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Agents of Atlas #1 Book Released: 02 August 2006 Review posted: 08 Aug 2006 Writer: Jeff Parker Artist: Leonard Kirk Artist: Kris Justice Publisher: Marvel Comics  4.00 out of 5 Stars Reviewed by Calen Cross

Please welcome aboard new reviewer Calen Cross!

While reading the first few pages of Agents of Atlas #1 I felt like I had been transported back to the 1970s. The opening action sequence reminds me of Nick Fury fighting Hydra: faceless soldiers are overmatched by the superheroes, heroes who show absolutely no sign of weakness. The heroes wear cheesy short-shorts and capes, and the villains stepped right out of an old stereotype. It is campy, but in a cool, retro way. After a few pages, the campiness wears off and what is left is a savvy secret agent story.

Jeff Parker has created an intriguing story. Agents of Atlas #1 works

Agents of Atlas #1 is a savvy secret agent story.

well as an introduction, yet serves up a fair amount of action as well. Parker developes Gorilla Man well, and provides good dialogue between him, Derek Khanata (another newcomer), and Dum Dum Dugan, which tells the story as much as, if not more than, the artwork does.

Leonard Kirk’s artwork is inconsistent throughout the book — in places, Kirk provides great detail, but in others there is something lacking. There were a couple of times when I struggled to figure out what was happening because the page was too busy, or some characters were indistinguishable from others. However, there were parts where the action popped up off the page or the perspective of the panel really fleshed out the story. One artistic highlight, which was helped by Kris Justice’s inks, was Gorilla Man; keeping him in shadow really heightens the mood of the story. When Gorilla Man is shown in full light it is really something worth seeing!

My problem with the art lies in the details. Many of the close-ups in the book show great

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expression and detail, but in some of the wider panels there is a lack of detail which takes away from the flow of the story. Some of the details that really lacked involved the main characters — we never see Marvel Boy’s nor Venus’s faces in any detail. This relegates them to the status of bit players, which I do not think they are.

Agents of Atlas #1 is definitely a story driven comic, and it moves along at a very good pace. There is interesting dialogue and a plot that makes me want to buy the next issue — it’s a good story that feels like it is never going to end, and you never want it to. I kept expecting to turn the page and find the back cover, but more kept coming! It is a thoroughly enjoyable read, despite my problems with the art.

 

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