Captain Atom #1 & #2 Review

Captain Atom #1 & #2
writer- JT Krul
artist- Freddie Williams II

Before DC decided to reboot their universe, I had never picked up a Captain Atom comic book. My knowledge of the character was limited to old issues of Justice League International and any other book he might have made an appearance in. And that wasn't saying a whole lot.  From what I knew, his stories were more than just pounding the Penguin into submission or catching nuclear warheads before they detonated. His were the stories of science. That's why I stayed away from Captain Atom. I wanted superheroes fighting super-villians, not some scientific-mishap-turned-hero saving the day by affecting the atomic structure of the dangers around him.
Times have changed and comic books have changed.  Heck, I've even changed.  But Captain Atom is still a scientific mishap with the power to affect atoms, and I can now appreciate him enough to call him a superhero.
Former Green Arrow and Teen Titans writer,  JT Krul and former Robin artist, Freddie Williams II are the men behind the adventure in Captain Atom. Let me tell you, these two storytellers have me wondering why I never looked deeper into this interesting character. That doesn't mean I don't have issues with the book. At times, the writer beats the reader over the head with Captain Atom's condition to the point of annoyance.  Some of the dialogue between characters is too unrealistic. But, just before I folded up my half-read copy forever, some element of the story clicked for me. The science made sense to me, Captain Atom himself made sense to me, and all of that annoying unrealistic dialogue vanished as I turned the page. I became a fan somewhere in the middle of Captain Atom #1.
Captain Atom's artist is Freddie Williams II. He got his start penciling an issue of Seven Soldiers, by Grant Morrison and went on to do art on books such as Aquaman, The Flash, and Robin. I'm not sure how I like the art on Captain Atom. There are a few things  that challenge what “good comic book art” is for me. I'm a big fan of clean heavy lines. At the same time, I enjoy a more realistic look to my comic book heroes. Williams' art isn't clean and it's not realistic. By using a style similar to the one made popular by Frank Miller and later Scott McDaniel, Williams uses lighting effects to hide a cartoonish feel in his art.  The cartooniness is obvious in the pages where there are fewer shadows. However, just like I was able to forgive Krul's spurts of bad dialogue, I was able to let Williams' artwork grow on me. I like the tricks with light and the thick scratchy lines. It adds to a very dark mood in the book, which is probably what keeps Captain Atom from being another boring science comic.
I like the way Captain Atom uses his powers. He doesn't just beat up the bad guy, he neutralizes the threat. He risks losing his powers and dispersing into the atmosphere when he cools an erupting volcano in New York City or cures a sick boy with cancer.
As someone who'd never read a Captain Atom book before these two issues, I can say that they're a good point for any reader who isn't a fan to start being one.