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Atomic Robo #4
Atomic Robo and Other Strangeness
Atomic Robo faces an invasion from the Vampire Dimension, finds a giant kaiju monster attack in the heart of Tokyo, detours to the South Pacific to battle wits with Dr. Dinosaur, then comes face-to-face with his newest enemy: his oldest enemy Collects the Atomic Robo and the Revenge of the Vampire Dimension mini-series, the Free Comic Book Day 2009 story Why Atomic Robo Hates Dr. Dinosaur, and an assortment of Robo mini-comics in print for the first time
140 pages, Paperback
First published August 25, 2010
4 people are currently reading
178 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 - 30 of 73 reviews
January 3, 2020
Some stand alone stories from Robo's time with Tesladyne and his team of action scientists in 1999. This book is so much damn fun! The issue with Dr. Dinosaur may be the best comic I've ever read. It had me laughing out loud as Robo was arguing with a super-smart dinosaur how there was no way he time traveled here.
August 9, 2025
Redux: still an absolute five-star silly/smart book. Feels good to come back home to such whacky science adventures. Shame I never got the boxed set or other really cool goodies from all of their Kickstarters - my science need nephew would get such a kick out of them. (I hope he cackles when I blow his mind with these.)
First review: Silly, bizarre, laugh out loud funny. And frigging smart - granted I'm way far away from my undergrad degree in science, but this Clevinger writes like he actually gets the difference between an ohm and a muon.
I got it - this is a comics equivalent of The Big Bang Theory! I gotta hand it to the boy - if he can keep up this level of clever, zany, funny then he has a very long career ahead of him (assuming he can afford to slum in comics writing for long).
Doctor Dinosaur was my stand-out favourite among some great stories here. This is so ridiculously fun, and written so smart - each character is entirely believable as their own person, but the combination creates an interaction that reminds me of an Abbott & Costello routine...with advanced university degrees. WHY AREN'T ALL COMICS THIS MUCH FUN?
The ghost in the last story holds the richest potential for the future of this book tho.
First review: Silly, bizarre, laugh out loud funny. And frigging smart - granted I'm way far away from my undergrad degree in science, but this Clevinger writes like he actually gets the difference between an ohm and a muon.
I got it - this is a comics equivalent of The Big Bang Theory! I gotta hand it to the boy - if he can keep up this level of clever, zany, funny then he has a very long career ahead of him (assuming he can afford to slum in comics writing for long).
Doctor Dinosaur was my stand-out favourite among some great stories here. This is so ridiculously fun, and written so smart - each character is entirely believable as their own person, but the combination creates an interaction that reminds me of an Abbott & Costello routine...with advanced university degrees. WHY AREN'T ALL COMICS THIS MUCH FUN?
The ghost in the last story holds the richest potential for the future of this book tho.
August 29, 2014
I thought Volume 3 was great, but this one blows it out of the water. All of the single-issue stories here are good, but Atomic Robo vs Doctor Dinosaur has me laughing out loud, multiple times. The sheer absurdity of the situation, coupled with the great dialogue, makes this an issue that everyone should read. The vampire dimension and Science Team Super Five and the ghost are all fun too, but Doctor Dinosaur is fantastic and a distillation of everything that makes Atomic Robo a must read.
May 19, 2014
Last time I reviewed an Atomic Robo graphic novel, I said that it was only four stars because there was no Dr. Dinosaur. This one has not one, but two Dr. Dinosaur stories! One of them is about his first meeting with Atomic Robo! It made me laugh my ass off!
I love Dr. Dinosaur. Apparently all his technology is powered by crystals ("SO MANY CRYSTALS.") Except that Atomic Robo can see the plug in the wallsocket.
So yes, in this graphic novel, Atomic Robo interviews a new Action Scientist, goes to Japan and helps fight a huge beast menacing Tokyo (of course), relates his first encounter with Dr. Dinosaur, (Eeee!) and has to contend with Undead Edison.
