Atomic Robo: The Everything Explodes Collection

Atomic Robo #1-3

by Brian Clevinger, Scott Wegener (Illustrator), Matt Fraction (Introduction)

Three volumes of Atomic Robo are collected in this handsome single edition. Robo faces his greatest foes: a clockwork pyramid, the planet Mars, Stephen Hawking, a parasitic universe, and Nazi super weapons.
Collects The Fighting Scientists of Tesladyne, The Dogs of War, and The Shadow From Beyond Time volumes into a single omnibus!

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Science Fiction, Adventure, Webcomic, Graphic Novels Comics, Fiction

Kindle Edition

First published September 22, 2015

About the author

Brian 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.

Reviews

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Atomic Robo: The Everything Explodes collection is a collection of the first three Atomic Robo collections: Atomic Robo and the Fightin' Scientists of Tesladyne, Atomic Robo and the Dogs of War, and Atomic Robo and the Shadow from Beyond Time.

Since I'm a fan of robots and this thing has been nominated for numerous awards, I decided to take the plunge once I found it cheaply enough.

I love the artwork and the concept. Atomic Robo was created by Tesla in the early 20th century and has been fighting Nazis and supernatural menaces ever since. The artwork reminds me of Chew with a more science fiction bend and suits the tales very much.

I enjoyed the book at times but it felt very shallow for the most part. All the quips by Atomic Robo and his scientist chums robbed the stories of a lot of the sense of threat or urgency. The humor took away from the stories a lot of times, in my opinion.

The Shadow from Beyond Time saved the rest of the collection from a two-star rating and showed me what the series could be. Atomic Robo vs. a Lovecraftian beastie who exists simultaneously in four time periods? Damn right! With Charles Fort and HPL as characters? Double damn right! I also liked seeing Atomic Robo interacting with Carl Sagan and his rivalry with Stephen Hawking.

While I didn't see what all the fuss was about, I thought the Shadow From Beyond Time was great. Atomic Robo is a fun adventure pulp character with a lot of potential. While I wasn't in love with most of this collection, I'll be reading more Atomic Robo adventures in the future. Three out of five stars.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

From the back cover: "The robot punches another robot or a monster or a mad scientist. That's our promise to you... wherein Robo faces his greatest foes: a clockwork pyramid, the planet Mars, Stephen Hawking, a parasitic universe, and Nazi superweapons." Also, with a collection title like "Everything Explodes", I knew this was good pulp adventure fun that doesn't take itself too seriously. Standing there in the bookstore I was thinking, "Shut up and take my money!"

This volume collects the first three story arcs in Atomic Robo's chronology:
Atomic Robo and the Fightin' Scientists of Tesladyne
Atomic Robo and the Dogs of War
Atomic Robo and the Shadow from Beyond Time

The first volume was a disappointment and left me wondering if this was something worth reading. However, I'm glad I kept reading because the volumes get better as they go.

The story is told entirely in a nonlinear fashion, jumping around to different periods of Robo's life. Although it does make things a little more difficult to follow, I don't mind this and for me it feels like those quintessential pulp stories (Conan, Elric, The Shadow, Doc Savage, even the Indiana Jones movies) that spun yarns from various parts of a protagonist's life in no particular order. In this case, with the protagonist being a non-living machine, that works even better because his life spans many decades and he doesn't age, providing a wealth of opportunities for period storytelling (a stroke of genius on the author's part, I think).

The first volume doesn't give us much back story about Robo. It's mentioned that he was invented by Tesla, although scenes involving Tesla are extremely sparse. For the most part, we are thrust into a world where a sentient, bullet-proof robot is a national hero, without any explanation. There's nothing deep here, but again that wasn't what was promised... only that the robot would punch bad guys, that was the promise, and it delivered on that.

I'm not overly fond of Robo's personality. He's basically just a wise guy and there's not any character depth beyond that. I couldn't tell you what his fears and desires are, for instance. Maybe he doesn't have any because he's a robot, although having an AI doesn't prevent him from cracking jokes. Worst of all, over-confidence is one of my least favorite human traits, and Robo has that in spades. But, just because I don't like the protagonist much doesn't mean I can't enjoy a story. In this case, I found it somewhat enjoyable in spite of the protagonist.

Perhaps the biggest issue I had with the first volume is the humor. For me it fell flat. Most of the gags were eye-rollers. In one case, Robo gets stranded on Mars because of Stephen Hawking. How or why isn't really explained. Hawking never actually makes an appearance and is only referred to. Robo spends his stranded time on Mars building a giant sign out of rocks that describes how much he hates Stephen Hawking. Again, we don't really know why. It's just not very funny.

