25 Thursday Feb 2021
Posted in Cameo, Captain Atom in Outer Space, Extreme Justice
Tags
So, Steel has an adventure in space! And the newly-formed EXTREME Justice team is on hand. Again, it’s just a little cameo for Captain Atom. He really needed his own solo title again at this point.
Now, I like Steel as a character. There still aren’t enough heroes of color in comics. But, can we all agree as a society that comics in the mid 1990s kind of really sucked?
12 Monday Sep 2016
Tags
Blue Beetle, Bob Smith, Booster Gold, Bronze Age Captain Atom, Captain Atom, Carrie Spiegle, Cary Bates, Dennis O'Neill, Dick Giordano, Dr. Spectro, Frank McLaughlin, Henry Yarrow, Mister Miracle, Modern Age Captain Atom, Pablo Marcos, Pat Broderick, Shelly Eiber, Starshine Stone
“The Silver Lie”
When is Nate going to learn to stop relying on “the lie” to get what he wants? It blows up in his face every time! Maybe not right away, but eventually the truth comes out for sad sack Nathaniel Adam. And the lie he spins in this issue marks a turning point in his history. Things are set into motion and his future with the Justice League is at risk.
The last time we saw Captain Atom in action was in Justice League International #17. This issue opens in the JLI’s New York Embassy, and right away things look… odd. Not bad at all. Just different. That’s because (for the first time) this issue was not penciled by Pat Broderick. Pablo Marcos did a lot of pencils and inks for both DC and Marvel throughout the 1970s to the 2000s. He did ink Blue Beetle #13 a year prior to this comic’s publication.
Mister Miracle and Booster Gold enter the monitor room just as Cap and Blue Beetle are taking off on a mission. They are puzzled by BB and Cap’s new bromance.
The mystery is solved when the pair come across a file entitled “Captain Atom Blue Beetle, The Covert Casebook.” I know, I know. Comics.
According to the casebook, when Cap was operating in secret (which never happened), he occasionally teamed up with the previous Blue Beetle, Dan Garrett. According to the fake history, Dan tried to convince Captain Atom to go public with his super-heroing years before he actually did.
Nate flashes back to the beginning of this latest piece of The Lie. It began one day when he was stocking shelves at Mellow Yellows and Henry Yarrow came in. Yarrow was Nate’s defense attorney in 1968 when he was first put on trial. He’s been trying to find evidence to clear Nate’s name. He’s also gotten a face-lift, as he is on the run from some crime organization that wants him dead. Nate closes up the shop and takes a ride with Yarrow, knowing that doing so will anger Starshine.
Yarrow reveals that Lester Bryant, chairman of Zyco Industries, has been buying up small R and D companies. In the 60s, Bryant was one of the Generals who sat in on Nate’s court martial. According to a “deathbed confession” by a “bitter employee,” there is a codebook in a safe in Bryant’s office that incriminates him as a member of a Vietnam, drug ring. Zyco security are on to Yarrow, thinking he is a corporate spy. He can’t break into the office safe, so he gives Nate all the info he has and lets Nate decide how to proceed.
Nate decides the best way to proceed is to lie to one of his Justice League team-mates and use him to gain access to Zyco Industries. He meets Blue Beetle in a secluded area where Beetle demands to know how Nate found out he was Ted Kord (Kord Industries was one of the companies purchased by Zyco). Beetle, who claims he and Atom never saw eye-to-eye since Cap joined the league, asks Nate why he thinks he’d help him. Nate hands him the secret casebook.
Blue Beetle reads about a time when Dr. Spectro attacked the first Blue Beetle, Dan Garrett. The Bronze Age Captain Atom came to Dan’s rescue. This story is told in flashback form throughout the book. It is enough to convince Ted, who agrees to visit Zyco.
Ted calls on Lester Bryant, who is rather portly. He visits Zyco under the pretense that he is seeking a job with the company. Bryant is all too happy to oblige, and sends Ted off with the lovely Miss Devon to take a tour of the company. As Ted flirts with Devon, mini cameras in his cufflinks are snapping pics, which Beetle and Cap pull up on the JLI computer later on.
