Atomika: God Is Red

Atomika #1

by Andrew Dabb

In an alternate past--where the Revolution has become the State--Liberty has been destroyed and the gods now walk the Earth. Now, a new power is rising. Forged in the fiery bowels of the planet, Atomika is the first man-made deity, both a God of Technology and of the 21st Century.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Alternate History, Science Fiction

168 pages, Paperback

First published September 29, 2005

Reviews

[Tzeetzah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Strip koji nije za svakoga, ni stilom crtanja, ni pričom. Iako uzima inspiraciju iz simbolike Sovjetske Rusije, ovaj roman sam shvatila kao kritiku imperijalizma i industrijalizacije, šali i idolizacije - u ovom slučaju nauke i napretka (iako je taj napredak nakaradan). Ritam pripovedanja deluje malo nabacano, što je u krajnjem slučaju verovatno bila i namera. Stilom crtanja me podseća pomalo na Druijea

[Elaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I could go on and on for hours about Abbinatti's artwork. It's fluid, it's larger than life, it's expressive, it seems to twist and turn and burst out of the page. I have never seen a comic artist with a style like his. Every line means something and adds weight and depth to the image.

The concept of Atomika is fabulous. Ancient Russian gods versus a man-made god (Atomika), their battle symbolizing the progress of Soviet Russia through the Cold War? This is extremely relevant to my interests.

However, Dabb's writing really drags the book down. It's competent, but no more. At times the dialogue is downright ridiculous and over-the-top. There's not a moment for relief or rest. Granted, this is a serious book - what's more serious than deities? - but it somehow manages to take itself too seriously.

[Ανδρέας Μιχαηλίδης · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an "'A' for effort" kind of thing. I am not sure I could read more than the two issues I powered through, but taking a step back, in a way this is H. R. Giger meets Nemesis the Warlock, meets Soviet iconography and science fiction.

This is one of those comics you would see in the pages of '70s and '80s magazines like Metal Hurlant or Heavy Metal, and perhaps it might have had better luck there. Although initially marketed as a superhero comic, it is anything but, and American audiences would have been entirely alienated by it.

A hybrid of mural narrative, societal sci-fi dystopian horror and social commentary, it might have fared better as a single, large format Franco-Belgian album.

Much like the (second) company that published it, it remains little more than an interesting relic of comic book past.

[Kris Shaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, this title looks like nothing else on the market, both in look and feel. Sal Abbinanti and Andrew Dabb deserve mountains of praise for seeing this through to fruition. The tone of this book is oppressive and melodramatic, and I love it in spite of, or perhaps because of, it. I am very interested in seeing how this turns out. I give this title my highest recommendation.

RE-READ:
This was every bit as good on the re-read. I love the cold, oppressive feel of Sal Abbinanti's artwork. He's not Russian, but his art sure makes it look like he is. Atomika looks and feels like nothing else on the market today.

[Peter · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very crappy. Don't read it.