Atomos

Created by: André Caroff (pseudonym of André Carpouzis) (1924- )

THE "SKULL IN THE CASTLE" LOGO OF THE "ANGOISSE" IMPRINT OF FLEUVE NOIR

The deadly Madame Atomos (real name: Kanoto Yoshimuta) is a brilliant but twisted middle-aged female Japanese scientist who is out to revenge herself against the United States for the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki -- where she was born.

A sample plot had the title character unleash a deadly new threat, such as radioactive zombies, deasly giant mushrooms, a madness-inducing ray, flaming tormadoes, etc.

The heroes opposing Madame Atomos are: Smith Beffort of the FBI, Dr. Alan Soblen, and Yosho Akamatsu of the Japanese Secret Police. Dr. Soblen was killed by Madame Atomos in No. 11. With the help of former master criminal Owen Bernitz, Beffort also created the "Green Dragon" squad to fight Madame Atomos.

An interesting development was the creation by Madame Atomos of a younger version of herself, Mie Azusa, dubbed Miss Atomos, groomed to continue the fight should Madame Atomos came to die. Mie eventually fell in love with Beffort, married him and joined forces with him to fight her evil progenitrix. They had a son, Bob, who was killed by Madame Atomos.

Madame Atomos herself regenerated into a younger self in No. 13, but remained as revenge-bent as ever. The series was left somewhat unfinished by the cancellation of the "Angoisse" imprint.

READ THE ENTIRE SAGA IN ENGLISH

The Novels
André Caroff wrote 18 novels featuring Madame Atomos for "Angoisse", the horror imprint of French publisher, Fleuve Noir.

1. La Sinistre Mme Atomos [The Sinister Mrs. Atomos] (FNA No. 109, 1964)
2. Mme Atomos Sème la Terreur [Mrs. Atomos Spreads Terror] (FNA No. 115, 1965)
3. Mme Atomos Frappe à la Tête [Mrs. Atomos Strikes At The Head] (FNA No. 120, 1965)
4. Miss Atomos (FNA No. 124, 1965)
5. Miss Atomos contre KKK [Miss Atomos vs. KKK] (FNA No. 130, 1966)
6. Le Retour de Mme Atomos [The Return Of Mrs. Atomos] (FNA No. 134, 1966)
7. L'Erreur de Mme Atomos [The Mistake Of Mrs. Atomos] (FNA No. 136, 1966)
8. Mme Atomos Prolonge la Vie [Mrs. Atomos Prolongs Life] (FNA No. 140, 1967)
9. Les Monstres de Mme Atomos [The Monsters Of Mrs. Atomos] (FNA No. 143, 1967)
10. Mme Atomos Crache des Flammes [Mrs. Atomos Spits Fire] (FNA No. 146, 1967)
11. Mme Atomos Croque le Marmot [Mrs. Atomos Eats A Child] (FNA No. 147, 1967)
12. La Ténébreuse Mme Atomos [Dark Mrs. Atomos] (FNA No. 152, 1968)
13. Mme Atomos Change de Peau [Mrs. Atomos Sheds Her Skin] (FNA No. 156, 1968)
14. Mme Atomos Fait Du Charme [Mrs. Atomos Charms Her Way] (No. 160, 1969)
15. L'Empreinte de Mme Atomos [The Mark Of Mrs. Atomos] (FNA No. 169, 1969)
16. Mme Atomos Jette Un Froid [Mrs. Atomos Throws A Cold] (FNA No. 173, 1969)
17. Mme Atomos Cherche la Petite Bête [Mrs. Atomos Seeks Small Creatures] (FNA No. 177, 1970)
18. Les Sphères Attaquent [Attack of the Spheres] (FN Anticipation No. 950, 1979)
(Note: In this book, Mme Atomos was renamed "Mme Cosmos")

MADAME ATOMOS HAS RETURNED IN A NEW SERIES OF FRENCH BOOKS PUBLISHED BY RIVIERE BLANCHE!