Also in the first volume they are fighting an Egyptian Pyramid that has become animated. Yet again there's no explanation as to how or why the pyramid is on the move. It's a little odd, and there's not much that happens besides explosions. Again, the collection is titled "Everything Explodes" so I can't say I wasn't warned. But it did leave me wondering after all if this was something I would really enjoy reading.

Fortunately, volume two is a step up from volume one. Volume two describes Atomic Robo's experiences in WW2 fighting Nazis and Nazi super weapons. This is a setting and theme that I'm generally fond of, and I thought it was fairly well executed. The humor was still not great but it wasn't as flat as before.

Then comes volume three, which is a significant improvement over the previous two volumes. Volume three introduces Charles Fort and H.P. Lovecraft as characters, though they are really portrayed as just caricatures of their historical personas. In this volume, Robo is fighting a Lovecraftian creature that exists everywhere in time ("everywhen"?). The story is a little disjointed because it jumps around to 4 different periods in Robo's life in which he is dealing with this extra-dimensional menace. But it's enjoyable. There are quite a few humorous moments when Robo is interacting with himself from another time period. Time travel paradoxes become the humorous thread throughout the volume. The humor was smart and a big improvement over the earlier efforts.

I enjoyed the artwork pretty well. It's simple but effective in conveying that action-packed pulp feel.

This "Everything Explodes" collection also includes a section in the back with the "B stories". Most of these are short (only a few pages) and not terribly interesting. I guess there's a reason they were deemed "B stories". But a couple of them do fill in a little about what happens to Robo at some other times in his life, in case you are curious.

Overall this book was pretty good. Because this collection got better with each volume, I have hopes that the fourth volume and beyond are worth a read. So I will probably give them a shot.

[Derek Royal · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was great reading these stories again. I hadn't done so in a few years, and what prompted me to revisit these early Atomic Robo stories was twofold: 1) the new IDW collection that brings together the first three volumes of the series, and 2) our upcoming interview with Clevinger about this and Wegener's recent move to IDW and the beginning of the next series, the first with the new publisher, "Atomic Robo and the Ring of Fire." This has always been a fun series.

[Matt Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

I went to San Diego Comic-Con every year for ten years. It was my vacation from work, the only time I took time off. I lived in San Diego, so it was like a stay-cation, and I remember that the first year I went I literally walked up on Sunday and filled out a form with a pen and by the time I stopped going I was throwing a computer across the room because the online ticketing process kept crashing.

Whenever I think of comics I always think about the moment the bloom came off the rose for me. I was browsing the booths and this guy stopped me to show me the comic book he had published: a superhero who was a real superhero and he had a sidekick and the gimmick was they were so low rent that the superhero's "Batmobile" was a toilet seat that he modified to drive around on. He was incredibly proud of it and pitched it as "doesn't this sound like the best idea." Wouldn't I want to buy that?

Around this time I was listening to podcasts hosted by white guys who were older and wiser than me talked nonstop about how the writers of comic books wrote comics because "they love comics". These men (because.... comics really didn't and still doesn't have many female writers...) were in it because they had stories to tell and loved the medium and the way they could use it to tell a story. They grew up on comics and now they have an opportunity to make them for the next generation.

It took me a long time, but Atomic Robo is a great poster child for the cynical subtext behind that argument. Started as a web comic, this is a series that has all the hallmarks of "comics" written all over it: it's limited only by the imagination of the writer (Brian Clevinger) and the artist (Scott Wegener) and whatever whims tickle their fancy at any given moment. You want something with dinosaurs? Here's your book. You want to add in time travel and wacky gobbledegook science fiction and a giant pyramid that travels around and mummies and Nazis and... well... anything? Then this is the book for you.

The issue is that this series is.... pure sugar and storytelling the way that only comics can do. Is there a structure? Not really? Are there even stories? Not really. This collection of three volumes of Atomic Robo is nothing but a series of events and things that happen. The only thing tying it together is a robot who does nothing but quip and, while I suppose there is this barely-there underlying motif of him feeling old and like the world passed him by, it never gives the feeling that this is ever about something. Clevinger isn't interested in emotions. He's interested in how well Robo can quip like Spider-man.

