Atomic Robo and the Dogs of War

Atomic Robo #2

by Brian Clevinger, Scott Wegener (Illustrator)

Eisner-nominated Atomic Robo lands on the front lines of World War II against the science freaks and devastating weird weaponry of Nazi Germany -- from invincible walking tanks to atomic-powered weather cannons to the Monster Soldiers of the Third Reich. Can ROBO and Ther Sparrow, Britain's greatest covert operative, complete their mission and turn the tide of the war without killing one another? Collects the best-selling Atomic Robo: Dogs of War five-issue mini-series, complete with cover gallery, pin-ups, and bonus stories.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Science Fiction, Humor, Fiction, Comic Book, Adventure

152 pages, Paperback

First published February 25, 2009

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

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Atomic Robo fights Nazi fringe science war machines. Does it get any better than this? This is basically Hellboy with super-science instead of the supernatural and I'm perfectly OK with that. There can never be enough fun comics in my life.

[Lost Planet Airman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review to follow! (Feel free to keep me honest!)

Updated Sunday 3/26: "June, 1943: Nazi super mechs threaten to halt the Allied Invasion of Sicily before it even begins and only ATOMIC ROBO can stop them. But does he stand a chance against Hitlers' personal commando, Otto Skorzeny? And what connection does HELSINGARD have to these new weapons?

"Meanwhile, Britain's top covert agent, THE SPARROW, must assassinate DR. VANADIS VALKYRIE before she can perfect her dreaded Wehrwolf Formula -- before a certain atomic powered robot ruins everything."

All in all, still pretty good stories. We see some insight into Atomic Robo's distaste for war and the military, but the stories are a bit repetitive - continuous underestimation of the baddies by Robo, and of Robo by the baddies, a lot af hammering and quips. I look forward to some advancement in the next volumes.

[Cale · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm torn on this book. On the one hand, it's a World War II with some realistic (if sanitized) depictions of the horrors of war. On the other hand, it's a big Tesla-created robot destroying Nazi war machines and monstrosities. And it's funny. That tonal imbalance is the toughest thing, but if you can accept laughing in the face of some unpleasant situations, there's a lot to like here. Robo is almost always funny, as he brags and gets beaten down (it seems like he's on the receiving end of more damage in this collection than on the giving end), but he gets back up and it just plays out well. The dialog is snappy, the enemies are fairly stock Nazis, although a little more self aware than most are portrayed, and there's a collection of shorts at the end that are great little four-six page stories. The art is strong, as always, and well colored. The book gives off a sort of giddy feeling, gee-whiz big grin heroics are the name of the game, and if you want that fun and can shrug off (or at least respect) the setting, it's a worthwhile read.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

It feels a little more like Robo is a hero that can't lose (though he sure gets into a pickle) - but I don't entirely care. The storytelling is well-executed - Clevinger actually believes his audience has a brain to fill in some details, and is interested in following a mystery.

That Clevinger can construct suspense and mystery here is a continued pleasure - but the personality of Robo is the true gem.

However, I must return to the "never loses" aspect here. In volume 1 Robo was vexed by his own Moriarty, and actually faced difficulty completing all his missions. Here it seems like even in the face of imminent defeat he pulls some miracle of brute force and wins. That works nice in a while in a Bond flick but it sure grows tiresome when it happens every single time. -1 star for implausible, unlikely infallibility.

I do love me some Scottish commando tho.

[Rob · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the second trade paperback for Atomic Robo, a wonderful comic about a robot designed and built by Nikola Tesla. I'm not much of a comics reader and even less of a comics buyer, but this series won me over with one of its Free Comic Book Day releases and I'm slowly working my way through the TPBs. This one is entirely stories set in World War II, with Robo working for the Allies, and is consequently a bit darker and less whimsical.

I enjoyed it, but the stories didnt seem to be as well-constructed, not that they were anything complicated in the first TPB. But it feels a bit slapdash -- for example, you're introduced to characters as if you're supposed to already know who they are, and while you can put two and two together easily, it doesn't feel elegantly done at all. They're fun characters, though, especially the Scottish commando. Weirdly, Robo feels borderline incompetent in this installment, constantly getting himself into trouble.

