Atom (Ray Palmer)
| The Atom | |
|---|---|
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Pencil art by Doug Braithwaite painted over by Alex Ross from a page from Justice #6 (August, 2006.)
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| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Showcase #34 (Oct. 1961) |
| Created by |
Julius Schwartz (editor and co-plotter) Gardner Fox (writer) Gil Kane (artist) |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Raymond "Ray" Palmer |
| Team affiliations |
Justice League Teen Titans Indigo Tribe S.H.A.D.E. |
| Abilities |
Ability to shrink and grow his body and other objects to varying degrees (including the subatomic level) while manipulating his weight to his advantage Ph.D. in physics |
| Atom | |
 |
Showcase #34 (Oct. 1961), debut of the Silver Age Atom. Cover art by Gil Kane and Murphy Anderson. |
| Series publication information | |
| Schedule | Bimonthly, monthly |
| Format |
(Atom, Atom and Hawkman, Power of the Atom): Ongoing series (Sword of the Atom): Limited series (Brightest Day: The Atom Special): One-shot |
| Genre | Superhero |
| Publication date |
(Atom) June 1962 – August 1968 (Atom and Hawkman) October 1968 – October 1969 (Sword of the Atom) September – December 1983 (Power of the Atom) August 1988 – November 1989 (Brightest Day: The Atom Special) July 2010 |
| Number of issues |
(Atom): 38 (Atom and Hawkman): 7 (Sword of the Atom): 4 (Power of the Atom): 18 (Brightest Day: The Atom Special): 1 |
| Creative team | |
| Writer(s) |
(Atom) Gardner Fox, Frank Robbins (Atom and Hawkman) Robert Kanigher, Gardner Fox, Denny O'Neil (Sword of the Atom) Jan Strnad (Power of the Atom) Roger Stern, Tom Peyer (Brightest Day: The Atom Special) Jeff Lemire |
| Penciller(s) |
(Atom) Gil Kane, Mike Sekowsky (Atom and Hawkman) Murphy Anderson, Dick Dillin (Sword of the Atom) Gil Kane (Power of the Atom) Dwayne Turner, Graham Nolan (Brightest Day: The Atom Special) Mahmud A. Asrar |
| Inker(s) |
(Atom) Murphy Anderson, Sid Greene (Brightest Day: The Atom Special) John Dell III |
| Letterer(s) |
(Brightest Day: The Atom Special) Sal Cipriano |
| Colorist(s) |
(Brightest Day: The Atom Special) Pete Pantazis |
Ability to shrink and grow his body and other objects to varying degrees (including the subatomic level) while manipulating his weight to his advantage
Maintains strength of normal size in shrunken state
The Atom (Dr. Ray Palmer) is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by editor and co-plotter Julius Schwartz, writer Gardner Fox and penciler Gil Kane. The Atom was one of the first superheroes of the Silver Age of comic books and debuted in Showcase #34 (October 1961).
The Atom debuted in Showcase #34 (cover-dated Oct. 1961) from the DC Comics precursor, National Comics. Early comics-fandom pioneer, Jerry Bails, corresponded the National Comics editor Julius Schwartz in December 1960 outlining an updated version of Al Pratt, the company's 1940s Golden Age Atom. Bails, and future Marvel Comics editor-in-chief, Roy Thomas collaborated on a suggested version that incorporated elements of the Golden Age hero, Quality Comics' Doll Man. Eventual Atom writer Gardner Fox wrote Bails on January 1, 1961, stating that Schwartz passed along Bails' letter to him.
...so that I might write and let you know that okay okay okay (this is hush-hush) an Atom book may get under way [sic] in the next month or so. I am trying to cook up some "new" super-powers for him in.... Your own suggestions are excellent and most especially the one about the atomic compression of his body, which is to be a feature of the "new" Atom. I have seen art samples of how he will look. ... [A]t the present moment the intent is to make him a college student rather than the scientific experimenter you have in mind. This is all talk, mind you — nothing definite.
...
Wikipedia