Captain Atom spots the safe behind Bryant’s desk. He opts to listen in on Bryant’s bugged phone while Blue Beetle goes on a date with Miss Devon. Cap feels like crap for lying to Ted – not only about the “secret casebook,” but also that the airman who’s name they are trying to clear is actually Nathaniel Adam.
Back at Zyco, Bryant places a call. He tells the person on the other end that he was aware of Ted’s wrist cameras, but clearly isn’t aware of the bugged phone. The individual on the other end shares Bryant’s concern about Ted Kord and Miss Devon going on a date, and orders Bryant to have them both killed.
Out on the town, Ted pushes Devon out of the path of a speeding taxi. Before the offending cab can speed away, Captain Atom shows up and grabs the driver. Miss Devon confesses to Ted she knows a lot more than she’s let on, and tearfully offers to tell him everything.
Later, after he’s dropped Miss Devon off with the police, Blue Beetle meets up with Captain Atom at the JLI Embassy to compare notes. After dropping the would-be assassin off at a nearby police station, Cap went over the surveillance footage and discovered that Zyco’s “research submersibles” are being equipped with military-grade weapons. Miss Devon revealed to Ted that two of these prototypes were sold to major drug rings operating in the Gulf of Mexico.
In flashback land, Blue Beetle (Dan Garrett) is strung upside down in Dr. Spectro’s lair. Spectro is torturing the Beetle, hoping to learn his and Captain Atom’s secrets. But before Dan can talk, Captain Atom bursts in to the rescue.
Back in the “real world,” Cap and Beetle come upon the bad guys testing out their new submersibles on an unsuspecting cruise ship. Beetle swings down to take on the baddies while Cap provides air support. Ted’s plan is to confiscate the subs for his repo business. He shatters one of the canopies but isn’t overly concerned as that is an easy fix. He seems mostly concerned with impressing his business partner Booster Gold. Cap accidentally sinks one on the subs and apologizes to Beetle as he rescues the pilot. The second sub is also destroyed by its’ pilot.
Cap thinks Ted will be angry and this actually relieves him. He feels bad for lying to Beetle. However, back on board the JLI shuttle (with the baddies stowed away), Ted tells him he isn’t sore. After all, they have a tradition to uphold. The non-existent tradition of a Blue Beetle/Captain Atom team.
Back at the JLI embassy, Ted and Nate listen in on Lester’s office. He’s on the phone with a very upset third party. They hear and eplosion and take off for Zyco to investigate (this is where we entered this story). They arrive only to find Lester has been killed.
The fake flashback story wraps up with old Cap and old Beetle leaving Spectro’s lair and promising to always have each others’ backs. The issue closes with current Cap and current Beetle (after discovering the safe they were looking for was destroyed along with its contents) making the same promise to each other. Cap flies away feeling like a total a-hole for using Ted that way. Which he is. Honestly, did he really think Ted wouldn’t help him without the lie? I mean, they’re Justice League team-mates. Those guys always look out for each other, don’t they?
So I give Pablo and Frank and A for art. This was beautiful. I love their take on the Bronze Age Captain Atom and the Golden Age Blue Beetle. And I can’t complain about not having seen Pat Broderick’s take on Beetle, because he drew the cover. Cary and Greg get an A for story, too. I’ve always really liked this issue. It was super fun seeing Captain Atom and Blue Beetle teaming up and I will never not love these two Ditko creations.
07 Thursday Jul 2016
Tags
Alan Gold, Augustin Mas, Bob Smith, Booster Gold, Captain Atom, Carl Gafford, Cary Bates, Dan Jurgens, Dennis O'Neill, Dirk Davis, Duncan Andrews, Gene D'Angelo, General Eiling, Martin Allard, Mike DeCarlo, Modern Age Captain Atom, Pat Broderick, Plastique, Superman, The Cambodian, The Mongolian, Trixie Collins
Superman teaches Booster Gold a harsh lesson with his fists in Booster Gold (vol 1) #7 by Dan Jurgens, Mike DeCarlo, Gene D’Angelo, Augustin Mas, and Alan Gold. Captain Atom gets sucker-stabbed by the Cambodian while he’s chatting up Plastique in Captain Atom (DC, vol 1) #7 by Cary Bates, Pat Broderick, Bob Smith, Carl Gafford, Duncan Andrews, and Dennis O’Neil. And Roy and Jay are there to talk about it!