It's not like this should be that surprising. Clevinger barely deigns to give any of the "characters" in this book any character. The second leg of this book introduces a World War II secret agent named Sparrow and the only thing she really does is act as someone for Robo to have arguments with. As with the television show Archer there's only so much of one man bouncing his own voice off himself I can actually take before it makes me feel like I'm watching something self-indulgent. And far be it for her to actually do anything except be a token female character: at least she has something to do. Robo in the present has "A Team of Science Adventurers", but... it doesn't ever seem like Clevinger finds this idea interesting or fun enough to explore before he gallivants off to some other point in history to go explore something else. And even then it doesn't seem clear that Clevinger is even interested in a point of history except to see it on display. Look here's H.P. Lovecraft. Here's Carl Sagan. Here's Stephen Hawking being an asshole. Here's Nazi bad guys because Nazis are evil, right. Robo can punch Nazis because all Nazis were bad.

I admit I'm being cranky here, but there wasn't really a point to this. It was something that went. And on and on. And had some dialogue. And had a quippy robot who's a modern superhero who punches things. But I read three volumes about this dude and I know nothing except that he loves to quip and be the funny jokester. And he's the main character Literally he's on almost every single page and there's nothing about him that I feel has developed his character in any way.

And this is the issue. That Clevinger and Wegener had this idea for a character that has scratched the itch and attention of numerous readers and has a patreon that brings in enough money for him to write this book constantly. Clearly things are working for both him and his readers. But I am also demanding more from comics. I appreciate the need for mashups of things you don't see other places: the talking homicidal dinosaur, the Cthulu monster from beyond time, the brain on a giant robot... but these need to serve something more than a cool image some artist draws on a page because drawing other things bores him.

This is a problem everywhere, but I especially notice it in comics. The need for serialization means that you have to feed the beast of second act. And second acts suck. They're boring. They're the middle. They don't feature anything happening and are a challenge for even the best of writers. But beyond that, you can't just slap a steering wheel on a toilet seat and have some dude in pajamas and a cape drive it around and call it good or worth someone's time because someone published it. Stories need to be more. Stories should strive to be about themes or ideas (and this book at no point has anything resembling a theme or a central idea Clevinger was interested in talking about), they can often average out to being about interesting characters (and if Robo is interesting it certainly doesn't come across in any of the way Clevinger tells any of these stories here), and at their worst bottom out to recalling events, jumping from place to place and telling events that don't reveal anything except what happened.

And what happened isn't story.

1.5 stars rounded up. Because 1 Star reviews are reserved for the truly offensive.

[Derek Bailey · Rating 3 out of 5]

INTRODUCTION
Every now and then, it's fun for me to read something a bit whimsical. It can be nice to delve into something that doesn't take itself all that seriously and doesn't really grip me in the way that something darker and more serious would. ATOMIC ROBO: THE EVERYTHING EXPLODES COLLECTION is one of those works that is really only meant to entertain. And that is just what this comic series does. Normally when I read and review comics, I do so by volume, but this work actually collects volumes 1-3 in the series. I'm not quite sure how many individual issues that comes out to exactly (I didn't count), but I think it's probably at least 15. I'm very glad my friend introduced me to this series and I had great fun with it the whole way through.


HOW I RATED IT
3/5 It's a charming piece of graphic fiction and I really did like it, but I didn't REALLY like it, so that's why it's getting a 3/5. I think this is one of those works where there really isn't a whole lot to analyze or critique. It just is what it is and if the absurd humor and cartoony artwork resonate with you, then you will undoubtedly like this as I did.

CHARACTERS
There are honestly so many different characters that pop up that I can't really mention them all within the span of a review. Most of them are indeed a bit flat (which makes sense given the amount of face time they get), but all depicted in an outlandish enough way to make them entertaining presences. There are even characters from history. Thomas Edison, Nikolai Tesla, and even H.P. Lovecraft all make appearances in the story, though their portrayals are by no means historically "accurate." There are some other non-historical standouts as well. Robo himself is a witty enough hero who's bravery borders on cocky quite often. He's a humorously plucky leading man (or bot) and a great deal of fun to follow. Then there's Jenkins who doesn't say much, he just kills monsters dead and he does it with style. He's easily my favorite recurring character and I only wish that there was a little more of him. The list of wacky people goes on, but suffice it to say that there are more than a few standouts in this crowd, even if they only have one-off appearances.

WORLD/SETTING
In true comic book fashion, there are almost as many exotic places that readers are brought to as there are colorful characters. Hidden Nazi strongholds, Egyptian deserts, governmental facilities, expensive mansions, and dusty tombs are just a smattering of what you can expect from this universe. What's more is that the setting spans as wide a breadth when it comes to time as it does space. One volume is largely based on WWII, while another is more set in the present day, and another spans a variety of decades. It's all extremely varied and I never once found myself getting tired of one place (or point in time).


