Writer: Brian Clevinger
Artists: Scott Wegener, Ronda Pattison (colors)
Publisher: Red 5 Comics
Editor's Note: Atomic Robo will arrive in stores this October and is now available for pre-order.
When I read the label "Robot Comic," I can't help but roll my eyes and envision the common storyline of a metal man struggling with emotions and people he does not understand on a mission that will ultimately teach himself, and humanity, a hokey "deeper" lesson. My reaction is similar to Dave Bowman's when he enters the stargate, except instead of being full of stars it's full of crappy robot comics. Imagine my surprise then when I cracked open Brian Clevenger's Atomic Robo and was greeted by an all too human, cobalt eyed, mechanical man. I'm not previously familiar with Clevenger's work, but if Atomic Robo is any indication I will most definitely be looking out for this writer.
Atomic Robo features the hijinkery of a robot created by Nikolai Tesla. This book isn't a stereotypical hero tale in that Robo doesn't seem particularly interested in fighting crime and only capitulates to the requests of the U.S. Government to go and beat on some Nazis when they offer him his greatest desire...legal status as a human. Now now, quiet your cries of indignation. I'm sure he has his reasons for wanting to be like us when all we want is to be like him. Following the blatant bribery at the hands of the government, Robo suits up and heads off to trade blows and witty repartee with an evil Nazi scientist and his crew of bumbling soldiers. As you might expect, ultimately Robo is the victor...or is he?
The art for the book is reminiscent of The Amazing Screw-On Head and matches the pace set by Clevinger's wry humor brilliantly. You can almost see the confusion and exasperation intoned by Robo etched in his metallic visage. No mean feat for a character who's only method of emoting sans speech are two blue lights. I love art like this, art that manages to be expressive without looking cluttered or overly busy. Praise be to Scott Wegener for not following the stereotypical comic book art trend that could so easily have been used for Atomic Robo.
My only real gripes with the book are the usage of Nikolai Tesla as Robo's creator and the brevity of the book. Although it's tough to harp on things being unbelievable in a comic about a robot fighting Nazis, it just seems like the name Tesla is used to add some kind of market appeal, perhaps an attempt at bringing in those enamored with the steampunk scene that is so ubiquitous lately. The story itself isn't hampered by the namedropping, it's simply a niggling annoyance, and I suspect its usage may have something to do with how short the story is, removing the necessity of backstory for the creator of Robo by handing us a fully fleshed out character. I'd would have preferred a slightly more in depth story simply to have a clearer understanding of Atomic Robo, but I suspect we'll got more of that later. In defense of the brevity, Clevenger is successful in giving us at least some idea of why Robo does what he does. All things considered, both are only minor flaws and easily ignored by the dint of the light hearted humor and sharp art provided in compensation for a mere pittance thrust into the sweaty palm of your local purveyor of comics.
Atomic Robo gets two shiny, metal, swiss army like tool laden thumbs up with slight reservations for upcoming stories advertised on the back of the cover...a Robot created by Tesla aiding in the civil rights movement is going to be a pretty tough sell.
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