Music
Heart of Gold – The Roy Clark Method
Battle Without Honor or Humanity – Tomoyasu Hotei
Also available on iTunes and Stitcher.
Check out our tumblr for images from these issues.
06 Monday Jun 2016
Tags
Alan Gold, Augustin Mas, Bob Smith, Booster Gold, Captain Atom, Carl Gafford, Cary Bates, Dan Jurgens, Dennis O'Neill, Doctor Spectro, Duncan Andrews, Mike DeCarlo, Modern Age Captain Atom, Nansi Hoolahan, Pat Broderick, Skeets, Superman
Like Julius Caesar in 49 BC, FKAjason and Roy “Charlemagne” Cleary cross the Rubicon with Booster Gold, Skeets, Superman, and their new pal Z. Finally, the origin of Booster Gold is revealed by Dan Jurgens, Mike DeCarlo, Nansi Hoolahan, Augustin Mas, and Alan Gold. We then turn our sights on the new Doctor Spectro trying to get a piece of Captain Atom’s lie with Cary Bates, Pat Broderick, Bob Smith, Carl Gafford, Duncan Andrews, and Dennis O’Neil. All of this and more are found in today’s reviews of Booster Gold (vol 1) #6, and Captain Atom (DC, vol 1) #6. Plus, your listener feedback!
Music
Heart of Gold – The Roy Clark Method
Channel Z – The B-52’s
Kiss – Prince
With or Without You – U2
Also available on iTunes and Stitcher.
Check out our Tumblr for images from this issue.
05 Thursday May 2016
Tags
Augustin Mas, Bob Le Rose, Bob Smith, Booster Gold, Captain Atom, Cary Bates, Dan Jurgens, Dennis O'Neill, Doctor Spectro, Dr. Spectro, Firestorm, Janice Race, Mike DeCarlo, Mister Twister, Modern Age Captain Atom, Nansi Hoolahan, Pat Broderick, The Irredeemable Shag
In this episode of Silver and Gold Podcast, Captain Atom faces off with Firestorm, the Nuclear Man! Dr. Spectro faces off with a journalist! Booster Gold faces off with a killer zamboni and the Metropolis hockey team! So many face offs we had to call in the Irredeemable Shag to help us out. We review the Booster Gold (vol 1) #5 story “Face Off” (by the creative team of Dan Jurgens, Mike DeCarlo, Nansi Hoolahan, Augustin Mas, and Janice Race) and the Captain Atom (DC, vol 1) #5 story “The Return of Dr. Spectro” (by the creative team of Cary Bates, Pat Broderick, Bob Smith, Bob Le Rose, Augustin Mas, and Dennis O’Neill).
Music
Heart of Gold – The Roy Clark Method
Purple Rain – Prince
Kiss – Prince
Batdance – Prince
Face Off – Bow Wow & Omarion
Also available on iTunes and Stitcher.
Check out our Tumblr blog for images from this issue.
04 Monday Apr 2016
Posted in Captain Atom's Family, Podcast, Silver and Gold
Tags
Anton Sarrock, Augustin Mas, Aunt Jeanie, Babylon, Blackguard, Bob Smith, Booster Gold, Captain Atom, Carl Gafford, Cary Bates, Dan Jurgens, Dirk Davis, Dr. Megala, General Eiling, Homer Lockleed, Margaret Eiling/Peggy Adam, Martin Allard, Martin Lockleed, Mike DeCarlo, Mindancer, Modern Age Captain Atom, Nansi Hoolahan, Pat Broderick, Skeets, The Director, Thorn, Trixie Collins
This time out, Jay and Roy review Booster Gold (vol 1) #4 by Dan Jurgens, Mike DeCarlo, Nansi Hoolahan, and Augustin Mas. Thorn, Booster, and Skeets battle Mindancer, Blackgaurd, and the 1,000. Then we review Captain Atom (DC, vol 1) #4 by Cary Bates, Pat Broderick, Bob Smith, Carl Gafford, and Augustin Mas. Nathaniel Adam is finally reunited with his daughter after his 18-year-absence. Plus, scads of your listener feedback!
