Red 5’s flagship hero, Atomic Robo is now a live action character. Not as a film, but the humorous hero would make a great silver screen adventurer. Rather, Red 5 have apparently been working on their new “booth babe” for months. Pictures below and more here. Hope I see him at next year’s Comic-Con.
This new series was previewed in Red 5’s recent Free Comic Book Day offering, but if you didn’t pick it up – fear not! It’s available here, and it’s still free.
This six issue mini-series is off to a good start. From Red 5, the fine folks who have given us Atomic Robo and Neozoic, We Kill Monsters tells the story of two brothers and their extracurricular activities, as summed up in the title.
Jake and Drew are mechanics at the Basher Bros. Auto Repair and Body Shop. After another day fixing cars, they head to their usual haunt for a few drinks. The brothers lives are soon interrupted by more than Vanessa, the pretty barmaid however. After calling it a night, the somewhat sullen Drew is faced with two horrors – Vanessa’s new boyfriend and a terrifying beast leaping from the shadows. Thankfully, his bro’s got his back, and with a shovel to the face and some blood loss on both sides, the brothers emerge victorious, but not unchanged. They drag the horned corpse to their shop after seeing another creature following them and soon realize that their problems are just beginning.
I wasn’t expecting much from this book. It’s not a revolutionary concept or anything. However, I liked what I read. The cartoony art may be too jarring for some, considering its forlorn characters and such, but Brian Churilla (The Engineer from Archaia) conveys the inner feelings of the characters well, considering the few lines he uses. Christopher Leone’s script moves things along at a brisk pace, but it never feels like its rushing to get all the talking out of the way until the monster shows his face. He shows the awkward concern that the brothers have for one another, and how that affects the relationships around them. I expect a war between Drew and Jake on one side, with their handy skills and new abilities and knowledge and a horde of ugly creatures on the other, but six issues is a long tale to tell, so there may yet be further surprises in store. Hopefully they’ll come from the brothers and how they interact with each other while battling baddies. I think that a family drama in the midst of invading evil will set this series apart from just another ‘average guy saves world from aliens’ type adventure. Hopefully I’m right.
My interview with writer Brian Clevinger is now up at Broken Frontier. The writer of next month’s Atomic Robo and the Shadow From Beyond Time talks about a bunch of stuff including the importance of Nikola Tesla and the fun that Robo has brought back to comics.
Here’s a snippet….
BROKEN FRONTIER: Why do you think fans have responded to Atomic Robo so kindly?
BRIAN CLEVINGER: I think it’s because much of what informs Atomic Robo as a title comes from our own dissatisfaction with mainstream comics. We’re the anti-Big Event Book and more people are coming to realize they like that. We’re not trying to make you buy into tie-ins or change everything you know about the status quo forever (or three months, which comes first). We’re just telling fun adventure stories with a cool main character who doesn’t need his whole history re-written every year to make sense/generate sales.
Read the rest here.
The first two pages of this RED 5 book show a unique twist on a couple of Batman and Robin homages, going even further in the following pages with more in-jokes than you can shake a Mylar bag at. And that’s a good thing, because the writer of this adventure is the creator of the grand daddy of all fan films, TROOPS, which also means Kevin Rubio has instant nerd appeal for the rest of his life. His twist on the classic teen hero tale in Abyss proudly displays his ode to, and parody of, superheroes. With TROOPS and his work on Dark Horses’ Star Wars: Tag and Bink Were Here showing equal parts adoration and good hearted mocking for the SW universe, Rubio moves onto our most beloved of all pop culture creations – spandex escapades.
Young Eric Hoffman is going through the motions of his life now that his famous father is dead. With his military uncle showing him what his Dad left him, comprising mainly of lots of hi-tech toys and international organizations, Eric seems less and less enchanted. Then he sees his Dad standing before him AND at the same time, realises he was the infamous Abyss, notorious super villain. Suddenly Eric’s interested, not in continuing his father’s legacy, but in creating a new, heroic one.
