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Atomic Robo #11
Atomic Robo: Atomic Robo and the Temple of Od
Occupied Manchuria, 1938. Atomic Robo is volunteered for a new secret mission to track down China s top quantum physicist, who has been captured by the Imperial Japanese Army to develop a superweapon powered by the theoretically unlimited "zero-point" energy source. Robo can t catch a break with these would-be conquerors and their bizarre energy sources, can he? Luckily, he s got some help from an unexpected but familiar face."
136 pages, Paperback
First published April 11, 2017
1 person is currently reading
71 people want to read
About the author
Brian Clevinger
226 books94 followersBrian Clevinger is best known as the author of the most popular sprite webcomic, and one of the most popular webcomics overall, 8-Bit Theater. He is also the author of the self-published novel Nuklear Age. Clevinger has recently received attention for his Eisner-nominated print comic Atomic Robo.
Claiming that his "favorite comics are the ones where the jokes are on the reader," Clevinger is an expert in using anti-climax, interface alterations, and the occasional false ending to play with the reader's expectations. It is a testament to both his sense of humor and his writing skills that these "jokes on the reader" are usually beloved by his fanbase.
Claiming that his "favorite comics are the ones where the jokes are on the reader," Clevinger is an expert in using anti-climax, interface alterations, and the occasional false ending to play with the reader's expectations. It is a testament to both his sense of humor and his writing skills that these "jokes on the reader" are usually beloved by his fanbase.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
January 9, 2019
I have loved every issue of every Atomic Robo, this volume even teaches some quantum mechanics and zero point theory. Plus it's funny.
April 11, 2021
I felt like I was missing something while reading this book. It wasn't until I was almost done that I found that this was book 11. Wish it showed that somewhere on the book. I thought it was the first in a series. There seemed to be some sort of bond with the characters that I didn't understand. They seemed to know each other without really knowing each other. Being a later book makes sense now. Other than that, the artwork was nice and the story was pretty good.
August 24, 2018
This latest collection of Atomic Robo comics tells the tale of his adventures during the Japanese occupation of Manchuria in 1938. Tasked with the mission of rescuing a Chinese quantum physicist from his Japanese captors, Robo meets up with some old and new friends and engages in some spectacular battles with quantum-powered Japanese soldiers. While the Atomic Robo series tells a consistent overarching story of Robo's life from the early 20th century to the present day (and beyond!), each book is a fairly self-contained story, and the books do not necessarily continue from one to the next. So a reader unfamiliar with the series can start with this volume just as easily as any other, and get a satisfying story. As usual, the writing works like the best action comedies, like Ghostbusters or Galaxy Quest or even the Marvel superhero movies. The humor comes out of the characters, while the story, suspense, and action are all played straight. Because of the setting, this feels a bit reminiscent of Milt Caniff's Terry and the Pirates, without copying that style. And, as always, the art is fantastic.
February 10, 2018
While enjoyable, this wasn't one of Robo's most impressive outings. Robo is working for the American army to support China and recover a scientist the Japanese have captured who is building a world-changing power source. Robo and his allies are faced with multiple groups, all with questionable loyalties who must work together to defeat the Japanese. There are some good moments, and the energy source makes for some memorable moments in the battles, but everything feels a little too shackled by the setting to really let loose with the most enjoyable moments of Robo's absurdity. He does get a few good moments, and there's a bit of an Indiana Jones feel to some of it, and the art is as beautiful as always, with the choice of color palette working for a surprisingly effective tone for the proceedings. Ultimately it's a lesser Atomic Robo, but that still puts it above the vast majority of mainstream comics.
December 21, 2018
I love the depths Clevinger and Wegener explore through characterization. From the long life of the titular Robo through every secondary and ancillary character, the body language and dialogue really define the strength of the series. In addition, there are historical tidbits and scientific theory that are completely organic to the story of Robo trying to stop some ambitious soldiers in getting their hands on some tech.
This edition of Atomic Robo takes place just before World War II and you really don't need to know much about the previous volumes to enjoy this story.
If this is your first read of Atomic Robo, you should do yourself a favor and explore the back catalog.
This edition of Atomic Robo takes place just before World War II and you really don't need to know much about the previous volumes to enjoy this story.
If this is your first read of Atomic Robo, you should do yourself a favor and explore the back catalog.
June 11, 2021
Atomic Robo in 1938 trying to rescue a Chinese physicist from his kidnappers.
