The Atomics is a

fiction Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places that are imaginary, or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent with history, fact, or plausibility. In a traditi ...

superhero team The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , ''asteriskos'', "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often voc ...

first appearing in ''The Atomics'' #1 from AAA Pop Comics, created by

Mike Allred Michael Dalton Allred is an American comic book artist and writer most famous for his independent comics creations, ''Madman'' and ''iZombie''. His style is often compared to pop art, as well as commercial and comic art of the 1950s and 1960s ...

. Its members include Madman, It Girl, Mr. Gum, Zap Man, Lava Lass, The Slug, Adam Balm, Black Crystal, and The Lazer. Their headquarters are located in Snap City.

Publication history

Twelve monthly-dated issues were published in 2000, and in 2001, two issues in the first half and one in the second. The March 2000 issue had a French edition, and a

hardcover A hardcover, hard cover, or hardback (also known as hardbound, and sometimes as case-bound) book is one bound with rigid protective covers (typically of binder's board or heavy paperboard covered with buckram or other cloth, heavy paper, or occa ...

"limited" edition appeared in 2002. Since the cancellation of ''The Atomics'', the team has appeared as

supporting character A supporting character is a character in a narrative that is not the focus of the primary storyline, but is important to the plot/protagonist, and appears or is mentioned in the story enough to be more than just a minor character or a cameo ap ...

s in ''Madman'' and ''

Madman Atomic Comics Madman is a creator owned fictional superhero that appears in comic books by creator Mike Allred and which has been published by a number of publishers over the years. The character first appeared in ''Creatures of the Id'' #1 (Oct. 1990). His n ...

''; December 2007 saw a trade paperback entitled '' Madman and the Atomics''.

Fictional team history

Former enemies, now allies, are the Mutant Street Beatniks who were originally just ordinary beatniks. When Mott first arrived he was being chased by Zenelle, a female alien from a species infamous throughout the galaxy for devouring their mates after the wedding night. Zenelle left behind a trail of spores as she tracked Mott through the city, exposure to which caused the beatniks to mutate into disgusting, warty versions of themselves. Zenelle fell in love with one of these mutants and carried him away, much to the relief of Mott. Blaming Madman for their deformity, the Mutant Street Beatniks remained bitter enemies until several of them discovered that their deformation was simply the first stage of their mutation, which gave them super powers such as elasticity. Discovering these powers cleared up their skin condition, so they no longer hate Madman and have formed a super-hero team calling themselves The Atomics. Around this time, their missing comrade returned from space, revealing that Zenelle had actually fallen in love with him to the degree she went against her culture and refused to eat him. Because of the different time-flow between Snap City and Zenelle's planet, when their comrade returned he brought with him his teenage son, the product of his union with Zenelle.

References

The Atomics @ comicbookdb
Dark Horse Comics titles Image Comics titles Image Comics superhero teams Characters created by Mike Allred {{Image-Comics-stub