Still fun, still awesome, now with more Dr. Dinosaur!
(Also, given that I haven't finished a book yet this year, mostly because two of the four I'm reading right now are Infinite Jest and Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, it was nice to have something light and thoroughly enjoyable to read.)
I love Dr. Dinosaur. Apparently all his technology is powered by crystals ("SO MANY CRYSTALS.") Except that Atomic Robo can see the plug in the wallsocket.
So yes, in this graphic novel, Atomic Robo interviews a new Action Scientist, goes to Japan and helps fight a huge beast menacing Tokyo (of course), relates his first encounter with Dr. Dinosaur, (Eeee!) and has to contend with Undead Edison.
Still fun, still awesome, now with more Dr. Dinosaur!
(Also, given that I haven't finished a book yet this year, mostly because two of the four I'm reading right now are Infinite Jest and Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, it was nice to have something light and thoroughly enjoyable to read.)
March 29, 2013
This book warranted the creation of a shelf for Pete's Top of 2013 reads. That's most of what you need to know right there.
Atomic Robo, always an excellent book with perfect art and hilarious dialogue, is in rare form. If you STILL haven't read Atomic Robo for some reason, like perhaps you only read the stuff I post on Goodreads because you are so thoroughly shocked and amazed that one man could so perfectly feel the exact, precise opposite of how you feel, I would still tell you to get this volume and flip to the story "Why Atomic Robo Hates Dr. Dinosaur and Why Dr. Dinosaur Hates Atomic Robo." Yes, it is ridiculous. But what really makes this book is that the main character, Robo, KNOWS and often points out that things are ridiculous. It only takes him two dialogue balloons to explain why time travel is impossible, or at least highly impractical. And his dinosaur knowledge, simultaneously complete and at the level of a grade schooler, is unassailable.
Comics aren't just words, of course. They are also art. Never has anyone given a dinosaur so many great expressions. I'll save them for your surprise and delight.
Just to try and entice you more, here's one of my favorite scenes:
Atomic Robo, always an excellent book with perfect art and hilarious dialogue, is in rare form. If you STILL haven't read Atomic Robo for some reason, like perhaps you only read the stuff I post on Goodreads because you are so thoroughly shocked and amazed that one man could so perfectly feel the exact, precise opposite of how you feel, I would still tell you to get this volume and flip to the story "Why Atomic Robo Hates Dr. Dinosaur and Why Dr. Dinosaur Hates Atomic Robo." Yes, it is ridiculous. But what really makes this book is that the main character, Robo, KNOWS and often points out that things are ridiculous. It only takes him two dialogue balloons to explain why time travel is impossible, or at least highly impractical. And his dinosaur knowledge, simultaneously complete and at the level of a grade schooler, is unassailable.
Comics aren't just words, of course. They are also art. Never has anyone given a dinosaur so many great expressions. I'll save them for your surprise and delight.
Just to try and entice you more, here's one of my favorite scenes:
October 25, 2010
This is a collection of multiple Atomic Robo shorts that span about four decades of the AI robot's life. Much like Mike Mignola's Hellboy and the BRPD Robo and the adventure scientists of Tesladyne fight monsters, crazed scientists and general threats to the world's well being. The differance between the two, besides science versus the occult/paranormal, is Robo's humor tends to be less dark and cynical. Either way you won't really go wrong enjoying either character's adventures.
November 10, 2024
Volume 4 delivers pure fun, with Robo in top sarcastic form. His ironic quips hit the mark every time, and this volume takes it up a notch by introducing one of the best backstories of the series—Robo's first encounter with the infamous Dr. Dinosaur!
Just for that chaotic showdown alone, the volume deserves an extra star. Dr. Dinosaur is, without question, my favorite character, bringing delightful mayhem and banter that keeps you wanting more of their absurd rivalry.