PLOT/TONE
One of this work's greatest selling points is also what I'd consider to be it's most significant drawback which is that the writers really like to jump around a lot. On the plus side, this lets readers dive right into each issue unhindered. There's definitely a sense of continuity, but in terms of a narrative pull, it all tends to feel a bit random. There are a lot of different villains and although one is recurring, the others are never around long enough to really pose any serious threat. All of this said, there IS a theme that each volume runs with. The first is centered around the Action Scientists who are essentially Robo's modern day strike force. The second is all about Robo's exploits in WWII, and the third is perhaps the best of the collection. It is focused around an interdimmensional enemy that Robo encounters throughout time and must eventually stop. It was still hilariously random, but it also had a bit more appeal to me in that there was sort of this central conflict tying things together. All in all, this isn't a story one read's for the plot, it's rather a work that is read for the outlandish story beats and tongue-in-cheek humor.

ARTWORK
Simple, yet vibrant is how I would describe the work's visuals. There's nothing special going on when it comes to the inking/line art. For the most part, it's on par with a relatively well-made cartoon which is certainly fine, but not a style that contains much detail. Where the pages really come to life is in the coloring and lighting of each panel. The pallet is striking and the way light is rendered gives everything this sense of volume and drama that it would not otherwise have. It's certainly not the nicest looking piece of graphic fiction out there, but it's quite lovely in it's own right and I think most will find it to be quite easy on the eyes. It's just not the sort of work that I found myself stopping on each panel to admire like I often do - though given the silly plot, it's probably best that I felt more compelled to simply breeze through the pages.




CONCLUSION
This isn't something that really moved me in any way. It didn't make me ponder the meaning of life and it didn't really make me feel anything in particular while I was reading. But it did make me chuckle a few times and I think this is a series that kind of captures the original magic of comics as an entertainment medium. It's kind of like a brilliant love letter to the comics of old while still bringing new things to the table. It's marvelously unique, pleasantly witty, and graced with well-crafted albeit simple imagery. I can't promise that it will knock anyone's socks off, but I know a couple of people who are all about this series, and I can say that I am quite enamored with it myself. I look forward to reading more of Robo's adventures in the future and am happy to have experienced what this collection has to offer.

[Emilia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Occasionally hard to follow plot and characters, but overall a very fun adventure with sentient robots and explosions and science (sort of). Great adventure and snappy, clever dialogue.

[Adam Stone · Rating 3 out of 5]

"A robot designed and built by Nikola Tesla fights evil with science and punching" is the briefest description I use to sell this book. This IDW volume is a repackaging of the first three Atomic Robo trades, originally released by Red 5 Comics. I find the three volumes contained in this to be of highly variable quality, so I'll review them in the format I read them.

Atomic Robo Volume 1: Atomic Robo and the Fightin' Scientists of Tesladyne: A series of stories told in a constantly shifting, but easy to follow narrative, we see Atomic Robo and his fellow adventure scientists battle Nazis, a brain in a jar, a steampunk powered pyramid, scientifically impossible giant ants, and boredom. The creators are clearly finding their footing in this volume, but I enjoyed keeping track of the characters explaining how various sci-fi tropes defy the laws of physics whilst battling said tropes. The dialog is fun, and Scott Wegener's art is a perfect match for Clevinger's goofy adventure story.

Atomic Robo Volume 2: Atomic Robo and the Dogs of War is more linear, and more World War II focused. It's also fun, but it shows some of Clevinger's faults more clearly than volume one. There isn't a lot of character development, or, really, any depth to any of the characters. When you're shifting from year to year, and adventure to adventure, you don't have time to focus on the lack of interesting characters. But there's still some great art and fun dialog.

Atomic Robo Volume 3: Atomic Robo and the Shadow From Beyond Time returns us to non-linear storytelling, but this time it's because HP Loecraft is a monster unbound by time. I found myself skipping through this story. It's a neat conceit but lacking consistent pacing, and the dialog isn't as strong. It drags the whole collection rom four starts to three.

I recommend this to people looking for what Clevinger and Wegner themselves call "Hellboy Lite", for fans of silly adventures with self-aware dialog and plotting, people who think robots are the bee's knees, and people who mutter "horsefeathers" when they get upset.