Music
Heart of Gold – The Roy Clark Method
Peaches – The Presidents of the United States of America
Silver and Gold – Pee Wee King
20 Sunday Mar 2016
Posted in Justice League
Tags
Batman, Big Barda, Blue Beetle, Booster Gold, Captain Atom, Fire, Green Lantern (G'Nort), Jack O'Lantern, L-Ron, Manga Khan, Martian Manhunter, Modern Age Captain Atom, Oberon, Queen Bee, Rocket Red #4, Wandjina
“Only the Dead Know Bialya”
This issue picks up where Justice League International #16 left off. I did not review that issue for this blog because Captain Atom was not featured at all. Check out Boosterrific.com for a fantastic summary of that issue. The two-sentence version is this: Maxell Lord sends Batman, Fire, Blue Beetle, and Booster Gold undercover to Bialya to find out what the dictator Rumaan Harjavti is up to. Meanwhile Big Barda, Martian Manhunter, Rocket Red, and Gnort are hot on the Cluster’s trail to rescue Mister Miracle. The most notable thing about Justice League International #16 is that Batman goes undercover as Bruce Wayne.
This issue opens at the JLI New York Embassy. Oberon and Captain Atom are watching news reports of the coup in Bialya. Colonel Harjavti has been assassinated and Queen Bee has assumed control of the country. Cap is very upset that he isn’t with the team in Bialya.
Captain Atom’s ego is bruised because he was left behind. He believes that with his military background, he would have been an ideal choice for the mission. All his angry tirade results in is hurt feelings for Oberon.
In Bialya, Batman has ditched his Bruce Wayne “disguise” in favor of a Maxwell Lord disguise. He and Green Flame have been holed up in their hotel room, not permitted to leave, for two days. Batman escapes up a wall to go find Blue Beetle and Booster Gold, ordering Green Flame to not leave the room.
Booster and Beetle are being held in a cell in less-than-favorable conditions. When a guard brings them a “bucket of slop,” Booster taunts him into shooting him. When the guard pulls out his gun, he lurches into the cell bars and knocks himself out. As Booster retrieves the cell key, he explains to Beetle that he noticed the guard was wearing his Legion flight ring, which Booster is telepathically linked to. The two heroes escape their cell, only to be grabbed by unseen hands once they are out.
Meanwhile, Queen Bee and Jack O’ Lantern are watching video of their mindless drone Wandjina. Jack thinks Wandjina is dangerous and unpredictable, but Queen Bee assures him the creature is completely under her control. She also says it is time to “induct Mr. Lord.”
Mr. Lord (aka Batman) turns out to have been the one that captured Booster and Beetle. They hear gunshots above them and fear that Green Flame may be in trouble. Green Flame is just fine, as she drops from above into Booster’s arms, wearing nothing but her underclothes. She explains that she was washing her hair when Queen Bee’s men stormed in looking for Max. She jumped out the window in her underwear and hoped for the best. The team splits up.
Batman shakes their pursuers and the heroes meet up on a nearby rooftop (or possibly alleyway). The Wandjina turns up, too. Beetle recognizes him as someone the League met way back in Justice League #2, but he is clearly being controlled by an outside force. The team scatters just as Wandjina delivers some sort of powerful nuclear blast thing.
The Wandjina reaches down to do something horrible to Blue Beetle (and judging by the cover, it is indeed HORRIBLE) when the cavalry arrives in the form of Captain Atom.
Captain Atom and Wandjina throw various energy blasts at each other as the rest of the JLI scramble out of their way. Batman is, naturally, upset that Cap showed up at all, as he was told to stay behind in New York.
This fistful of “spaaak” is brought to you by Bob Lappan.
Captain Atom defeats (kills?) Wandjina, leaving him to face the fury of Batman. Bats’ chastisement of Nate is cut short when Queen Bee arrives on the scene. Thinking the Bialyan people will back him, Batman lays into the Queen, calling her “the bottom of the barrel!” This is when the JLI discovers the Bialyan people like their new monarch. Queen Bee tells the JLI their lucky she won’t report their actions to the U.N. and asks Jack O’Lantern to escort them out of the country.
