Atomic Robo

• Title: Atomic Robo Vol. 9 #5 (of 5)
• Comic Vine: link
• Writer: Brian Clevinger
• Artist: Scott Wegener

Atomic Robo: The Knights of the Golden Circle #5 wraps up the latest Atomic Robo mini-series with the hero’s newest worst plan to stop the invincible cyborg army of Baron Heinrich von Helsingard and his Basilisk war zeppelin. (Sounds awesome, right?!) Although victorious alongside Doc Holliday and U.S. Marshal Bass Reeves our time-displaced science-adventurer doesn’t survive the final battle. Knowing his energy reserves were low, Atomic Robo had a plan in place to return his remains home at the right time, however a little neglect and bureaucracy in the future has left an all-important crate and its contents sitting untouched for more than a hundred years.

It’s not every issue of Atomic Robo in which you get to see our hero die, although the state of his remains keeps the door open for his return to the present (or perhaps near future?) as soon as the crate is discovered. Who exactly opens the crate, now that Tesladyne has been shut down, however, opens up new possibilities for what kind of world Robo will find himself in, and what kind of Robo readers may find, once our hero is brought back to the world of the living. Worth a look.

[Red 5, $3.50]

• Title: Atomic Robo Vol. 9 #2 (of 5)
• Comic Vine: link
• Writer: Brian Clevinger
• Artist: Scott Wegener

Stranded in the past without a way home, Atomic Robo‘s western adventures continue as Robo comes to the aid of Doc Holiday and the other townspeople knowing he has to be very cognizant of his actions and their potential impact on history.

Atomic Robo: The Knights of the Golden Circle #2 features a good ol’ fashioned gunfight in the middle of main street, explosions, plans for a mysterious futuristic cannon which in the wrong hands could be quite dangerous, and revelations to the reader as to face of the true enemy Robo must soon deal with (if he can get a handle on those pesky Butcher Boys first).

Assuming the role of Ironside (who he’s mistaken for by both friend and foe), Robo is forced to take part in events leading to the kind of zany fun regular readers of his adventures have come to expect. The reveal of a nefarious plot involving Helsingard certainly raises the stakes (or at least it will once Robo catches sight of his old, but here younger, enemy). Worth a look.

[Red 5, $3.50]

• Title: Atomic Robo (Free Comic Book Day 2014)
• Comic Vine: link
• Writer: Brian Clevinger
• Artist: Scott Wegener

The latest Free Comic Book Day issue of Atomic Robo pits our intrepid science adventurer against the Yonkers Devil in the “smoldering wasteland” of what was once Centralia when Atomic Robo and his team come across both the creature and a college student on spring break who has unknowingly stolen the Devil’s eggs. Offering the share of crazy action and humor the comic is known for, the story should please fans.

Red 5’s Free Comic Book Day issue also includes back-up story featuring Bodie Troll stealing pumpkin’s in No Man’s Patch for Miz Bijou (while also checking out the rumored roots and trash of the forbidden garden of far more interest to the troll). Finally, the issue includes a short tease for Red 5’s new series Haunted featuring Sarah McCallister traversing a world where the walls between Earth and the spiritual world have been torn down. Not surprisingly, the Atomic Robo story is the stand-out although there’s some fun to be had with Bodie’s adventure. Worth a look.

[Red 5, FREE]