Description
The advent of the Atomic Age challenged purveyors of popular culture to explain to the general public the complex scientific and social issues of atomic power. Atomic Comics examines how comic books, comic strips, and other cartoon media represented the Atomic Age from the early 1920s to the present.

Through the exploits of superhero figures such as Atomic Man and Spiderman, as well as an array of nuclear adversaries and atomic-themed adventures, the public acquired a new scientific vocabulary and discovered the major controversies surrounding nuclear science. Ferenc Morton Szasz’s thoughtful analysis of the themes, content, and imagery of scores of comics that appeared largely in the United States and Japan offers a fascinating perspective on the way popular culture shaped American comprehension of the fissioned atom for more than three generations.

Reviews
"This volume proves that 'small is beautiful' and can be significant. In only 136 pages, the late Szasz provides a fascinating account of the depiction of atomic warfare and energy in US and Japanese comics and cartoons. …Some of what Szasz reveals is downright scary: the extreme censorship of WW II and the devastating impacts of American nuclear testing and failures. … The inclusion of small press comics such as Leonard Rifas's EduComics testifies to the comprehensive nature of this book. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readers."
—CHOICE. CHOICE Magazine Outstanding Academic Title in 2012

"A seminal work identifying the perspective that cartoonists brought to nuclear issues that was to prove enduringly influential upon public opinion—an influence that continues to be felt to this very day."
—Midwest Book Review

"Szasz's prose is accessible and jargon-free, friendly to both undergraduate and general readers and the text is filled with images of the works he describes. It could fruitfully appear on undergraduate syllabi in American studies, history, and popular culture courses."
—Sean Cashbaugh, H-Net Reviews