Posted in: Comics, Heritage Sponsored, Vintage Paper | Tagged: golden age, prize comics

The First Man of the Atom Emerges in Headline Comics, Up for Auction

Published Sun, 04 Sep 2022 12:47:11 -0500

The usage of atomic bombs on August 6 and August 9, 1945 would change world history in a fundamental way, and within months these changes would begin to seep into the fabric of our culture. Unsurprisingly, this moment would also be reflected in comic books almost immediately. In the months, years, and decades after 1945, the Children of the Atom would transform comics and the way people think about them in a fundamental way. Late 1945 saw the start of a burst of atom bomb-inspired series such as Atoman Comics, Atomic Thunderbolt, Atomic Comics, and the debut of Atomic Man in Headline Comics #17. While not technically the first radiation-inspired comic book heroes (cosmic radiation would most notably inspire The Ray much earlier. One can also convincingly argue that the Flash was a radiation-inspired character from the start), those three characters were the initial wave to emerge in the wake of the atomic bomb. Atomic Man, created by Charles A. Voight, was the first of these, with a debut in Headline Comics #16. Perhaps the first hero of the atomic age, there are several issues of Headline Comics featuring Atomic Man up for auction in the 2022 September 4-5 Sunday & Monday Comic Books Select Auction #122236 at Heritage Auctions.

Atomic Man has the kind of origin that feels very familiar from the modern comic book fan's perspective. A scientist at an atomic energy research lab, Adam Mann accidentally ingests Uranium 235 while working there. This combined with an explosion created by an accident with a high-voltage piece of lab equipment gives him an incredible range of radiation-inspired powers. At the end of Headline Comics #16, Mann calls himself "A human atomic bomb."

Incredibly, Headline Comics publisher Prize had the first issue containing Atomic Man on newsstands barely over a month after the atomic bombs were used. A little-known piece of comic book history that is reflective of a much bigger picture, there are several issues of Headline Comics featuring Atomic Man up for auction in the 2022 September 4-5 Sunday & Monday Comic Books Select Auction #122236 at Heritage Auctions. If you've never bid at Heritage Auctions before, you can get further information, you can check out their FAQ on the bidding process and related matters.