Dad’s lair includes nice touches, such as amass of kryptonite, and a signed photo of Ozymandias from Watchmen, contained in what looks like a cross between the Batcave and a Bond villain’s hideout. Eric’s quest to save his father’s latest evil scheme is noble in intention, but full of mistakes in execution. He eventually convinces the heroic Green Arrow-like Arrow and his new partner, the young female Quiver (whom Eric promptly asks out on a date) that he’s not at all like his pop. A reluctant team-up, a kidnapping, another reluctant team-up (on both sides of the conflict), fake deaths and good humoured jabs at Comic-Con, Kingdom Come, superhero transport, the jobs of Supes and Bats alter egos and more abound for the rest of the story as the battle draws near.
Long time comics readers will definitely get more out of this than those less familiar with the history of The Big Two, but that shouldn’t dissuade newcomers. Funny is funny, no matter how full your noggin is with geeky knowledge, and Rubio is wise enough to put just enough jokes in to satisfy a wide audience. Case in point, when Eric asks Arrow how he makes his money to pay for all his gadgets, the archer replies, “the old fashioned way – merchandising!” Nice. With lines like that, and great facial expressions (thanks to Tag and Bink artist Lucas Marangon) and timing that could make this duo the next Giffen/ DeMatteis/Maguire (1980s Justice League) this is an entertaining, brisk read.
Certain sequences brought back fond memories of Sergio Aragone’s classic Mad magazine margin gags, or the humourous background action in most of the Zuckers/ Abrahams (Hot Shots, Naked Gun) films, especially the clever “scrolling” news headlines scene. With all this from the original four ish mini, some great looking costumes, a healthy dose of wit, the series original covers which reference famous classics, plus an intro by Blair Butler (TV’s Fresh Ink) and Rubio, this is a well rounded entertaining little number. Abyss reminds us that it’s good when nerds can laugh at themselves, I mean – ourselves.
Atomic Robo made an impression on the comics scene last year the same way he does in this story; packed with action and pleasant surprises. From new publisher, Red 5 who seem to be picking their projects wisely, this series is the ideal gateway title. If you’ve been away from comics for a while with all the soap opera spandex stories, or the every increasing adult tales wrapped in seemingly child-like packages, then you need to do yourself a favour. You need to buy Atomic Robo Vol. 1. It will renew your love for the medium and give you faith in its future. Books that are simply fun and that can be shared with the whole family are a rarity on today’s stands. Robo is a new creation, yet he collates the best bits of pulp adventurers as well as the fun of early Savage Dragon and the actiony wit of Hellboy (the movie version).
We discover that Atomic Robo was created by actual genius Nikola Tesla in 1923 and has been serving the U.S government since then. He’s basically a one-man army. Like Captain America, but , y’know a robot, and with a sense of humour.
He fights Nazis (though they’re not referred to as such) giant ants in the Reno desert (possibly mutated by the growing field of “imaginary physics”), walking pyramids and more.
The stories are set up nicely as we go from the present where Robo and his team fight the weird monstrosity of the day, to times in years previous and learn of the friends he’s lost along the way. An ageless robot who’s passing 80 can not help but deal with real emotions and Clevenger show this side with a clarity equal to the humourous action. This book collects the first six issues, plus four extra short back-up tales by various artists, the covers of the issues, a gallery of Robo by even more artists and a look at the early concept sketches of the character from Weneger. And if that’s not enough, there’s also a two page look at Atomic Robo’s technically advanced components. All these extras just make a neat 180+ page book even neater.
Robo’s bickering Action Science League offer some humour but Robo’s the funny one of the bunch and has all the quips straight out of a cheesy 80s action film. Even real-life figures like Carl Sagan and Stephen Hawking manage to make an impression as Robo ventures to Mars for the first time to aid NASA in their research (and finds the worst enemy man can face-boredom!) Artist Scott Weneger can draw character reactions, dark machinery, underground bases and scary creatures all with equal skill. His lines may seem simple, but don’t be deceived. It takes effort to make it look effortless and it is awfully pretty to look at. Coupled with writer Brian Clevenger’s fast paced script it all feels like a pulpy Bond film that doesn’t take itself too seriously.
Clevenger and Weneger seem to come from the same school as myself; the School of Saturday Morning Cartoons. They aced their class in action that makes you cheer and characters that make you smile. Now they’re the teachers. So sit up, and pay attention.
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