Atomic Ace

(He's Just My Dad)

Plot Summary

So what's it like living with Atomic Ace, a dad who battles robots and can fly? It's not as weird as you might think—after all, Ace is always there to fix Saturday lunch and play ball with his son. Mom is just Mom and Dad is just Dad—they're a normal family!

And a normal dad can sometimes mess up. That's what happens when Atomic Ace meets his ruthless nemesis, Insect King. This normal family is stressed!

Awards

2004 Parents' Choice Recommended Award; 2005-2006 Black-Eyed Susan Master Reading List (Maryland); Children's Choices for 2005 - CBC/IRA

Reviews

"Breaking from the usual kid tradition of embellishing a parent's profession, the narrator of this fun, smart picture book downplays his dad's job as superhero, swearing his family is perfectly average. ...The juxtapositions between superheroics and regular-guy domesticity are clever, and Weigel's confident artwork, with a slickness that clearly announces his background as a comic book writer and illustrator, is guaranteed to satisfy children obsessed with caped crusaders." Booklist

"...Weigel plays on the image of the traditional 'perfect' superhero, as Atomic Ace makes a mistake that leaves him with an ant-head on his shoulders, but in doing so shows that even so-called perfect people fail occasionally, and that's no reason to give up." The Bulletin

"Comic-strip panels of a Spandex-clad 'Atomic Ace' alternate with cozy images of Ace's family in this humorous look at a hero balancing work and home. ...Debut illustrator Weigel expertly inks and colors this semi-spoof to resemble a superhero comic." Publishers Weekly

"Weigel's bright, expressive artwork harkens back to the '60s and is quite appealing, both in the bona fide comic-book frames depicting the Atomic Ace's workday exploits and in the spreads that tell the 'real' story. The rhyming text never misses a beat." STARRED, School Library Journal

"The author of this book has created a piece of work which is most amusing and certainly a great tribute to all dads, "normal" and superhero. By using the voice of the boy to downplay great feats and acts of valor, the author shows an acute understanding of how children perceive the world. Marvelous things are taken for granted whereas the small things are often seen as being remarkable."
Children's Literature

Associated Keywords
comics, comic, comic book, dads, dad, father, fathers