Just noticed the early Atomic Robo books are now on Comixology and at really good prices (at least in US, haven't checked the app yet).
Is worth a punt?
If you get along with the post-Mark Millar-style writers like BKV and Rick Remender, then yes. Some don't, though.
On the whole, I think Atomic Robo is fantastic. It has similar sensibilities to Hellboy, but it's more knockabout and fun rather than spooky. However, it's generally also very smart. The one exception I'd make is the Comixology-only special, which was a bit naff compared to the more standard efforts. All of the trades are certainly worth checking out, I'd say.
Quote from: Professor James T Bear on 02 June, 2013, 05:59:59 PM
the post-Mark Millar-style
Can you enlighten me about this please? I've never heard of it before.
High concepts and a plot that's built around the timely and regular delivery of soundbites and splash images - though Atomic Robo being a comedy, this kind of setup/punchline structure goes with the territory.
QuoteHigh concepts and a plot that's built around the timely and regular delivery of soundbites and splash images - though Atomic Robo being a comedy, this kind of setup/punchline structure goes with the territory
.
Atomic Robo
does not have a thoroughly despicable cast, pointless vulgarity and swearing and a complete reliance on extreme violence in the place of plot though. (I may have gone off Millar since his ultimate x-men days. Guy was more fun back in the Sonic the Comic days, now he's a bit one note. And Garth Ennis puts more soul into his ultra violence anyway)
I highly recommend Robo. Very similar to Hellboy in principle, particularly with the chronology jumping around to show activities during WW2, Korea, the space race, the modern day and even the 19th century. Crafts its own alternate history where Tesla and Edison fought each other with superscience. I suppose you could say its Hellboy with a science background, with adventure and fun rather than fate, magic or the end of the world at its core.
Plus Doctor Dinosaur is a classic character that should not be missed.
Hmm. Just read the first issue and I remain to be convinced. It's very Hellboy to the point where it's almost a bit of a rip-off, and the writing and art has an air of amateurishness about it.
Hopefully that's just teething problems and it will get better.
Always subjective, I guess, but I agree entirely with Theblazeuk. Robo's its own thing, although it takes a few issues to get there. It's smart, it's funny, and, yeah, Doctor Dinosaur is excellent.
I'll persevere with it.
Sad that I'm finding more and more these days something either clicks with me straight away or it doesn't.
I'd give a few others a go. It's not really an ongoing series as much as a bunch of stories set in the world (with the titular character proving the link), which on reflection is quite similar to Hellboy - but unlike Hellboy there isn't so much a central narrative. Each adventure is really its own.
Last week i received vol.4. I have 1 to 4, and the Real Science Adventures stand-alone trade. I reccomend it? Absolutely yes. You'll find things from the late 1920s trough now: monsters, Aliens, interdimensional beings, communist agents, battles in WWII and before, lots of fun. And get ready for lots, i mean lots, of "guest stars"... Otto Skorzeny(a famous SS soldier), Stephen Hawking, Carl Sagan.... and i shut up, they're plenty more. Is this sense of "being part of history" that adds more charm to Robo.
Bizarre! Two people at work recommended this to me yesterday, and now this thread has popped up...
Spooky!