The stories in general solid, kicking off with vampires, veering into Robo's adventures across decades, and rounding out with a ghostly twist. But really, the origin of Dr. Dinosaur’s vendetta against Robo? That’s the true gem. Their back-and-forth bickering is laugh-out-loud funny, with enough sparks to keep you flipping pages and wishing for even more showdowns. And, as always, the artwork is spot-on.
Just for that chaotic showdown alone, the volume deserves an extra star. Dr. Dinosaur is, without question, my favorite character, bringing delightful mayhem and banter that keeps you wanting more of their absurd rivalry.
The stories in general solid, kicking off with vampires, veering into Robo's adventures across decades, and rounding out with a ghostly twist. But really, the origin of Dr. Dinosaur’s vendetta against Robo? That’s the true gem. Their back-and-forth bickering is laugh-out-loud funny, with enough sparks to keep you flipping pages and wishing for even more showdowns. And, as always, the artwork is spot-on.
August 2, 2011
I have a soft spot for Dr. Dinosaur. Sure, he's dangerously psychotic and possibly man-eating. But he's just so darned hilarious at the same time. He is, without a doubt, one of my favorite evil scientists in the history of evil science stories.
February 7, 2012
Well, Dr. Dinosaur is perhaps my favourite character in the history of comics. Even if you include the comics of the vampire dimension! Loved it.
July 12, 2012
Okay, I lied in my review for volume 3... THIS is the best volume of Atomic Robo yet! I LOVE Doctor Dinosaur! LOVE HIM! I want to snuggle him... is that wrong?
Seriously, this volume has the biggest laughs so far in the series.
Seriously, this volume has the biggest laughs so far in the series.
July 7, 2011
that's more like it!
This is basically Hellboy with science jokes. And that is exactly what the world needs.
This is basically Hellboy with science jokes. And that is exactly what the world needs.
April 18, 2012
Dr. Dinosaur is possibly the funniest super villain out there. I laughed outloud several times in that issue...
December 28, 2016
Fabulous. Dr Dinosaur is a bloody revelation!
January 30, 2020
Dr. Dinosaur is one of the most wonderfully ridiculous things I've read in a very long time.
July 28, 2012
Doctor Dinosaur is amazing. I hope to get more of him in future volumes of this book.
January 14, 2018
A week in the life of Atomic Robo. No real connective plot or subplot keeping these stories together. Just some short one offs (one actually feeling really, really short). I continue to like the occasions where they decide they want to throw a supernatural monster into the mix, and then use science to pull all of the mystical elements out of it. "They're just creatures from another dimension that share many of the negative traits with a supernatural monster you've heard of and none of the weaknesses, so we call them that as a nickname to make it easier."
Also, a very nice one issue send up of super-sentai/ power rangers.
Also, a very nice one issue send up of super-sentai/ power rangers.
Read
April 24, 2020Dialogue makes Atomic Robo. If the dialogue wasn't as snappy and witty this would be a bland comic. I laughed out loud at least once an issue. Usually several times. Seriously, these books are hilarious.
In this volume, a new Tesladyne recruit quickly learns about the weird stuff Robo and co. face from week to week. Namely, multi-dimensional vampires, biomech robots, talking dinosaurs, and Thomas Edison ghosts. The dinosaur issue is the best of the bunch because Dr. Dinosaur is a wonderful gift to the world. “Betamax!” That is easily my favorite Atomic Robo issue so far.
In this volume, a new Tesladyne recruit quickly learns about the weird stuff Robo and co. face from week to week. Namely, multi-dimensional vampires, biomech robots, talking dinosaurs, and Thomas Edison ghosts. The dinosaur issue is the best of the bunch because Dr. Dinosaur is a wonderful gift to the world. “Betamax!” That is easily my favorite Atomic Robo issue so far.