Meanwhile, out in space, L-Ron informs Manga Khan that his captive (Mr. Miracle) is from New Genesis, and is the son of Highfather. Khan orders his robot to set a course for Apokolips. Perhaps Darkseid will barter with him now!
Pursuing Manga Khan is Martian Manhunter, Rocket Red, Big Barda, and G’Nort. They use New Gensis boom-tube technology to try and catch up with Khan. The issue ends with the ship winking out of existence. To be continued.
Captain Atom next appears in Who’s Who Update ’88 #2.
The “Bwah-ha-ha” period of the Justice League was always fun and I thoroughly enjoyed every issue. I loved that Captain Atom saved the team in this issue (even if he did disobey Batman’s orders to do so). Story and art are both As here. I absolutely love the Giffen/Maguire team.
If you are a fan of this era of the Justice League, there’s a new podcast dropping today that you will really love. From the Irredeemable Shag (of Firestormfan.com and one half of the Fire & Water Podcast) comes the Justice League International: Bwah-ha-ha Podcast. This podcast “chronicles the adventures of the Justice League International era by Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis,” and is part of the Fire & Water Podcast Network. The first episode can be found here and even though (as of this writing) I have not heard the show, I know it will be one of the best comic-book-review-podcasts available. Shag doesn’t mess around.
(All characters and images belong to DC Comics and I am not making any profit off this blog.)
02 Wednesday Mar 2016
Posted in "The Lie", Captain Atom's Family, Origin Stories, Podcast, Silver and Gold
Tags
Augustin Mas, Blackguard, Booster Gold, Bronze Age Captain Atom, Captain Atom, Dan Jurgens, Dirk Davis, Dr. Megala, General Eiling, Jeffrey "Goz" Goslin, Margaret Eiling/Peggy Adam, Mike DeCarlo, Mindancer, Modern Age Captain Atom, Nansi Hoolahan, Silver Age Captain Atom, Skeets, The Director, The Love Boat, Thorn, Trixie Collins
In episode 05 of the Silver & Gold Podcast, we discuss Booster Gold (Vol 1) #3, The Night Has Two-Thousand Eyes (by Dan Jurgens, Mike DeCarlo, Nansi Hoolahan, and Augustin Mas), and Captain Atom (DC Vol 1) #3, Blast from the Past (by Cary Bates, Pat Broderick, Bob Smith, Carl Gafford, and John Costanza). 
Also, FKAjason and Charlemagne’s secret origins are revealed, that’s what friends are for, Booster in peril, Thorn’s fashion choices, The Love Boat, Booster Gold looks like an idiot, typical Eddie, a wall of balls, Mindancer’s brain bolt, Firestorm as the star of the book, Captain Atom’s creepy meeting with his daughter, and Nate going critical.
Remember to use the hashtag #SNGPOD when commenting on social media!
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Music
Heart of Gold – The Roy Clark Method
Gold – Spandau Ballet
Also available on iTunes and Stitcher!
Check out our tumblr page for images from this episode.
12 Tuesday Jan 2016
Tags
Augustin Mas, Booster Gold, Dan Jurgens, Knight Rider, Mike DeCarlo, Silver & Gold, Skeets, Star Wars, tom ziuko
After some brief Force Awakens spoilers and a correction to last episode (followed by more Star Wars talk), we review Booster Gold (volume 1) #02 by Dan Jurgens, Mike DeCarlo, Tom Ziuko, and Augustin Mas. We also cover a little Knight Rider, 80s comic smells, and listener feedback.
Music
Heart of Gold – The Roy Clark Method
Silver and Gold – Country Joe and the Fish
Download this episode now on iTunes!
Check out our tumblr page for images from this episode.
26 Saturday Dec 2015
Posted in Podcast
Response to Silver & Gold Podcast has been slowly trickling in but has been mostly positive. Now we’ve made it even easier to listen to us ramble on about Booster Gold and Captain Atom. We’re now available on iTunes and Stitcher. Click the link below for the links. Subscribe! Leave a Review! Thanks!
