The Ro-Busters the Complete Nuts and Bolts

Ro-Buster: The Complete Nuts and Bolts #1

by Pat Mills (Contributor)

2000 AD brings you the complete Ro-Busters. Marvel at the adventures of Ro-Jaws, Hammerstein, Mr. Ten Percent, Chatterbox and Mek-Quake as they take on the toughest jobs in the universe - and plan the liberation of robot slaves!

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Science Fiction

240 pages, Hardcover

First published October 8, 2015

About the author

Pat Mills, born in 1949 and nicknamed 'the godfather of British comics', is a comics writer and editor who, along with John Wagner, revitalised British boys comics in the 1970s, and has remained a leading light in British comics ever since.

His comics are notable for their violence and anti-authoritarianism. He is best known for creating 2000 AD and playing a major part in the development of Judge Dredd.

Reviews

[Juho Pohjalainen · Rating 3 out of 5]

It has its high points - a few interesting characters, a bunch of good humour, and such - but unless you're hell-bent on reading every single 2000AD publication, you might as well skip straight to ABC Warriors.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: 4.5 stars

I’m currently making my way through all the major 2000AD stories (I’m a huge Judge Dredd fan), and Ro-Busters has easily become one of my favourites from the early stuff outside of Dredd so far.

I love how unapologetically British it is—the dark humour, the sarcasm, and the way it uses misfit robots to shine a light on class and power. These bots are doing dangerous work humans won’t do, and as their boss bluntly puts it, no one cares if a robot dies... That line really stuck with me.

The later character development was the highlight for me. I really enjoyed the backstory sections where Hammerstein and Ro-Jaws share their memories—those parts were easily the best in the whole volume.

If you’re into classic sci-fi comics, British humour, or early 2000AD before it became the legend it is now, this one’s worth picking up. I'm looking forward to read Volume 2.

[james headon · Rating 4 out of 5]

classic robot fun

Hammerstein and Ro-Jaws are great characters and they make the Thunderbirds style rescue missions fun. The series lags when we get backstories but overall, this is recommended, nostalgic entertainment.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Created by Pat Mills (who wrote most of the stories, sometimes using the pen-name V. Gross) and Kevin O’Neill, this features artwork by Carlos Pino, Jose Luis Ferrer, Dave Gibbons, Ian Kennedy, O’Neill, Mike Dorey and Geoff Campion, with some scripts by Jack Adrian. RO-BUSTERS began in 1978 (when I was nine), appearing in the first issue of Starlord comic before switching to 2000AD when the comics merged. I was a huge fan of Starlord comic and remember loving this strip but, upon re-reading some forty-plus years later, there were only a few instances that sparked a memory.
Essentially, these are the adventures of Ro-Jaws and Hammerstein, who work for Ro-Busters, a kind of Thunderbirds operated by Mr Ten Percent. Often badgered by the ignorant grunt of Mek-Quake (who loves to crush other robots), the rescue squad takes on the toughest jobs in the Universe (and sometimes plans for the liberation of robot slaves). Of their time (especially in pop culture references - in 2078, I seriously doubt anyone will remember “The Sweeney”), this takes its inspiration from not only Thunderbirds but the popular disaster films of the era - Towering Inferno, Airport, The Poseidon Adventure - but puts a very British spin on things - the robots don’t really get on with one another and they’re often sarcastic and argumentative - and has a nice edginess, with some social comment being clear in the dialogue.
This volume ends with the memoirs of Hammerstein (from the Volgan war, he would later go into the ABC Warriors strip) and Ro-Jaws, which are well written and present a nice counterpoint to the spectacle of the earlier strips. Written with some bite and a nice line in black humour and well illustrated throughout, this volume benefits from some excellent reproduction work, both in the strips themselves and the occasional Starlord covers included. Well worth a read, especially if - like me - you were a reader the first time around. Highly recommended.

[Jared Ball · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first volume of Ro-Busters is an fantastic time capsule into the world of 2000 AD. The story of how Ro-Jaws and Hammerstein come together and go on assignments for Howard Quartz (Mr. 10%). Fun stories from Pat Mills and beautiful art by the likes of Dave Gibbons really make the characters pop. Well worth the read.

[Dean Simons · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rather enjoyed this but the plot was often all over the place. Love the characters and the ideas, love the humour. Wish it were more focused and consistent.

[A J · Rating 3 out of 5]

Why was this given the fancy hardback treatment?

[Robert Postill · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed it. It's not as smart of some of the other 2000AD work but it's got an element of comedy that's missing from other characters too. You'll really appreciate this if you're from the UK as you can see a lot of the UK class structure in it. Having said that there's also an element of thinking about this from the POV of what happens when we do have robots.

[Timo · Rating 3 out of 5]

From tedious and stupid to quite good. Between those two points were the stories in this collection.
But then there was some really great and highly detailed art but also some rushed strokes also.
So-so.