Captain Atom (Charlton)

    (Charlton, 1965-1967)
™ and ©1967 Charlton Publications, Inc.

Air Force captain Adam Combine was the victim of a freak nuclear accident, but instead of being disintegrated by the deadly radiation, he was transformed into a being of pure energy, Captain Atom.

Captain Atom debuted in Charlton’s Space Adventures in 1960, an early entry into the Silver Age super-hero revival. Despite lean and gutsy art by Steve Ditko, Captain Atom could not survive Charlton’s mediocre scripting and so sank into obscurity. The strip was revived in this series in 1967 under the editorship of Dick Giordano, who brought back Ditko, along with Denny O’Neil and Jim Aparo.

In the mid-1980s, DC bought the rights to the Charlton heroes, using them both as heroes in the DC Universe and as the basis for the characters in Alan Moore’s Watchmen, where Captain Atom served as the template for Doc Manhattan.
Jump to issue:
  • 79
    #79
    Mar 1966
    Cover: $0.12
    W: Steve Ditko, Joe GIll  ·  A: Steve Ditko
    1st appearance of Doctor Spectro
    1 copy for $23.00
  • 80
    #80
    May 1966
    Cover: $0.12
    W: Steve Ditko, Joe Gill  ·  A: Steve Ditko, Bill Fracchio
    2 copies from $30.00
  • 83-2
    #83 - 2nd printing
    Cover: $0.35
    W: Steve Ditko, Dave Kaler, Gary Friedrich  ·  A: Steve Ditko
    1st appearance of Blue Beetle (Ted Kord); Modern Comics Reprint; ca. 1977
    1 copy for $19.98
  • 84
    #84
    Jan 1967
    Cover: $0.12
    W: Steve Ditko, Dave Kaler, Gary Friedrich  ·  A: Steve Ditko
    1st Appearance of Captain Atom (Nathaniel Adam)
    2 copies from $21.00
  • 84-2
    #84 - 2nd printing
    Cover: $0.35
    W: Steve Ditko, Dave Kaler, Gary Friedrich  ·  A: Steve Ditko
    Modern Comics Reprint
    2 copies from $0.50
  • 85-2
    #85 - 2nd printing
    Cover: $0.35
    W: Steve Ditko, Dave Kaler, Gary Friedrich  ·  A: Steve Ditko
    1st appearance of Jewelee; 1st appearance of Punch; Modern Comics reprint; “Jewelee”misspelled in story title
    1 copy for $5.00