Solar: Man of the Atom #4 Review

Will Erica heed the advice of her father or will she go in guns blazing? Read on to find out.

The official description from Dynamite:

You’re Erica Seleski. Yesterday you were an architect. Today you can pretty much do anything. Can the brand-new WOMAN OF THE ATOM figure out her incredible abilities in time to stop a full-on alien invasion? (Hint: No.) It’s a brave new world for Solar from the astounding vision of FRANK BARBIERE (Five Ghosts, New Avengers) and Joe Bennett (Iron Man)!

Solar: Man of the Atom has been a fabulous series so far and easily the Golden Key series to have improved the most. The changing of the guard between Phil and his daughter Erica has brought a very unique twist to the series as instead of following suit from previous runs the series becomes something new and unique.

Frank Barbiere‘s script has been one of the key things behind this series success as though I personally find his creator owned work more enticing he’s certainly intrigued me over the course of this series. Much like last issue it was the interaction between Phil and Erica that impressed the most, with Erica’s brash actions allowing for some dynamic action. Barbiere also manages to build suspense and drama with the Colin/Nuro interaction proving to be an intriguing side development.

Joe Bennett once again produces the art for this series but unlike last issue he’s only joined by one other artist, Jonathan Lau. Both artists work in harmony to create a very dynamic look with the explosive action proving to be extremely eye catching. There is however a noticeable difference in styles with Bennett having a more rougher finish compared to Lau’s neat and textures look. Despite this Mauricio Wallace‘s colours allows some form of consistency helping give a polished finish.

The first arc of Solar: Man of the Atom comes to a close and though we’ve yet to see something truly spectacular the energy and character depth makes it a very enticing series. Highly recommended.