The Atom #3

History

The issue was written by Gardner Fox, penciled by Gil Kane, inked by Murphy Anderson, and edited by Julius Schwartz — the same creative core that had launched Ray Palmer in Showcase #34 in September–October 1961 and carried the character into his first solo series just months earlier. Schwartz and Fox co-plotted the early stories of the Silver Age Atom together, with Schwartz drawing on his lifelong love of science fiction to shape the series' emphasis on physics-grounded adventure; Fox later acknowledged that Schwartz's editorial guidance and scientific interests were central to the book's distinctive tone. The issue went on sale August 21, 1962, per copyright registration, with a cover date of November 1962, reflecting the bi-monthly publication schedule typical of the era. The character name 'Professor Alpheus V. Hyatt' was, according to Silver Age fan historians, a tribute by Schwartz to Alpheus Hyatt Verrill, one of his favorite science-fiction writers.

Trivia · 7 facts

• First appearance of Chronos (David Clinton), created by Gardner Fox and Gil Kane; Clinton is a former convict who became obsessed with clocks and fashioned himself a costume with time-themed gadgetry — explosive hourglasses, razor-edged clock hands, and a sundial platform — to commit precisely timed thefts.
• First appearance of Professor Alpheus V. Hyatt and the debut of the Time Pool, a small white-light portal capable of penetrating the time barrier, which became the series' recurring vehicle for historical time-travel backup stories across the entire run.
• The issue contains two distinct stories: 'The Time Trap!' (the Chronos introduction) and 'The Secret of "Al Atom's" Lamp!' (the first Time Pool adventure), making it unusual in presenting two separate first appearances in a single 36-page issue.
• In the Time Pool story, the Atom travels to 850 A.D. in the Middle East, where his adventures as 'Al Atom' inside a lamp are presented as the in-universe origin of the Aladdin's lamp legend — a whimsical Silver Age premise characteristic of Fox's storytelling style under Schwartz.
• The creative team — writer Gardner Fox, penciler Gil Kane, inker Murphy Anderson, and editor Julius Schwartz — was the same team that debuted Ray Palmer in Showcase #34 (1961) and continued on the series for nearly its entire original run.
• Chronos went on to become the Atom's acknowledged arch-nemesis in Silver Age DC continuity, later joining groups including the Crime Champions, Injustice Gang, and Secret Society of Super-Villains, and eventually inspired two successor characters: the heroic Walker Gabriel (Chronos #1, 1998) and Lady Chronos.
• The issue has been reprinted at least four times: in Superman #245 (December 1971–January 1972), All Star Adventure Comic #79 (K.G. Murray, circa February 1973), The Atom Archives Vol. 1 (DC, August 2001), and Showcase Presents: The Atom Vol. 1 (DC, August 2007).

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