| Atomic Robo #2 |
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| Posted by Kris Bather |
05:37 AM Wednesday, 14 November 2007 |
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 Red 5 have a great pedigree. A comic company made up of Star Wars fans and tech-heads? That's got nerd love written all over it. I wouldn't be surprised if they eventually become another Dark Horse. That is to say, a company that consistently produces solid entertaining adventures without all the traditional superhero hype offered by the Big Two. And, let's face it, when it comes to superheroes, no-one will really ever compete with Marvel and DC. And that's not a bad thing.What the smaller companies like Dark Horse are able to do is craft off-centre whose heroes, though not household names and cinematic superstars, are rewarding because they're different. I love dark chocolate (and my doctor when he told me it was good for me) but I can't have it every day. It's the same with spandex battles and melodrama. Yeah, the X-Men and JLA are cool, but I need variety in my comics diet. And that's why Red 5 and this title in particular deliver nourishing goodness. I'm expecting big things from these guys. With this title, writer Brian Clevenger and artist Scott Weneger remind the industry that comics are meant to be fun. And they do it with style. The mission statement behind Robo, and seemingly the entire Red 5 output appears to be to create comics that don't take themselves too seriously, and that you can happily give to your kids. Both are unfortunate rarities these days. If they play their cards right the Red 5 guys may just have a hit on their hands with rewarding tales that offer something to the fanboy as well as the civilian. Okay, let's talk about this robotic hero then. In 1923 Atomic Robo was given mechanical life from the hands of legendary scientist Nikola Tesla. (You know, the guy David Bowie played in The Prestige) Robo has been kicking butt ever since, for the American government, who provide him with all the butts to kick he needs, such as giant ants in this issue. Now, I didn't read last issue, but I was able to jump right in, thanks to the simple concept and the handy intro page which describes Robo's origin. (Let's hope this inspires all comics to have this feature) Not a lot happens here and we don't really get to know anyone other than the main metal man himself. It cuts back between a modern day setting in which Robo battles the aforementioned giant ants, and a dogfight in Chinese skies in WWII. The ant battle was great as Robo uses blunt instruments like cars, mail boxes and street signs as clubs and also gives this ish its humour. "Automobiles have been the best melee weapons to use against giant monsters since the 50s. Its science fact." Ah, classic. The flashbacks seem only to serve as a reminder that Robo is essentially immune to the ravages of time and eventually loses his comrades-in-arms. I was reminded of Savage Dragon and Hellboy- tough hero lost in time/out of the ordinary uses his gifts to serve humanity with humour while attempting to befriend them. It works well though. Robo could easily become a likeable character. It'll be interesting to see what Clevenger and Weneger do from here on out, now that they've established the hero and his world. Straight forward self contained stories? Epic story lines with a menagerie of increasingly wild and crazy supervillains? We shall see. My only gripe was Robo's catchphrase, "Aw nuts." He utters it twice here and perhaps we shall never hear it again. I have nothing against catchphrases, but hopefully something more original can escape the hero's metallic non-mouth. Weneger's art is a combination of Mike Mignola's without all the blacks and the animated style of Bruce Timm. Perfect for the story and it gets the job done with flair. I have a lot of hope in Red 5. So far, so good. Let's just hope and pray that they remember why they got in to this medium in the first place and I'm sure their growing fan base will support them all the way. All I can say is -way to go Robo! Hey, that's not a bad catch phrase! It's on the house, Red 5. |
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