MISS ATOMOS

The Short Stories

Matthew Baugh. La Voie de la Grue (SAGA 4) / The Way of the Crane (Tales of the Shadowmen 5)
François Darnaudet. Au Vent Mauvais... (SAGA 5 / Tales of the Shadowmen 3)
Win Scott Eckert. L'Affaire Atomos (SAGA 3) / The Atomos Affair (Tales of the Shadowmen 4)
Jean-Marc Lofficier. Le Noël de Mme. Atomos (SAGA 1) / Madame Atomos' XMas (Tales of the Shadowmen 4)
Jean-Marc Lofficier. Les Vacances de Mme. Atomos (SAGA 6) / Madame Atomos' Holidays (Tales of the Shadowmen 5)
Xavier Mauméjean. Une journée dans la vie de Mme. Atomos (SAGA 6) / A Day in the Life of Mme Atomos (Tales of the Shadowmen 3)
Jean-Luc Rivera & Joseph Altairac. The Butterfly Files (SAGA 2 / Tales of the Shadowmen 3)

Timeline

1911. Birth of Kanoto Yoshimuta à Nagasaki. (She's 50 in 1961 when Yosho
Akamatsu conducts his first investigation of her.)

Until 1930. Friendly relations between the Yoshimuta et Hayashi. (Kato
Hayashi leaves Japon to serve the Green Hornet c.1930.) as per Matthew's
story, The Way of the Crane

1931. Japan invades Manchuria.

Unkn. yr. Kanoto Yoshimuta enters Nagasaki Univerity; is gifted in
physics and biology; marries a colleague, has several children.

1937. Japan invades China. Kanoto Yoshimuta and her husband work for
Noborito Research Institute, military research lab.

1938. Rape of Nankin. Japanese capture Dr. Fu Manchu's note, taken to
Noborito Research Institute (as per The Butterfly Files)

1941. (7 décember) Pearl Harbor .

1944. (october) Correspondance between Kanoto Yoshimuta and Shiro Ishii,
head of Unit 731 in Manchuria.

1945. (may) Kanoto Yoshimuta write to Shiro Ishii to inform him of her
success, but too late to help Japan.
(6 august) Hiroshima.
(9 august) Nagasaki. Kanoto Yoshimuta escapes death thanks to her
husband; he and her children die.
(15 august) Japan surrenders.
(16-30 august) Alexander Waverly of OSS helps Kanoto Yoshimuta leave
Nagasaki (as per Win Eckert's Atomos Affair)
(30 august) Kanoto Yoshimuta writes to Shiro Ishii that the fight
against the USA will continue. She gathers like-minded scientists
including Professeur Aldridge, who gives her flying saucer technology
(The Butterfly Files).

1946-1950. Kanoto Yoshimuta teaches physics at Nagasaki U while secretly
laying groundwork.

1951. Kanoto Yoshimuta becomes « Madame Atomos ». She resigns her
teaching position and disappears.

1951-1960. Mme. Atomos prepares her campaign: building a network of
secret basis, develop Atomia Island and the flying Atomos City.

1961. Mme. Atomos first attracts the attention of Japanese authorities
in Sasebo. Yosho Akamatsu investigates. (referenced in Caroff's first novel)

1962. Le Mystère du Mororan. Second Japanese investigation into Mme
Atomos (referenced in Caroff's first novel)

1963. (Febr) La sinistre Mme. Atomos (Book 1). intro Smith Beffort, Dr
Soblen.
(July) William Mulder investigates the origins of Mme. Atomos (Butterfly
Files)
(Nov) Mme. Atomos' Xmas

1964. (Febr) Mme. Atomos. sème la terreur. (Book 2)
(Sept) Mme. Atomos frappe à la tête. (Book 3).

1965. (Febr) Miss Atomos. (Book 4). Intro Mie Azusa.
(July) end of William Mulder's investigation.
(Sept) Miss Atomos contre KKK. (Book 5).
(9 november) The Atomos Affair (Win Eckert). Mme Atomos meets UNCLE.