And "ghost bandits."
And the Russian Army.
Oh yeah. And his ex girlfriend is there, too.
Yes, of course it was fun.
And of course there are horrible plans where everything goes wrong.
But I think that my favorite moment was a single panel that was made to look like the cover of Action Comics #1.
It's Robo. If you've read his stuff before, you know what to expect.
If you have not, this story can be read without previous knowledge of his adventures. Reading the rest helps, of course. But you can pretty much understand what's going on without any of the previous books.
And "ghost bandits."
And the Russian Army.
Oh yeah. And his ex girlfriend is there, too.
Yes, of course it was fun.
And of course there are horrible plans where everything goes wrong.
But I think that my favorite moment was a single panel that was made to look like the cover of Action Comics #1.
It's Robo. If you've read his stuff before, you know what to expect.
If you have not, this story can be read without previous knowledge of his adventures. Reading the rest helps, of course. But you can pretty much understand what's going on without any of the previous books.
February 9, 2021
Atomic Robo is in pre-World War II China, where the Imperial Japanese Army is forcing a Chinese scientist to work on a super weapon. Fortunately, the good guys have volunteered Robo to save the scientist.
There's a bit of a Casablanca feel to this tale, since Robo's working with an old flame, Helen McAllister and her new love, Chen Zhen, both of whom are fighting for the Chinese Resistance.
"Was that a real explosion?"
"It was! Robo's alive!"
Add in a hidden fortress and a constantly-switching-sides band of mercenaries called the Ghost Bandits, and it's a winner of a tale.
There's a bit of a Casablanca feel to this tale, since Robo's working with an old flame, Helen McAllister and her new love, Chen Zhen, both of whom are fighting for the Chinese Resistance.
"Was that a real explosion?"
"It was! Robo's alive!"
Add in a hidden fortress and a constantly-switching-sides band of mercenaries called the Ghost Bandits, and it's a winner of a tale.
August 20, 2017
A pre-WWII adventure revisits Edison's Odic technology and reunites Robo with Helen. They're still adorable together and I love it.
I felt like the creators leaned hard into a romantic drama trope and then decided to completely ignore the predictable outcome and did something different. I greatly appreciated that. I was afraid that XYZ would happen because the dialog was telegraphing it in spades, and then it didn't. I feel the story was much better for it!
I felt like the creators leaned hard into a romantic drama trope and then decided to completely ignore the predictable outcome and did something different. I greatly appreciated that. I was afraid that XYZ would happen because the dialog was telegraphing it in spades, and then it didn't. I feel the story was much better for it!
July 3, 2019
We get an Atomic Robo story set right before World War II as Robo goes to occupied Manchuria in 1938 to rescue a scientist captured by the Japanese who has discovered an energy source that could change the course of the war.
As a story, this is a pretty good Robo tale. There's plenty of robot hitting mad science things action, and we get some fun supporting characters in the Ghost Bandits. The re-appearance of Robo's ex-girlfriend Katie McAllister and her new boyfriend don't actually have a whole lot of impact emotionally, but they don't detract from the story either.
As a story, this is a pretty good Robo tale. There's plenty of robot hitting mad science things action, and we get some fun supporting characters in the Ghost Bandits. The re-appearance of Robo's ex-girlfriend Katie McAllister and her new boyfriend don't actually have a whole lot of impact emotionally, but they don't detract from the story either.
September 19, 2017
Another volume of Atomic Robo has been read! While the jumping around from place to place (being Japan, China, and Russia) had me a bit dizzy, the ending was so worth it! Set just before the start of WWII, the magnificent writing and artwork will keep you entertained. Recommended!
April 10, 2022
¿Es posible que esta serie siga manteniendo un nivel altísimo libro tras libro? Un emocionante tomo que nos lleva de vuelta a mediados del siglo XX entremezclando las clásicas teorías locas con la ciencia más dura en una historia que te mantiene agarrado al libro hasta la última página
April 15, 2020
Gotta love the nonsense of these books. Just fantastic. Rooted in real science fantastic nonsense. Yeah Tesla!
Read
April 26, 2020Not the best Atomic Robo story, but even lesser Atomic Robo is still pretty good. And leave it to Clevinger to make me interested in quantum mechanics and zero point theory.
