Doctor Solar, Man of the Atom Volume 3

While Marvel Comics' stable of neurotic and dysfunctional superheroes dominated the newsstands of the 1960s, the Gold Key imprint's somewhat more genteel spandex jockeys offered an intriguing alternative to their more successful contemporaries. This volume collects the long out-of-print adventures of cult favorite Doctor Solar, whose vast array of atom-spawned powers is formidable to a sublime degree. It's a fascinating look back at a Cold War über-mensch and the naïve optimism regarding the potential benefits of atomic science. Solar's abilities are constantly put to the test while battling a giant volcanic monster, thwarting James Bondian megalomaniacal masterminds, and robot spies, repelling an invasion of extraterrestrial microbes—prompting the hero to spontaneously shrink and replicate like his minuscule foes—and even jumping forward in time to witness the end of the world and then traveling backwards to prevent mankind's doom. These exploits are all presented in a manner so quaint and straightforward that today's reader is quickly swept up in its rather stodgy retro appeal. Recommended for historians and students of mid-1960s pop culture. (Dec.)