[Lucas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Blurb says its Iron Man meets Indiana Jones. Other than to say it does screwy things with time, and that the end is unsatisfactory, I can't put it better than that.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good pop, action adventure!

[Brandon Nichols · Rating 4 out of 5]

With any collection of stories this long, there is going to be a mixed bag of good and bad, but the things to love here outweigh the finger-drumming portion.

What any recommendation of this title would boil down to is this single question: Is Atomic Robo a character you want to spend a lot of time with. My answer is definitely yes.

A robot invented by Nikola Tesla to be a scientist (not a weapon), and who has adventures that span more than a century. Robo encounters intellectual giants, historical villains, and foes from beyond space itself. Sometimes funny, sometimes bold. Never cocky or stupid. This is a hero that would be dynamite on any screen but somehow feels more approachable when found between your hands.

I loved this collection and I hope to get more Robo in my life in the future. I had a blast and you will too.

[Johnathon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic introduction of the now classic character, telling various adventures of Atomic Robo through the years, from fighting Nazis to journeying to Mars. Brian Clevinger crafts a fun and original series, especially in Robo, a robot invented by Nicolas Tesla who goes on various science adventures, usually wanting to apply the simplest solutions (for example, when the Egyptian pyramids start going on a rampage, he recommends they just nuke them). It's matched perfectly by Scott Wegener's cartoonist art, delivering fantastic action and setting, whether during World War II or outer space. One of the most fun and original comics in years.

[Vera · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fun, with great dynamic art, but not the thing for me. There was a lot of potential in the character of Atomic Robo, but after three volumes I still felt like I had only seen teases of it. Other characters in the comic often felt extremely shallowly characterized. If you just want to see a robot punching some monsters or whatever, this definitely has that! But I enjoy my robot comics to have dynamic characters and evolving relationships, so I don't think I'll be reading more Atomic Robo.

[David Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

This comic rather pleasantly reminded me of Hellboy. Instead of a demon punching Nazis and Lovecraftian horrors, it's a robot punching Nazis and Lovecraftian horrors. It's pretty funny. It's written by the guy responsible for 8 Bit Theater, which I've heard of but never read because I was turned off by the videogame sprite art.

[Todd Royce · Rating 5 out of 5]

I came across Robo by accident at the library looking for something new and I wasn't disappointed. Funny, sarcastic, dosed with a little crazy science, great characters and I love the volume of stories that Robo's "fluid" timeline provides

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

One of those where my subjective experience is clearly different than an "objective" rating of quality. Pretty pictures, humorous, and I'm sure great fun and excitement if you're into it, but it's simply not my thing. (Hoss owns a hard copy, so I figured I'd peruse.)

[***Dave Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good Lord, this is wonderful stuff -- breezy, fun, pulpy, hilarious, adventuresome, with just enough poignance to leaven it to perfection. The best comparison I can make is to Hellboy, only with science adventure replacing Lovecraftian horror. Triffic.

[Lora · Rating 4 out of 5]

Huge compendium of Robo's adventures. Lots of fists, cigarettes, explosions, and existential nonsense with science irony abounding. It could be a bit upsetting for younger kids due to numerous freaky monsters. It's laugh out loud, too.

[Jack Vinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up because Robo’s image reminded me of The Iron Giant. This robo is very different - it’s Atomic Robo Tesla, as in Nicolai Tesla. He(?) is mostly a bad-a** agent, but he’s also worried about his legacy and if he should be a pacifist.

Everything explodes.

[Adam · Rating 5 out of 5]

My only regret is that I can't give it more than five stars.

[Chad Jordahl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sci-fi action adventure page turner.

[Laurian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. The whole premise was just adorable and fun. It reminded me of when Spiderman used to be funny. It had that great campy feel while also being pretty entertaining.

[Billie Cotterman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very entertaining. I can't wait to read the rest of the series.

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a fun read.... Loved Jenkins... and the art is amazing, so much expression in two round blue eyes.

[Ives Phillips · Rating 3 out of 5]

While it's true that the humor and the plot did improve overtime, it wasn't something overly impressive. I'm hoping that I'll get something better out of it in the second collection.

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book took me a few times to get into, but once I got into it, it was really good. The humor is really well-paced and the adventures are really gun goofy nonsense of the best variety. A fun read.

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

This came recommended to me by a friend and after much prodding, I finally checked it out at the library.

