Broken Frontier

Atomic Robo from Red 5 is the kind of character tailor made for geeks, though his appeal is potentially universal. A creation of Nikola Tesla, the metallic hero has lived for almost a century and has had adventures that are as strange as Hellboy’s, but a lot funnier.

This issue is the penultimate in "The Shadow From Beyond Time" mini-series and is set in Mexico in 1971, in which Robo finally gets a closer look at the tentacled “exoversal construct” of the title. Well, that’s the plan anyway.

Robo teams up with astronomer Carl Sagan, in the tradition of doing so with real-life personalities, after telling him that they have only four months to stop the creature before it devours all of existence. The pair travel to the desert where they aim to study the creature before it destroys life as we know it, as Robo predicts.

As is typical with Robo and his bold scientific theories, not everything is safe, or rational, as Sagan soon discovers. Robo takes it all in his stride, with the kind of carefree attitude exemplified in the best Spider-Man stories.

Seeing as Red 5 was started by two former employees of George Lucas, it’s no surprise that apart from references to Conan, and Matt Wagner’s Mage, there’s also a landspeeder chase and the discovery of Robo’s Indiana Jones-like disgust of creepy crawlies (though it’s bugs, not snakes in Robo’s case).

Also included is an extra four page tale, written by Clevinger with art by Rick Woodall set in the American desert in 1963, as Robo goes after a Dr. Levnison. This is where the previously mentioned landspeeders show up. These regular back-up tales are a nice bonus and remind readers that Robo ‘s adventures have spanned decades.

Clevinger and Wegener are a formidable duo, who are thankfully using their powers for good. With the kind of wit that makes nerds giddy on almost every page, and Wegener’s light touch on the art chores, their exuberance is infectious. Red 5 know what funnybooks should be – fun, and they know how to show it with an ease that’s most impressive.

Atomic Robo really is the only book on the stands that continues to make me laugh out loud every issue. Plus, in this issue, we learn Atomic Robo’s real name. And it’s not Anakin.