There are some extra quickie stories in the back, but they're even more unplotted. A few moments of fun but those bits are otherwise forgettable.

Despite the problems, it's still Atomic Robo and I still enjoyed it quite a bit. Hopefully #3 will be a bit more cohesive.

[Ed Erwin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Punch punch punch. Fight fight fight. Yawn yawn yawn.

This is mostly action sequences. Robo punches Nazis and fights Nazi robots. Then makes wisecracks. Action sequences just don't float my boat, so for me there isn't enough here.

[Malapata · Rating 3 out of 5]

Continúan las aventuras de Atomic Robo, esta vez durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial y su enfrentamiento con, como no, malvados científicos nazis y sus terribles creaciones.
Volvemos a encontrarnos con un cómic muy disfrutable, que no se toma en serio a sí mismo. Pero claro, si de lo que hablamos es de un robot inteligente alimentado por energía atómica construido en los años 30 por Nikola Tesla, ¿qué otra cosa podríamos esperar?
Me lo he pasado bien leyéndolo pero lo he disfrutado menos que el volumen anterior. No sé decir muy bien la causa, quizás sea porque el tema científico nazi está ya muy trillado, quizás porque en este volumen haya menos respuestas ingeniosas de Robo, o tal vez la culpa la tenga que ya se haya perdido la sorpresa del descubrimiento.
En resumen, un cómic para desconectar y echar un rato entretenido sin más pretensiones.

[Tym · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the adventures of Atomic Robo, pulpy science gone wrong adventures against nazis, experiments of evil and mad scientists. What more could you want?

[Dimitris Papastergiou · Rating 3 out of 5]

Robo in WWII.

Atomic Robo takes on WWII, featuring D-Day, Normandy, and a wild mix of robots and secret weapons. With plenty of action, you'll find Robo punching through bunkers and thwarting Nazi plans while teaming up with a British spy and a sarcastic Scotsman.

The art is great, perfectly complementing the humor and fast-paced action, making it feel like a fun, action-comedy tv series. It’s perfect for passing the time overall, though it doesn’t delve too deep into character growth and has some unnecessary dialogue that explains stuff you don't really wanna know or care about in a comic series that's just supposed to be a fun sci-fi story.

[Molly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my second Atomic Robo book and I really love this character. The first book gave you a peek into his human side and the fact that Tesla gave him emotions when he created him. This second has that but really embraces some of the funny. This is for someone with an interest in past wars and not for someone who does not like fighting. Intended audience is Adult but a high schooler with these interests would also like this. Maybe a fan of wolverine during WWII.

[***Dave Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Atomic Robo is back, and this time he's out to punch Hitler's clock.

Picture Hellboy as an atomic powered robot built by Tesla. In this collection, he's fighting in World War 2 against Nazi mecha, bio-engineered brutes, and weather machines. It's two-fisted action, lovingly illustrated, full of fun and adventurous, and I'd probably recommend it to anyone.

Time to order the next volume.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pulp adventure with a pro-science bias. Atomic Robo in WWII, including German mecha! We need more stories like this.

Edit: Still holds up. Inserting historical characters into fiction is something I have a generally lower tolerance for than I used to, but it works in Atomic Robo.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great adventure with Robo!

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I'm suffering from not having the first volume. I just felt kinda lost. D: But the character design is rad!

[Centauri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Its difficult to feel this way, since it is a tale about war and the horridness such things bring, but this was a fun read.
The humor was light and spare, the attention focused on the characters fighting a horrible war, and the absurdness is what would be expected for such a tale.
I am a fan of Atomic Robo and want to see more tales of him (yes, I referred to the humanoid automaton as a him, since the outward expression is male), despite knowing there is no gender. Or is there?
Atomic Robo is very human: fears, concerns, joys, desires, etc. And war is always a good catalyst to bring that nature outward.

