Chronos, Doctor Light and the Floronic Man, Jason Woodrue, all make returns in hopes of enacting revenge on the Atom. There are a good 3 or 4 continuing treks through the Time Pool, sending the hero to solve an assortment of historical mysteries such as the only successful theft of England's crown jewels. Ray Palmer's relationship with Jean Loring advances, though still no wedding bells. Plus unlikely pal, Hawkman with his bride Hawkgirl make a few returns to Atom's burgh of Ivy Town.
This isn't to say that this whole second volume is a rehash of stories seen in the first anthology. Far from it. Justice League of America sidekick Snapper Carr is given a secret assist from the Atom. Then Earth-1 and Earth-2 combine when Ray Palmer meets the original Atom, Al Pratt, in not one but two team-ups between legacy characters. The Atom also adds some new rogue's to his gallery with the introduction of the Bug-eyed Bandit and the Bat-Knights.
The Bat-Knights seems like characters that should be a part of the Batman universe. Only, these fierce warriors are an ancient pint-sized race of people who fly atop bats when they feel endangered by the full-size humans who stumble upon their territorial lands. Two great stories involved these new creatures and their love/ hate relationship with fellow tiny hero, the Atom.
The Atom also picks up an animal sidekick in the penultimate story. While in Cambodia assisting on an archaeological dig, Ray Palmer encounters an injured mynah bird. Once healed, Ray names him Major and uses the bird for winged treks. Sadly, Major's appearance in issues #37 and #38 would just about be the bird's only additions to the DC Universe.
I don't think sales were to blame for cancellation. Instead, it was ageism. In 1968, the year The Atom was 'cancelled', Fox and several other veterans were fired when DC enacted a policy to not provide insurance coverage for their elderly employees. I think Fox knew that his days were numbered as the tone of several stories in this volume drastically changed. Instead of straight forward storytelling, Gardner Fox began experimenting with quirky introductions, alternative perspectives and points of view and more hip slang that the average 1960s teen might use... badly. More than likely, Fox was doing a little employee improvement practice on DC's dime, as the writer's work temporarily imitates what Marvel was beating DC with at the time.
After publishing a handful of novels, in the early 1970s, Gardner Fox would go on to work briefly at Marvel, perhaps boosted by his more modern resume. Unfortunately, Fox wouldn't be allowed to say a proper goodbye to his creation of the Atom. Neither would Gil Kane. Instead it would be written by Frank Robbins with starkly different penciling by Mike Sekowsky. Issue #38 would also be the final run of the first volume of The Atom. Sorta.
With issue #39, the series was re-branded The Atom and Hawkman. Hawkman's solo series was officially cancelled and the Thanagarian hero joined forces with the Atom. Hawkman's Joe Kubert led the creative team that replaced Fox and Kane. However, the teaming of feathered friend and tiny titan wasn't to be, as ultimately both heroes were cancelled before the new decade with issue #45. This book does not include those final 7 team-up issues.
Worth Consuming!
Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.
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