atom’s Lamp”, from Issue #3. In that story, we were introduced to Dr. Alpheus V. Hyatt, a former mentor of Ray, who had developed a small “time pool” in which he could lower a magnet to grab items from history. Unfortunately, Dr. Hyatt couldn’t make the time pool large enough for a man (unless, of course, the man could shrink himself down and hitch a ride on the magnet…). In that story, The Atom found himself transported back to ancient Arabia, where he met a young lad in search of a fortune. When the Atom tried to hide in a lamp… well, you may be able to guess the result. It was a 10 page story, there wasn’t any angst, but it was fun, written at a high level, and the artwork was sharp. Sound like bubble gum? Written for less than a 10 year old? Just listen to this quote; “In Moslem lands, the Muezzin sends out the Adhan, the call to prayer, summoning the faithful to bow toward Mecca.“ Seriously, can you imagine how many of us had heard anything about Islam in 1961? True, The Atom wasn’t saving the world, and there wasn’t any angst, but looking back, the writing certainly wasn’t taking anyone’s intelligence or maturity for granted. Apparently the feedback on Dr. Hyatt was positive, as he and his time pool became recurring guests over the next 14 issues, appearing about 5 more times at the start of the series.

Anyway, I would encourage all of you to take a close look at the early Silver Age DC books. They’re really great! And, if you’re looking for a nice start, I’ve just posted the complete twice up 10 page story “The Secret of Al Atom’s Lamp".

There are 10 Pieces of Art In This Gallery.    

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The Atom #3, page 1

Art Details

Artist:	Gil Kane (Penciller) Murphy Anderson (Inker)
Media Type:	Pen and Ink
Art Type:	Splash Page
For Sale Status:	NFS
Views	895
Comments:	7
Added to Site:	5/20/2012

About the Owner

Ron S
Member Since:	June 2007

The Atom #3, page 1
Artist: Gil Kane (Penciller)
Murphy Anderson (Inker)
895 Views, 7 Comments

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The Atom #3, page 2

Art Details

Artist:	Gil Kane (Penciller) Murphy Anderson (Inker)
Media Type:	Pen and Ink
Art Type:	Interior Page
For Sale Status:	NFS
Views	661
Comments:	0
Added to Site:	5/20/2012

About the Owner

Ron S
Member Since:	June 2007

The Atom #3, page 2
Artist: Gil Kane (Penciller)
Murphy Anderson (Inker)
661 Views

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The Atom #3, page 3

Art Details

Artist:	Gil Kane (Penciller) Murphy Anderson (Inker)
Media Type:	Pen and Ink
Art Type:	Interior Page
For Sale Status:	0NFS
Views	643
Comments:	2
Added to Site:	5/20/2012

About the Owner

Ron S
Member Since:	June 2007

The Atom #3, page 3
Artist: Gil Kane (Penciller)
Murphy Anderson (Inker)
643 Views, 2 Comments

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The Atom #3, page 4

Art Details

Artist:	Gil Kane (Penciller) Murphy Anderson (Inker)
Media Type:	Pen and Ink
Art Type:	Interior Page
For Sale Status:	NFS
Views	681
Comments:	0
Added to Site:	5/20/2012

About the Owner

Ron S
Member Since:	June 2007

The Atom #3, page 4
Artist: Gil Kane (Penciller)
Murphy Anderson (Inker)
681 Views

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The Atom #3, page 5

Art Details

Artist:	Gil Kane (Penciller) Murphy Anderson (Inker)
Media Type:	Pen and Ink
Art Type:	Interior Page
For Sale Status:	NFS
Views	674
Comments:	1
Added to Site:	5/20/2012

About the Owner

Ron S
Member Since:	June 2007

The Atom #3, page 5
Artist: Gil Kane (Penciller)
Murphy Anderson (Inker)
674 Views, 1 Comment

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The Atom #3, page 6

Art Details

Artist:	Gil Kane (Penciller) Murphy Anderson (Inker)
Media Type:	Pen and Ink
Art Type:	Interior Page
For Sale Status:	NFS
Views	652
Comments:	0
Added to Site:	5/20/2012

About the Owner

Ron S
Member Since:	June 2007

The Atom #3, page 6
Artist: Gil Kane (Penciller)
Murphy Anderson (Inker)
652 Views

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The Atom #3, page 7

Art Details

Artist:	Gil Kane (Penciller) Murphy Anderson (Inker)
Media Type:	Pen and Ink
Art Type:	Interior Page
For Sale Status:	NFS
Views	557
Comments:	0
Added to Site:	5/20/2012

About the Owner

Ron S
Member Since:	June 2007

The Atom #3, page 7
Artist: Gil Kane (Penciller)
Murphy Anderson (Inker)
557 Views

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The Atom #3, page 8

Art Details

Artist:	Gil Kane (Penciller) Murphy Anderson (Inker)
Media Type:	Pen and Ink
Art Type:	Interior Page
For Sale Status:	NFS
Views	598
Comments:	0
Added to Site:	5/20/2012

About the Owner

Ron S
Member Since:	June 2007

The Atom #3, page 8
Artist: Gil Kane (Penciller)
Murphy Anderson (Inker)
598 Views

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The Atom #3, page 9

Art Details

Artist:	Gil Kane (Penciller) Murphy Anderson (Inker)
Media Type:	Pen and Ink
Art Type:	Interior Page
For Sale Status:	NFS
Views	622
Comments:	0
Added to Site:	5/20/2012

About the Owner

Ron S
Member Since:	June 2007

The Atom #3, page 9
Artist: Gil Kane (Penciller)
Murphy Anderson (Inker)
622 Views

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The Atom #3, Page 10

Art Details

Artist:	Gil Kane (Penciller) Murphy Anderson (Inker)
Media Type:	Pen and Ink
Art Type:	Interior Page
For Sale Status:	NFS
Views	577
Comments:	0
Added to Site:	5/20/2012

About the Owner

Ron S
Member Since:	June 2007

The Atom #3, Page 10
Artist: Gil Kane (Penciller)
Murphy Anderson (Inker)
577 Views

There are 10 Pieces of Art In This Gallery.    

About the Owner Ron S Premium Gallery Owner Joined: June 2007 Last Login: September 2025 Ebay Id: lihama5 Country: UNITED STATES On CAF: Premium Member Q&A Artworks Commented On Liked Art Site Activity on CAF

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