Atomic County

Atomic County is the name of a fictional comic book which was conceived by The O.C.’s characters Seth Cohen and Zach Stevens during the second season of the show. The comic book was mainly used as a tool for satirizing plot events.

The comic was set in Orange County, with the superheroes based on The O.C.'s main characters: Kid Chino (Ryan Atwood), The Ironist (Seth Cohen), Cosmo Girl (Marissa Cooper), and Little Miss Vixen (Summer Roberts). It was revealed later on in the show that Seth also gave Anna Stern a character named Punky Spitfire. Their known adventures were mainly focused around an invasion by demon water polo players, who were meant to represent Luke Ward and the other water polo jocks who bullied Seth throughout high school.

The comic book was mainly featured in the second season of the show, where it caused constant friction between Summer, Seth, and her then-boyfriend Zach. It was also briefly featured in the fourth season when Seth used the comic book's characters to illustrate his history with Ryan, while introducing his parents Sandy and Kirsten Cohen as "The Litigator" and "The Ice Queen" respectively. As well, the success of the comic book in the show's world was the main reason Seth was accepted into the Rhode Island School of Design at the end of the show's fourth season.

The sketches and artwork used in the show were actually the work of artist Eric Wight. There is no real "Atomic County" comic book. However, fictional excerpts from the comic book are included in the "bonus features" of The O.C. - The Complete Series Collection DVD box set. A series of animated shorts of Atomic County are also available to download by US customers of iTunes.