I know that J.T. Krul takes a lot of flak for his latest work on Green Arrow. And the Green Arrow series right before that. And the whole Rise and Fall debacle. And I get that. I’ve never been that much of a Green Arrow fan, so that controversy is a bit lost on me, personally, but I respect the views and opinions of those who were upset at the way those stories were handled.

Incidentally, I’m not a Captain Atom fan, either; I actually know very little about him. Krul’s description of this book as a philosophical, sci-fi piece is what drew me to it. And I have to say: I had a blast with it. Krul drafts a serviceable introduction to the character, without being too exposition-heavy. There are still a lot of questions to be answered, and Krul has barely scratched the surface in that regard, but on the whole, I thought the script was pretty tight.

There was a bit of clunky, eye-rolling dialogue (“Firing energy cannons at the guy who absorbs energy–not the smartest strategy.” Ugh. Thud.) But for every one of those (and I didn’t find that many), there are some really compelling scenes. The biggest issue is that I’m not really sure what’s going on. Who is the big robot dude at the beginning? Just a plot device to show how Captain Atom is losing control over his powers? What is the Continuum? Why is there a volcano in New York? What’s up with the rat?

To me, at least, that is the biggest problem with Captain Atom #1: I’m not sure if I’m being set up for future plot developments, or if all of those things are introduced merely as a way to establish Captain Atom’s personal struggle with his powers, only to be forgotten soon after.

Freddie Williams II’s pencils are good–at least on Captain Atom. But in other scenes, it looks almost Munch-esque in places, sketchy lines, misshapen heads and all. It’s fine, don’t get me wrong–but not my favorite art of the relaunch.

All that aside, I did enjoy the book, and I’m on board for a second issue. Krul has an opportunity to tap into some ideas that are not being explored elsewhere, and I hope he will take advantage of that.