The best quality this collection offers is the fact that it doesn't take itself seriously. It is meant to entertain and it does just that. I don't read comics often so I can't speak for those who are comic addicts, but I am sure Atomic Robo has something to offer up to anyone interested enough to read through his adventures. There's not much to analyze in the content; it's easy to pick up and put down. The absurd humor and at times childish artwork resonate with you in a fleeting fashion, giving you slight laugh-tickles without leaving a lingering satisfaction.

It's not a collection that will be your favorite. It is too fleeting for that. It almost reads as a web comic (go figure, since that is what it started as! and technically is).

Most of the characters are one dimensional and dull - made interesting only by the immediate event at hand. No one aside from Atomic Robo gets much 'face' time. One of the more commendable aspects of this read is the way the comic strip writers/illustrators bring forth actual characters throughout history. You will read sequences featuring Thomas Edison, H. P. Lovecraft, and even Nikolai Tesla. Of course, the history buff will find this a flaw because their bits are more for entertainment that historic accuracy. Atomic Robo is the fun hero we all love to love; he's confident on the edge of cocky and humorous in such a way that makes you root for him despite his egotistical wit.

One volume featured in this collection is largely based on WWII, which takes the reader to places such as Nazi strongholds hidden in underground bunkers, lavish mansions, government facilities in secret buildings, and even to the lands of the egyptian. The places change often (since the comic reads fairly quickly, you are never in one place very long), so you will never get exhausted of any one place. However, to say that you won't get annoyed at the way the writers jump around from one plot line to another and then back again would be a lie. Of course there's a faint line of continuity, but it is still random. It's much different than I thought it would be and while that's a disappointment, I guess some would regard it as a strength. It just didn't grab me like I was hoping it would.


You won't find your life changed after reading this book and it's even possible that you will pick up other reads and finish them before you turn the last page of this collection. It's easy to get into but it's even easier to fall out of. It's incredibly unique and the simplistic art-style deserves a nod in and of itself. If you are a fan of non-linear story telling and comics, look no further. Atomic Robo is here to blast you into a world like none other.

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarious. Amazing. Both words that I would use to describe any issue collected in this massive collection.

Atomic Robo tells the story of, as you'd expect, an Atomic Robot, and his adventures saving the world from multiple threats both natural, supernatural, and in one case, hypernatural too. There's a quote on the back cover that sums it up pretty perfectly, something about if beneath Iron Man's chest beat the heart of Indiana Jones, and that's exactly what this is. Unencumbered by superhero angst or having to stick to a linear timeline (the stories bounce about all over Robo's life), this book is a breathe of fresh air.

Because it's not 100% clear, I'll reiterate what this volume collects - the 6 issue original Atomic Robo series, the 5 issue Dogs of War series, and the 5 issue Shadow From Beyond Time series, plus all the back-up stories, as well as the story from Free Comic Book Day 2008 and the Yonkers Devil webcomic.

Go read about Robo. You'll thank me later.

[Lenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Atomic Robo is just delightful, smart escapism that is so necessary right now. Robo is one of the first comic books I ever fell in love with almost ten years ago, and this reread was a long time coming. Robo's science adventures are an unapologetic blend of old pulp and scifi stories and Saturday morning cartoons, starring a wise-cracking robot created by Nikola Tesla. Who wouldn't love Robo? (The monsters who try to eat him, I guess.) Stories are nonlinear which keeps things interesting and nicely builds Robo's present and backstory at the same time, and my favorite story of the lot includes some well written time travel. Also introduces some great series-long running jokes, like trigger-happy Jenkins and Robo's feud with Stephen Hawking. Between the kooky rogues gallery, Robo's *excellent* outfits that change by the decade, and cameos like Carl Sagan and HP Lovecraft, any person who's nerdy enough to be reading comic books in the first place should read Atomic Robo.

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

Atomic Robo is perfect for someone just getting into comics or someone looking to get back into them. Perfect for all ages Atomic Robo is full of heart, humor and some of the best science fiction being written today. Take Indiana Jones and add mix that with Peter Parker's mouth and you get the idea.

The Everything Explodes Collection puts the first three volumes of Atomic Robo together in one gigantic edition. Complete with the 2008's free comic book day stand alone story. Also included are the "b" stories found in the individual volumes 1-3 of Atomic Robo.

[Mark Palmer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Been reading this off/on for a while, reading an issue here and there. I have to say that this wasn't what I was expecting it to be. I found it somewhat jarring that the different stories jumped back and forth across the years from 1908 to 2009 - it made it hard to understand the continuity of some of the stories that had the same villain. I liked the second half of the book best, but I'm not interested enough to continue with the series after this.