[David(LA,CA) · Rating 3 out of 5]

A more focused entry into the series. In the previous volume, the stories bounced around a bit. There were stories about Robo's time in World War 2, stories about space travel, and stories about what he's doing in the present. This one is mostly focused on WWII. We still get several short stories, but there is a thin plot line running through most of them from start to finish. Also introduces a couple of side characters in two different stories that I hope we get to see more of at a future point in the series.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

The HellBoy riff goes on. Atomic Robo is fun, but he becomes a bit more like Hellboy all the time. From the leather jacket and revolver to his escapades against mad Nazi scientists he is a more lighthearted, but less interesting Hellboy.

Even the supporting characters are starting to resemble Hellboy. Atomic Robo is assisted by a rotating series of tough, earnest military types who charge machine gun nests, hurl grenades, and die mostly unnoticed over the course of a mission.

I'll probably read volume 3, but its not a priority for me.

[Caleb M. Powers · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've quickly fallen in love with this comic. Quirky science fiction that is intelligent and fun, with great characters and non-linear storytelling and seemingly unconnected vignettes that all come together at the end.

Also, as I'm sure the authors intended, each volume gives you just enough of a solution to be satisfied with an arc, but never enough to make you want to put down the series. I've ripped through these at a lightning fast pace.

[Jaime Barcelo Garcia · Rating 4 out of 5]

¿Qué no puede faltar en cualquier buena historia pulp de ciencia-ficción? Un buen puñado de nazis locos.

En el primer volumen ya había un par, pero en este han dicho — chavales, que no nos falte ni un cliché —. ¿Y qué os puedo decir? Funciona a las mil maravillas.

Si Indiana Jones fuese un robot autoconsciente de 230kg, inventado por Tesla, amigo de Carl Sagan y enemistado con Stephen Hawking, muy probablemente se llamaría Atomic Robo. Y muy probablemente, merecería la pena leerlo.

[Jdetrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first this volume didn't really work for me. The first volume filled me with a sense of fun and wonder and those sensations seemed to be missing for this volume. However, the father along in the volume that I got, the more it began to resonate with me, and I again became an engaged observer of this world.

[Nate]

Atomic Robo, with the help of the U.S. military plus Britain’s top spy, fights Nazi robots during WWII. That’s all you need to know. There’s lots of punching peppered with quips and it’s very fun. Sure, it’s predictable fun, but I don’t come to Atomic Robo to be surprised or challenged intellectually. I come for a good time, and this book delivers that.

[B. R. Kyle (Ambiguous Pieces) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have written a rather lengthy review on my blog, Ambiguous Pieces, so I'll leave the link for the review here:

~Book Review: Atomic Robo and the Dogs of War by Brian Clevinger

[Viewtiful_Dante · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pese a que no soy muy fan de las historias ubicadas en la Segunda Guerra mundial y por eso se me ha hecho un poco cuesta arriba, los personajes y situaciones que plantea son divertidos e interesantes. Tiene un buen ritmo y la parte artística es sobresaliente. Nunca se pierde el tiempo leyendo historias de Atomic Robo.

[Marissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not my thing, I don't think. War stories are pretty m'eh for me to begin with, and this didn't seem to go anywhere. The Sparrow was the best part and I suspect we're not going to see her for a while.

[Paolo Zanella · Rating 2 out of 5]

Basic pulpy tropes with close to zero tension and only absurd characters.
Art is pretty ugly, colouring is good, dialogue is silly by design and plot is bland.
I fail to understand why a lot of people find this funny.

[Chad Jordahl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read as part of "The Everything Explodes Collection"

[Katharine · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a great series, well written and entertaining for sure :)

[Insert name here · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clevinger and Wegener make hilarity and brilliance look easy. Every Atomic Robo volume is a masterpiece and deserves to be more widely read.

[SpruceAlmighty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining pulp fiction for some light diversion.

[Wesley · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was so disappointing after reading the first volume. I did not enjoy what little humor there seemed to be in this one. I don't know if this was the "sophomore slump" or what, but if this had been my first experience with Atomic Robo, I would have stopped after reading it.

At the time of my writing this review, I've read the first 6 volumes and this one is my least favorite BY FAR. It's not quite 1 star material, but boy is it not as good as the first (or the others I've read).