Atomic Robo Volume 1

One-Sentence Summary: Hurray for Atomic Robo!

I'll admit it: I've got a major soft spot for this comic. Not only is it by Brian Clevinger (whose webcomic, 8-Bit Theater, is super-fantastic), but it's everything a superhero comic should be.

This doesn't read like the first few issues of an independent comic. It doesn't look like it, either, or even feel like it. You have a (seemingly) fully-developed world with characters with rich backgrounds, and the action sequences are well-constructed.

If I have any complaints, it's in the nitty-gritty. I think that background characters lack faces is a bit of a distraction, even if it's more of an artistic choice than a shortcut. Because this is a volume that's really about introducing Robo himself, the side characters sort of get passed by. You have some wacky dialog from them (including a great, on-the-side discussion of imaginary physics), but Robo really dominates.

The good part of this is Robo is a great protagonist. The comparisons of this comic to Hellboy are rife and apt, but I will say it: Robo is a better character than Hellboy. Stories aside, Hellboy is a much more reactive character, while Robo is front-and-center of his world. Robo has no dominant characteristic -- sure, he jokes and fights, but he's an intelligent character, and, in my favorite scene of the volume, you feel the weight of being an 80-year old ageless robot.

The art works so well for this series too. Much like Invincible, or the 90s Deadpool when McGuiness drew it, this relatively bright, relatively cartoon-y style is very liberating on the story. Not only does it allow for fairly ridiculous things seeming ordinary (Robo himself would be a bit more dehumanized with a more realistic style), but it also brightens the story a bit and really highlight the humor-element.

As far as the trade goes, it's a pretty standard job: 15-ish dollars, 6 issues, the b-material from the issues is included along with a few pages of concept art. Glossy paper, though, so that's nice.

Atomic Robo is one of the up-and-coming comics, and Clevinger is a rising star himself. I won't pretend to guess the future on it: it could go the route of Hellboy, and become huge; it could go the way of The Goon and begin to explode, then collapse for creator-based reasons (yes, I know it's still limping along); or it could be like so many Dark Horse projects of the 90s, and be popular and critically acclaimed, only to be forgotten borderline-instantly (Concrete or Monkey Man & O'Brien anyone?). It has the potential to do any of these. I know which route I'll be rooting for.