1966. (Jan) Le retour de Mme. Atomos. (book 6)
(May-June) L’erreur de Mme. Atomos. (book 7) Birth of Bob Beffort at the
Hôpital Américain in Neuilly. Crossover with Jimmy Guieu's DOSSIERS DU
GLAIVE.
(Aug) The Way of the Crane/ Mme. Atomos meets Kato Hayashi

1967. (Jan-Feb) Mme. Atomos prolonge la vie. (book 8)
(July) Les monstres de Mme. Atomos. (book 9)
(Aug) Mme. Atomos crache des flammes. (book 10)
(Nov-Dec). Mme. Atomos croque le marmot. (book 11). Death of Bob and Dr
Soblen. Mme Atomos loses most of her resources.

1968. (Febr) La ténébreuse Mme Atomos. (book 12)
(may) Mme. Atomos change de peau. (book 13). Mme Atomos becomes 20 years
younger.
(june) Mme. Atomos fait du charme. (book 14)
(sept-oct) L’empreinte de Mme. Atomos. (book 15)
(décembre) Mme. Atomos jette un froid. (book 16)

1969. (april) Mme. Atomos cherche la petite bête. (book 17)
(20 juillet) An Ill Wind... Mme Atomos uses Zemba III to put her flag on
the Moon.

1972. (june) A day in the Life of Mme. Atomos. (crossovers galore)

1976. (jan) Les vacances de Mme. Atomos (Mme Atomos' Holidays) meets Bob
Morane's Yellow Shadow/Mr Ming

1978. Les sphères de Mme. Atomos (book 18)

HIROSHIMA... NAGAZAKI...
WITH THE COMPLIMENTS OF MADAME ATOMOS!
MADAME ATOMOS SHEDS HER SKIN

The Comics

Starting in November 1968, French comics publisher Aredit (which also published translations of DC and Marvel material, as well as "Hallucinations" and "Meteor") published twenty-four issues of a digest-sized "Atomos" comic magazine adapting Caroff's novels. After they ran out of Madame Atomos novels, Aredit adapted other, unrelated science fiction novels by Caroff.

1. La Sinistre Mme. Atomos [The Sinister Mrs. Atomos] (Book 1)
2. Mme. Atomos Sème la Terreur [Mrs. Atomos Spreads Terror] (Book 2)
3. Mme. Atomos Frappe à la Tête [Mrs. Atomos Strikes At The Head]
4. Un Linceul pour Mme Atomos [A Shroud For Mrs. Atomos] (3 + 4 = Book 3)
5. Miss Atomos
6. La Défaite de Mme. Atomos [The Defeat Of Mrs. Atomos] (5 + 6 = Book 4)
7. Miss Atomos vs. KKK (Book 5)
8. Le Retour de Mme. Atomos [The Return Of Mrs. Atomos]
9. Traquenard pour Mme. Atomos [Ambush For Mrs. Atomos] (8 + 9 = Book 6)
10. L'Erreur de Mme. Atomos [The Mistake Of Mrs. Atomos] (Book 7)
11. Mme. Atomos Prolonge la Vie [Mrs. Atomos Prolongs Life] (Book 8)
12. Les Monstres de Mme. Atomos [The Monsters Of Mrs. Atomos] (Book 9)
13. Mme. Atomos Crache des Flammes [Mrs. Atomos Spits Fire] (Book 10)
14. Mme. Atomos Croque le Marmot [Mrs. Atomos Eats A Child] (Book 11)
15. La Ténébreuse Mme. Atomos [The Dark Mrs. Atomos] (Book 12)
16-17. Mme. Atomos Change de Peau [Mrs. Atomos Sheds Her Skin] (Book 13)
18. Mme. Atomos Fait du Charme [Mrs. Atomos Charms Her Way] (Book 14)
19-20. L'Empreinte de Mme. Atomos [The Mark Of Mrs. Atomos] (Book 15)
21-22. Mme. Atomos Jette un Froid [Mrs. Atomos Catches A Cold] (Book 16)
23-24. Mme. Atomos Cherche la Petite Bête [Mrs. Atomos Seeks Small Creatures] (Book 17)

Thanks to Dominik Vallet - PIMPF