Atomic Robo and the Dogs of War by Brian Clevinger

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Atomic Robo: The Dogs of War is a great book that plays with the concept of Robo as this long lived robot created by Tesla and tossing him into World War II. The book is the same sort of adventure we'd expect from Robo after reading Volume 1. He's battling Nazis and trying to thwart them from developing super weapons. For two stories he joined by a reluctant female partner.

What makes the book work is that the writer and the artist both have a love for the era that comes from their grandfathers and it really flows onto the page. Added with strong basic talent, this makes for a strong book.

In addition to the main comic story, we're treated i95 short "B" stories which run the gamut. One is a nice follow up to the World War II tales, another an expansion of a story from the previous book, one with a member of Robo's team forced to take a vacation, and one leading to Robo swearing off on fighting in the Cold War, leading into a story in which Robo fought in the Cold War.

The latter special is a treat from Free Comic Book Day 2008. It mixes action, technology, and a nice morality play. Too many companies do something cheap on FCBD but kudos to Atomic Robo for doing something really nice instead.

Overall, a superb action-packed book.



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