July 25, 2021
Un poco más flojo que el anterior. Recoge algunas historias autoconclusivas y se aleja de la continuidad habitual que tienen estas recopilaciones. Lógicamente, algunas historias brillan más que otras, que quieres leer rápido para pasar a la siguiente. Aún así, mantiene el interés científico y, como siempre, encuentras alguna enseñanza científica en las páginas del tebeo. Leer Atomic Robo es siempre una buena opción.
March 10, 2018
I enjoy jumping in time and place, but I miss a more cohesive overall story. A friend passed this on to me to read with my oldest (5) and while I certainly enjoyed it, it’s not quite right for him just yet. In three or four years though a time traveling robot who hangs out with dinosaurs will be the hook, and the violence and snideness will be the line and sinker - ha!
June 1, 2021
Atomic Robo continues pulling from my favorite sources. This time we have a Gatchaman/Power Rangers style Japanese fighting force, Thomas Edison's "ghost," interdimensional "vampires," and the origin of the feud between Robo & Dr Dinosaur! So much fun. And having read it immediately after The Shadow From Beyond Time, the references to that are fresh in my mind.
June 6, 2017
I just keep devouring this series and loving every minute of it. There are so many weird and wonderful things that happen in these volumes, and I just want to stay in this world forever.
July 11, 2017
Five stars for Doctor Dinosaur.
July 30, 2017
2.5/5
I loved the "dinosaur" issue/chapter, but I felt pretty meh about the rest of them. I did really enjoy the science puns and jokes in the Edison and giant bird chapters.
I loved the "dinosaur" issue/chapter, but I felt pretty meh about the rest of them. I did really enjoy the science puns and jokes in the Edison and giant bird chapters.
October 5, 2017
Clever and entertaining as always.
May 26, 2020
The Dr. Dinosaur story would earn this book a 6th star if that was an option.
September 14, 2010
It's more of the same from writer Brian Clevinger's and artist Scott Wegener's Hellboy meets Iron Man-meets Indiana Jones-meets the Rocketeer-meets 1950's sci-fi serial films ongoing series.
Bypassing a biography of Atomic Robo himself, the fourth volume of this series, entitled, "Other Strangeness," somehow manages to marry disconnected stories that ultimately create a truly "strange" collection and narrative for Atomic Robo, including an invasion from the Vampire Dimension, the attack of a kaiju monster in Tokyo, a showdown with an anthropomorphic dinosaur (named, aptly and humorously enough, "Dr. Dinosaur," as if he couldn't think of a better and more villainous name), and the revelation of Atomic Robo's greatest adversary, the ghost of Thomas Edison!
In a world of "funny books" inundated with "dark" characters and similarly "darker" plotlines, it's refreshing to take a respite with a character like Atomic Robo, his singular cast of supporting characters, and his inimitable gallery of villains.
What makes ATOMIC ROBO as a series successful is its unwillingness to delve into heady material when comic books, as a media, demand that the storytelling remain "fun."
Still, the selling points for this particular volume are few, but a previous review or two may have neglected to point out, as it is with "Other Strangeness," that the Most Valuable Player of this series would appear to be artist Scott Wegener.
How Wegener infuses life into the seemingly lifeless face of Atomic Robo himself will be beyond most readers, as he transforms the metallic facade of our hero with irony, sarcasm, and pathos, all against a backdrop of situational humor.
And worth the price of the entire volume is the Socratic dialogue created by Clevinger between Atomic Robo and Dr. Dinosaur, as the two debate, amidst battle, of villainously appropriate names for an archenemy and socially-retarded nomenclature for both the human race and metallic robots foolish enough to stand in the way of world domination. This chapter of the volume alone is priceless and makes "Other Strangeness" required reading, either for fans of Atomic Robo or fans of brilliant humor.