Read
May 11, 2022Fun science pulp adventure
Excellent stories and art. Love the pulp adventure vibe of the series. The Vampire mini story was fun as well
Excellent stories and art. Love the pulp adventure vibe of the series. The Vampire mini story was fun as well
May 22, 2023
Atomic Robo, Shanghai, Manchukuo, Claire Chennault, even a cameo by Zhukov! As the authors point out, it's not quite another WWII story, but only by a couple of months.
January 15, 2025
A classic. It has everything you'd want from an Atomic Robo book: adventure, romance, science, magic, using science to do magic, punching bad guys in World War 2. What more do you need?
September 16, 2018
Disclaimer: Atomic Robo is one of my favourite comic series of all time.
I dropped off comics almost entirely in the middle of 'Knights of The Golden Circle', but recently caught back up, both with comics and Atomic Robo. It was really refeshing to have a story that didn't tie into the more focussed continuity Robo has moved towards: probably starting with the 'Ghost of Station X'. I've tended to enjoy the earlier arcs - where we get to see Robo at different stages of his life - so nice to see a shift towards that.
Brian Clevinger crafts a good story, with a nice balance of characterisation and action. Funny and lighthearted as ever, it's a series and story that it is easy to approach and accessible to a wide group of ages. Great to see a reappearance of a character we haven't seen in years. However, it was the Ghost bandits stole the show for me, and theh regularly made me laugh out loud! One criticism I do have is that for some reason I kept forgetting Chen Zhen was meant to be Chinese, I don't know it it was characterisation, pencilling or colouring, but he felt like an embedded US operative, not a member of Chinese resistance to me. It took me out of the story a few times.
Scott Wegner's cartooning is perfect for the book. There's nothing flashy with the panel layouts; they tend to be simple rectangles, but this is very much in service of the story. Robo of course is incredibly well designed and Scott manages to imbue a huge amount of emotion in his Robotic face, we always know how Robo is feeling. Same is true of all the characters - Scott's evolved his style so characters are more animated than in early volumes - it really works!
Overall this is an enjoyable arc and a solid 4 stars. I can always rely on Robo to be a fun read and if you are already reading Robo you know what to expect. If not and you're considering trying, you could start here, but I'd recommend starting with one of the earlier volumes; my favourite is 'Shadow From Beyond Time'.
I dropped off comics almost entirely in the middle of 'Knights of The Golden Circle', but recently caught back up, both with comics and Atomic Robo. It was really refeshing to have a story that didn't tie into the more focussed continuity Robo has moved towards: probably starting with the 'Ghost of Station X'. I've tended to enjoy the earlier arcs - where we get to see Robo at different stages of his life - so nice to see a shift towards that.
Brian Clevinger crafts a good story, with a nice balance of characterisation and action. Funny and lighthearted as ever, it's a series and story that it is easy to approach and accessible to a wide group of ages. Great to see a reappearance of a character we haven't seen in years. However, it was the Ghost bandits stole the show for me, and theh regularly made me laugh out loud! One criticism I do have is that for some reason I kept forgetting Chen Zhen was meant to be Chinese, I don't know it it was characterisation, pencilling or colouring, but he felt like an embedded US operative, not a member of Chinese resistance to me. It took me out of the story a few times.
Scott Wegner's cartooning is perfect for the book. There's nothing flashy with the panel layouts; they tend to be simple rectangles, but this is very much in service of the story. Robo of course is incredibly well designed and Scott manages to imbue a huge amount of emotion in his Robotic face, we always know how Robo is feeling. Same is true of all the characters - Scott's evolved his style so characters are more animated than in early volumes - it really works!
Overall this is an enjoyable arc and a solid 4 stars. I can always rely on Robo to be a fun read and if you are already reading Robo you know what to expect. If not and you're considering trying, you could start here, but I'd recommend starting with one of the earlier volumes; my favourite is 'Shadow From Beyond Time'.
April 12, 2017
The last two volumes of ROBO were a bit muddled (though still great). This is a return to form. Loved every page!
May 1, 2017
One of the best things about Atomic Robo is how gooood it feels to read them. There is something so delightful about the Action Scientist Robot, whether he is helping our the Chinese resistance pre WWII or smashing giant ants in the early 2000's. This book reminded me why I want to add Atomic Robo to our book club list.
June 7, 2017
It's been a while since I had a new Robo to read and I was not disappointed. This was very fast-paced and funny. I almost want to say that it could have been a little slower and given us a touch more plot but I did enjoy it. So much.
Now I feel like I need to re-read them all. What a hardship.
Now I feel like I need to re-read them all. What a hardship.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews