Wednesday, 10 July 2013

So I Read Atomic Robo And The Shadow From Beyond Time


A 250 word (or less) review of Atomic Robo Vol. 3
By Brian Clevinger and Scott Wegener, Robot 5 Comics


Atomic Robo And The Shadow From Beyond Time is the third chapter in the ongoing adventures of Nicola Tesla’s sentient robot invention as he participates in Action Science. Part of the hook of the character is that he was “born” in the 1920s and, gifted with a prodigious lifespan, has had decades spanning adventures.  Atomic Robo And The Shadow From Beyond Time makes one extremely clever use of this long-lived character premise. Let me explain. In Atomic Robo And The Shadow From Beyond Time, Atomic Robo combats a Lovecraftian horror/alien entity that exists outside of time, able to intersect with our linear universe at multiple instances. As such we see a story crafted around Atomic Robo encountering the entity during different decades of his life as part of a broader plot in a way that is really, really smart. Like, mind-bogglingly smart for a comic about a wise-cracking robot adventurer. Atomic Robo And The Shadow From Beyond Time is the chapter of Atomic Robo that solidified for me just how well written and cerebral this fun, swash-buckling adventure comic is. Of course, Atomic Robo ATSFBT is as bombastic and fun as preceding Atomic Robo chapters. For instance, the alien/horror entity LITERALLY sprouts from the head of HP Lovecraft and Carl Sagan shows up to say inspiring things and do action Science in some of the most absurd/amazing panels in all of comics. This comic is also properly funny, which is another hallmark of the Atomic Robo franchise. Check it out.

No comments:

Post a Comment