Where creators Clevinger and Wegener intend to go with Atomic Robo from here will remain a mystery for now. Readers expectant of a mythology for our hero synonymous with Dark Horse Comics' Hellboy or the Goon may be disappointed, as these creators seem content, for now, to simply tell entertaining stories. However, the seeds are planted for future conflicts for Atomic Robo, including the aforementioned Dr. Dinosuar and the ghost of Thomas Edison, the first of which has humorous possibilities in Atomic Robo's future, and the latter of which could spell for a more dramatic venture into storytelling than readers have come to know so far.
Whatever the future holds for Atomic Robo, the effectiveness of the stories published here are anything but "strange"...
...Stranger still is how readers might miss out on future collections of this series, which has anything but metallic lifelessness in its future.
Bypassing a biography of Atomic Robo himself, the fourth volume of this series, entitled, "Other Strangeness," somehow manages to marry disconnected stories that ultimately create a truly "strange" collection and narrative for Atomic Robo, including an invasion from the Vampire Dimension, the attack of a kaiju monster in Tokyo, a showdown with an anthropomorphic dinosaur (named, aptly and humorously enough, "Dr. Dinosaur," as if he couldn't think of a better and more villainous name), and the revelation of Atomic Robo's greatest adversary, the ghost of Thomas Edison!
In a world of "funny books" inundated with "dark" characters and similarly "darker" plotlines, it's refreshing to take a respite with a character like Atomic Robo, his singular cast of supporting characters, and his inimitable gallery of villains.
What makes ATOMIC ROBO as a series successful is its unwillingness to delve into heady material when comic books, as a media, demand that the storytelling remain "fun."
Still, the selling points for this particular volume are few, but a previous review or two may have neglected to point out, as it is with "Other Strangeness," that the Most Valuable Player of this series would appear to be artist Scott Wegener.
How Wegener infuses life into the seemingly lifeless face of Atomic Robo himself will be beyond most readers, as he transforms the metallic facade of our hero with irony, sarcasm, and pathos, all against a backdrop of situational humor.
And worth the price of the entire volume is the Socratic dialogue created by Clevinger between Atomic Robo and Dr. Dinosaur, as the two debate, amidst battle, of villainously appropriate names for an archenemy and socially-retarded nomenclature for both the human race and metallic robots foolish enough to stand in the way of world domination. This chapter of the volume alone is priceless and makes "Other Strangeness" required reading, either for fans of Atomic Robo or fans of brilliant humor.
Where creators Clevinger and Wegener intend to go with Atomic Robo from here will remain a mystery for now. Readers expectant of a mythology for our hero synonymous with Dark Horse Comics' Hellboy or the Goon may be disappointed, as these creators seem content, for now, to simply tell entertaining stories. However, the seeds are planted for future conflicts for Atomic Robo, including the aforementioned Dr. Dinosuar and the ghost of Thomas Edison, the first of which has humorous possibilities in Atomic Robo's future, and the latter of which could spell for a more dramatic venture into storytelling than readers have come to know so far.
Whatever the future holds for Atomic Robo, the effectiveness of the stories published here are anything but "strange"...
...Stranger still is how readers might miss out on future collections of this series, which has anything but metallic lifelessness in its future.
Read
March 2, 2017great book and if you like comedy and robots youll love this
February 23, 2017
I thoroughly enjoyed this volume of Atomic Robo. This one is easily on par with the first, and the stories might even be better and funnier! Of the first six volumes, this and volume 1 are tied for my favorite.
July 8, 2018
After the epic adventure of the previous volume, this book features four "smaller" adventures of Atomic Robo. Smaller, that is, if you count a vampire invasion, assisting a Japanese super-science action team against a Kaiju, a battle against arch-nemesis Dr Dinosaur, and the surprising return of a nemesis from the past. Plus some cryptozoological encounters. But no appearance from Carl Sagan this time around, unlike previous volumes. Despite my making references to past adventures in this review, like all Atomic Robo books, this can be read on its own, without needing to read any previous volumes. As with all Atomic Robo stories, the humor and action levels are high, the stories are fast-paced and entertaining, and the art is as detailed as the storytelling is clear.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 73 reviews