Atomic Age (comics)
Encyclopedia
Atomic Age is a four-issue comic-book mini-series
, cover-dated November 1990 to February 1991, published by the Marvel Comics
creator-owned imprint
Epic Comics
. It was created by writer Frank Lovece
and penciler Mike Okamoto
, with inks by Al Williamson
.
The series was among the items featured in the Bowling Green State University
exhibition "The Atomic Age Opens: Selections from the Popular Culture Library." Collaborator Al Williamson
won the 1991 Eisner Award
for Best Inker for his work on that and other series that awards-year, with Okamoto winning the Russ Manning Award
for most promising newcomer.
of humans and extraterrestrials. The principal cast is: Joe Nuñez, a put-upon, twentysomething Hispanic
stringer for the Los Angeles Eagle newspaper in California
; his beautiful, blond girlfriend, Nan Stoddard, an ambitious and restless young woman whose feelings for him may be genuine or an attempt at being transgressive through interracial dating in that pre-Civil Rights
era; U.S. Army Col. John Patrick Lear, a proud yet pathetic figure who at the end of his career has been relegated to commanding the backwater military base Charity Island, in Melanesia
off Papua New Guinea
; and Nimbus, a mysterious, deep-black alien who has arrived on Earth confused of his origins but programmed to find and kill members of a genetically engineered slave race from his planet. The slaves, called drones, hope to commit species suicide — what the story calls "geneticide" — by destroying the scattered pieces of the original split of the drone race's original "mother cell".
Nuñez, frequently beset by racial prejudice, has developed a rueful humor and a resentful hyper-ambition as a journalist
. Using his connection with Nan's father, Dr. Stoddard, the head of a U.S. government observatory
in Los Angeles
, Nuñez's meets with a contact, a scientist who has classified data regarding what he believes is alien first contact; near retirement age and stung by the Joseph McCarthy Red Scare hearings of a few years before, he sympathizes with Nuñez's desire to report this earthshaking apparent event. Nuñez makes his way to Charity Island, where Lear, bitter over what he considers unfair treatment by the military after his long, steadily promoted but otherwise nondescript career, warily joins forces with Nuñez to spin the presence of Nimbus — who was first seen over Charity Island and has left a dead drone there — in both men's favor.
Nuñez returns with Lear to California, where the observatory has tracked Nimbus. Nuñez's ambitions soon affect his relationship with Nan and her family, and though he questions how far he will compromise himself, he rationalizes that the racial prejudice against him requires moral corner-cutting to overcome. Lear's increasing desperation to prove to himself he is a not failure leads to extremes that eventually threaten Nuñez while also forging a bond between Nuñez and Dr. Stoddard. Nimbus, who has uncovered a second, female drone, gradually learns of his true nature, and fulfills his mission in an unintended manner that betrays the billions of slaves on his world.
Counterpointing these personal stories are the fads, clothing, architecture, pop-culture imagery and prevailing social attitudes of the late 1950s, which inform the characters' actions and expectations.
and a '57 Chevy
". Okamoto said of a scene involving a motorcycle
, "We were going to put a Harley
in the book, but ... kids back then couldn't afford a motorcycle as expensive as that, so most of them used Indian
[brand] bikes, like [actor] Marlon Brando
did in [the film] The Wild One
.
A rudimentary early version of Atomic Age, set in the present day, appeared as an eight-page initial chapter by Lovece, penciler Robb Phipps and inker Sam de la Rosa in the comics magazine Woweekazowie #4 (Fall/Winter 1978).
, artist, Epic Comics
) is a four-part series dealing with alien invaders set during the Sputnik era. ... Although no nuclear war
is featured, there is plenty of wry satire
on Cold War
paranoia, and on racism
".
exhibition "The Atomic Age Opens: Selections from the Popular Culture Library".
Al Williamson
won the 1991 Eisner Award
for Best Inker for his work on that and other series that awards-year. Mike Okamoto
won the Russ Manning Most Promising Newcomer Award
.
Limited series
A limited series is a comic book series with a set number of installments. A limited series differs from an ongoing series in that the number of issues is determined before production and it differs from a one shot in that it is composed of multiple issues....
, cover-dated November 1990 to February 1991, published by the Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
creator-owned imprint
Imprint
In the publishing industry, an imprint can mean several different things:* As a piece of bibliographic information about a book, it refers to the name and address of the book's publisher and its date of publication as given at the foot or on the verso of its title page.* It can mean a trade name...
Epic Comics
Epic Comics
Epic Comics was a creator-owned imprint of Marvel Comics started in 1982, lasting through the mid-1990s, and being briefly revived on a small scale in the mid-2000s.- Origins :...
