Stuck aboard the Kaandari warship, Erica remains hidden while Phil causes some great explosions as a distraction. She’s able to sneak by most of the guards, but one robot refuses to let her go. Although it doesn’t attack, the robot does latch on to Erica. Thinking her the Mother/Father creator, the robot assists Erica while she slowly learns her powers and grows stronger than her father ever was in the role of the Man of the Atom. Able to fly home, Erica realizes the responsibilities to her power. The robot friend she left behind may not be as friendly as she thought, and the Kaandari aliens vow their revenge.
Writer Frank J. Berbiere opens the issue with the aliens dealing with the Atom family. The dialogue for the initial part of the book is in Kandaari only, yet the readers get a sense of the action. Jonathan Lau does an excellent job of translating through visual cues. Readers need not worry about getting lost in translation.
While the book reads well, which is a credit to the fast-paced action, there simply is not spark in this book as found in something like X-O Manowar. For instance, Erica’s attempt at comedy comes off flat. When she jets off into space inside a stolen vehicle, she screams, “I’m flying a mother flippin’ spaceship! Wooooo!” By now, the newness of her experiences should not have such an effect on the character. While I do enjoy this being a strong female heroine and the changes it entails, I do not feel an authenticity to Erica. In short, she reads like a female character written by a man instead of an authentic female voice.
Because of the sustained average nature of the story, I will be leaving the reviews of this book to another. Some of the concepts had spike my curiosities, yet the book never felt as though it got its voice and executed a story good enough to get me to anticipate each next issue.
Overall, this has been a very middle-of-the-road read.
Score: 2/5
Writer: Frank J. Barbiere Artist: Jonathan Lau Publisher: Dynamite Entertainment Price: $3.99 Release Date: 11/19/14 Format: Ongoing; Digital/Print