Who was the first "Atom" (no rank/no adjective) you ever read in DC comic books?

[MajorHoy]

Who is the first DC character named The Atom that you read about in a comic book?

(Please note we not dealing with characters that have "Atom" as part of their name. No using the "other" option to include characters like Captain Atom or Atom Smasher.)

Choices for this poll are:
* Golden Age Al Pratt (introduced in All-American Comics #19 back in 1940)
* Ray Palmer (Silver Age Atom, first introduced in Showcase #34 in 1961)
* Adam Cray (introduced in Suicide Squad #44 in 1990; dies in Suicide Squad #61)
* Ryan Choi (first appeared in DCU: Brave New World in 2006)
* Rhonda Pineda (aids JL during 2013's "Throne of Atlantis" story arc; later villainess called Atomica from Earth 3)
* Atom One Million (from the 853rd century; introduced in 2000's Hourman #11?)
* New 52's Captain Al Pratt (introduced in Earth 2 #)
* other (please specify who/when in a separate post; no "Captain Atom" or "Atom Smasher", etc.)

[Nomads1]

Ray Palmer. But I soon discovered the existance of Al Pratt, and loved his full-hooded mask.

Peace

[Jekyll]

Ray Palmer! Coming in at number three of my favorite DC characters!

[Assam]

I'm fairly sure it was Al Pratt in the Justice Society's first appearance.

[MajorHoy]

I'm fairly sure it was Al Pratt in the Justice Society's first appearance.

You actually read this comic book (and not a later reprint)?

[Assam]

You actually read this comic book (and not a later reprint)?

Nah, read it in the DC Archive release. At one point my family did have the original comic, but, like with a lot of things, it was lost in a flood.

[The Darknight Detective]

Ray Palmer on a Saturday morning 50-something years ago on CBS and in the comics during the mid-'70s.

[The Darknight Detective]

I'm fairly sure it was Al Pratt in the Justice Society's first appearance.

First saw Al in the Famous First Edition reprint of that classic comic over 40 years ago.

[Jim Kelly]

As with Hal Jordan/Green Lantern, it was Ray Palmer/the Atom in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA 52 (March '67). But where Hal got a whole chapter of his own, the Atom only had one page where he briefly summed up what had happened in his own comic, causing him to miss the previous meeting. But from that I knew Ray could travel through time (thanks to the time pool).

This issue had Sid Greene inking Mike Sekowsky and I immediately liked Greene's work. He inked super-heroes the way I wanted them to be inked. And his style was especially suited to Green Lantern and the Atom--who he was inking at the time in their own titles, over Gil Kane pencils.

Not that I knew that at the time.

Not asked for, but I would have already seen Atom Ant on TV by then, so I understood the idea of the Atom in reference to that character. And as with Alan Scott/Green Lantern, when I discovered the Al Pratt/Atom I was dumbfounded that this had ever been the original version of the character. He didn't shrink, he was just short.

[CaptCleghorn]

Ray Palmer on a Saturday morning 50-something years ago on CBS and in the comics during the mid-'70s.

Same here. The cartoons were pretty good. Or they seemed to be to me as a kid. I suspect I may be a bit more jaded now. As to the actual book, probably an old JLA issue.

[The Darknight Detective]

Same here. The cartoons were pretty good. Or they seemed to be to me as a kid. I suspect I may be a bit more jaded now.

In retrospect, they weren't really that great, but they were might fine for what was available Saturday mornings at the time for us kiddies.

As to the actual book, probably an old JLA issue.

Same here, though I can't recall which one.

[Jim Kelly]

I know that I saw all the '60s Superman cartoons back in the day--and all the other cartoons that went with them like Superboy, Aquaman, Batman, Teen Titans, Justice League and other DC heroes like the Atom. I would get up early every Saturday morning and park myself in front of the TV set, while my parents were in the kitchen getting breakfast ready for all us kids. But those cartoons did not make much of an impression on me because I can hardly remember any of the stories. Whereas, I remember all the comic books I read, but then reading a comic book a hundred times over would have made it more memorable than a cartoon I only saw in repeats five times.

As I say, with JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA 52 (March '67), I remember the day I bought it and everything I thought about it at the time. Even though it was a rather poor issue compared with other comics I bought around then. And, of course, like with so many comics I bought at that time, it was almost completely destroyed from reading it hundreds of times. It lost the cover and several pages. But in the early seventies there was a secondhand bookstore that opened near our school and the young man who ran the store sold some old comics, as well. He was not a great businessman. I wonder if these were his own comics, because he had many in mint condition and I found a perfect copy of JLA 52, like new, in his stacks of comics. I then proceeded to go on and on about this comic to him and how I wished I could have it. So he gave it to me for like five cents.

[Zero Hunter]

Al Pratt in an old issue of All Star Squadron

[MajorHoy]

Ray Palmer on a Saturday morning 50-something years ago on CBS . . .

Just a reminder to everybody that the thread / poll question is:

Who was the first "Atom" (no rank/no adjective) you ever read in DC comic books?

Who you may have seen in a cartoon, TV show, and/or movie is irrelevant to the question being asked and should not influence who you vote for.

. . . and in the comics during the mid-'70s.

That's the most important part for this!

[married guy]

Al Pratt. Read the Justice Society reprints in the early 80's.
They rocked my world.