. It was created by writer Frank Lovece
Frank Lovece
Frank Lovece is an American journalist, author, comedy performer and comic book writer. He was additionally one of the first professional Web journalists, becoming an editor of a Silicon Alley start-up in 1996....
and penciler Mike Okamoto
Mike Okamoto
Mike Okamoto is an American comic book artist and commercial illustrator best known for co-creating Marvel Comics' Atomic Age; as a "good girl art" cartoonist; and as the five-time International Network of Golf Illustrator of the Year.-Early life and career:Born and raised in Detroit Michigan,...
, with inks by Al Williamson
Al Williamson
Alfonso "Al" Williamson was an American cartoonist, comic book artist and illustrator specializing in adventure, Western and science-fiction/fantasy...
.
The series was among the items featured in the Bowling Green State University
Bowling Green State University
Bowling Green State University, often referred to as Bowling Green or BGSU, is a public, coeducational research university located in Bowling Green, Ohio, United States. The institution was granted a charter in 1910 by the State of Ohio as part of the Lowry Bill, which also established Kent State...
exhibition "The Atomic Age Opens: Selections from the Popular Culture Library." Collaborator Al Williamson
Al Williamson
Alfonso "Al" Williamson was an American cartoonist, comic book artist and illustrator specializing in adventure, Western and science-fiction/fantasy...
won the 1991 Eisner Award
Eisner Award
The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, and sometimes referred to as the Oscar Awards of the Comics Industry, are prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books. The Eisner Awards were first conferred in 1988, created in response to the...
for Best Inker for his work on that and other series that awards-year, with Okamoto winning the Russ Manning Award
Russ Manning Award
The Russ Manning Most Promising Newcomer Award is an American award presented to a comic book artist whose first professional work appeared within the previous two years. It was named after comic book artist Russ Manning...
for most promising newcomer.
Synopsis
Set in October 1957, immediately upon release of the Soviet artificial satellite Sputnik, Atomic Age is an ensemble seriocomedy of individuals affected by the first confirmed contactFirst contact (science fiction)
First contact is a common science fiction theme about the first meeting between humans and extraterrestrial life, or of any sentient race's first encounter with another one....
of humans and extraterrestrials. The principal cast is: Joe Nuñez, a put-upon, twentysomething Hispanic
Hispanic
Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...
stringer for the Los Angeles Eagle newspaper in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
; his beautiful, blond girlfriend, Nan Stoddard, an ambitious and restless young woman whose feelings for him may be genuine or an attempt at being transgressive through interracial dating in that pre-Civil Rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
era; U.S. Army Col. John Patrick Lear, a proud yet pathetic figure who at the end of his career has been relegated to commanding the backwater military base Charity Island, in Melanesia
Melanesia
Melanesia is a subregion of Oceania extending from the western end of the Pacific Ocean to the Arafura Sea, and eastward to Fiji. The region comprises most of the islands immediately north and northeast of Australia...
off Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
; and Nimbus, a mysterious, deep-black alien who has arrived on Earth confused of his origins but programmed to find and kill members of a genetically engineered slave race from his planet. The slaves, called drones, hope to commit species suicide — what the story calls "geneticide" — by destroying the scattered pieces of the original split of the drone race's original "mother cell".
Nuñez, frequently beset by racial prejudice, has developed a rueful humor and a resentful hyper-ambition as a journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
. Using his connection with Nan's father, Dr. Stoddard, the head of a U.S. government observatory
Observatory
An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geology, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed...
in Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, Nuñez's meets with a contact, a scientist who has classified data regarding what he believes is alien first contact; near retirement age and stung by the Joseph McCarthy Red Scare hearings of a few years before, he sympathizes with Nuñez's desire to report this earthshaking apparent event. Nuñez makes his way to Charity Island, where Lear, bitter over what he considers unfair treatment by the military after his long, steadily promoted but otherwise nondescript career, warily joins forces with Nuñez to spin the presence of Nimbus — who was first seen over Charity Island and has left a dead drone there — in both men's favor.
Nuñez returns with Lear to California, where the observatory has tracked Nimbus. Nuñez's ambitions soon affect his relationship with Nan and her family, and though he questions how far he will compromise himself, he rationalizes that the racial prejudice against him requires moral corner-cutting to overcome. Lear's increasing desperation to prove to himself he is a not failure leads to extremes that eventually threaten Nuñez while also forging a bond between Nuñez and Dr. Stoddard. Nimbus, who has uncovered a second, female drone, gradually learns of his true nature, and fulfills his mission in an unintended manner that betrays the billions of slaves on his world.
Counterpointing these personal stories are the fads, clothing, architecture, pop-culture imagery and prevailing social attitudes of the late 1950s, which inform the characters' actions and expectations.
Production
The creators spoke of the series' authenticity in a 1990 interview, with Lovece saying, "Every car, for example, is a real car. We have a drag race in one of the issues, and the cars are a '56 DodgeDodge
Dodge is a United States-based brand of automobiles, minivans, and sport utility vehicles, manufactured and marketed by Chrysler Group LLC in more than 60 different countries and territories worldwide....
and a '57 Chevy
Chevrolet
Chevrolet , also known as Chevy , is a brand of vehicle produced by General Motors Company . Founded by Louis Chevrolet and ousted GM founder William C. Durant on November 3, 1911, General Motors acquired Chevrolet in 1918...
". Okamoto said of a scene involving a motorcycle
Motorcycle
A motorcycle is a single-track, two-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycles vary considerably depending on the task for which they are designed, such as long distance travel, navigating congested urban traffic, cruising, sport and racing, or off-road conditions.Motorcycles are one of the most...
, "We were going to put a Harley
Harley-Davidson
Harley-Davidson , often abbreviated H-D or Harley, is an American motorcycle manufacturer. Founded in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, during the first decade of the 20th century, it was one of two major American motorcycle manufacturers to survive the Great Depression...
in the book, but ... kids back then couldn't afford a motorcycle as expensive as that, so most of them used Indian
Indian (motorcycle)
Indian is an American brand of motorcycles. Indian motorcycles were manufactured from 1901 to 1953 by a company in Springfield, Massachusetts, USA, initially known as the Hendee Manufacturing Company but which was renamed the Indian Manufacturing Company in 1928. The Indian factory team took the...
[brand] bikes, like [actor] Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando, Jr. was an American movie star and political activist. "Unchallenged as the most important actor in modern American Cinema" according to the St...
did in [the film] The Wild One
The Wild One
The Wild One is a 1953 outlaw biker film directed by László Benedek and produced by Stanley Kramer. It is famed for Marlon Brando's iconic portrayal of the gang leader Johnny Strabler.-Basis:...
.
A rudimentary early version of Atomic Age, set in the present day, appeared as an eight-page initial chapter by Lovece, penciler Robb Phipps and inker Sam de la Rosa in the comics magazine Woweekazowie #4 (Fall/Winter 1978).
Reception
Nuclear Texts & Contexts #6 (Spring 1991) wrote: "Atomic Age (Frank Lovece, writer, & Mike OkamotoMike Okamoto
Mike Okamoto is an American comic book artist and commercial illustrator best known for co-creating Marvel Comics' Atomic Age; as a "good girl art" cartoonist; and as the five-time International Network of Golf Illustrator of the Year.-Early life and career:Born and raised in Detroit Michigan,...
, artist, Epic Comics
Epic Comics
Epic Comics was a creator-owned imprint of Marvel Comics started in 1982, lasting through the mid-1990s, and being briefly revived on a small scale in the mid-2000s.- Origins :...
) is a four-part series dealing with alien invaders set during the Sputnik era. ... Although no nuclear war
Nuclear warfare
Nuclear warfare, or atomic warfare, is a military conflict or political strategy in which nuclear weaponry is detonated on an opponent. Compared to conventional warfare, nuclear warfare can be vastly more destructive in range and extent of damage...
is featured, there is plenty of wry satire
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
on Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
paranoia, and on racism
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
".
Awards and distinctions
Atomic Age was among the items featured in the Bowling Green State UniversityBowling Green State University
Bowling Green State University, often referred to as Bowling Green or BGSU, is a public, coeducational research university located in Bowling Green, Ohio, United States. The institution was granted a charter in 1910 by the State of Ohio as part of the Lowry Bill, which also established Kent State...
exhibition "The Atomic Age Opens: Selections from the Popular Culture Library".
Al Williamson
Al Williamson
Alfonso "Al" Williamson was an American cartoonist, comic book artist and illustrator specializing in adventure, Western and science-fiction/fantasy...
won the 1991 Eisner Award
Eisner Award
The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, and sometimes referred to as the Oscar Awards of the Comics Industry, are prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books. The Eisner Awards were first conferred in 1988, created in response to the...
for Best Inker for his work on that and other series that awards-year. Mike Okamoto
Mike Okamoto
Mike Okamoto is an American comic book artist and commercial illustrator best known for co-creating Marvel Comics' Atomic Age; as a "good girl art" cartoonist; and as the five-time International Network of Golf Illustrator of the Year.-Early life and career:Born and raised in Detroit Michigan,...
won the Russ Manning Most Promising Newcomer Award
Russ Manning Award
The Russ Manning Most Promising Newcomer Award is an American award presented to a comic book artist whose first professional work appeared within the previous two years. It was named after comic book artist Russ Manning...
.