Atomic Robo is an ongoing science fiction comic series created by Brian Clevinger and Scott Wegener, starring the eponymous Atomic Robo. The comic was originally a paperback comic published by Red 5 Comics, first appearing as Atomic Robo #1 in October 2007. Since January 2015, the series has transitioned to a webcomic format where most issues are published at www.atomic-robo.com, however paperback comics can be bought online and in stores. Currently, the series has ten volumes (the last of which is ongoing) with around 5 issues each. In addition, another series entitled Real Science Adventures has released two volumes, each with stories by Clevinger with rotating artists in place of Wegener, who makes the covers of the comic books.
Series summary
The series follows the adventures and misadventures of Atomic Robo, a sentient robot created by Nikola Tesla. Having studied in most fields of science under Tesla, Robo has fortified his mind with knowledge, in addition to his already armored (and bullet-proof) skin. In the past, Robo has fought an entity from beyond time, formed a group of Action Scientists, and defeated a Nazi scientist, among many other adventures.
History
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Philosophy
The series' creators have five specific rules of the comic that they follow[1]:
1 No Angst
Loading characters up with angst was a revolutionary move on the part of Marvel Comics back in the '60s. I haven't looked at a calendar today, but that was four decades ago. There are other emotions and motivations available to characters. ATOMIC ROBO is not a comic that will be 100% sunshine and jokes, but we aren't going to delve into melodrama either. You are not going to see Robo mope about his lack of emotions, or pine to be human, or throw a tantrum over daddy issues.
2 No Cheesecake
This is nothing more than Scott and I having the audacity to treat women like human beings. I mean, come on, 99 times out of a 100, there is no reason at all to frame a panel from the perspective of a girl's ass. Grow up already.
3 No Reboots
They're frustrating, unnecessary, and a jarring reminder that all fiction is a thinly veiled series of lies. The major events of Robo's lifetime were plotted years before we worked on the first page of the first issue. Anything Scott and I add to that has to fit organically into the existing framework. If it doesn't fit as naturally as if it'd been there all along, then we skip it and move to the next idea. Everything that happens will fit into the larger mythos; everything that happens will happen for a reason; and nothing that happens can be "undone."
4 No Filler
This one's pretty simple. Why should we devote a month of our short lives to creating an issue if it isn't worth reading? And then why should we try to sell you an issue that isn't worth buying? The main source of filler issues seems to be due to moving set pieces from the aftermath of one event to set up the next one. Since we have no reason to follow Robo's life as a linear chain of events, we're free to jump straight from one adventure to the next. Maybe Robo fights a sea monster. Maybe we follow the lives of Action Scientists when off duty. But it ain't filler.
5 The Main Robot Punches A Different Robot (Or Maybe A Monster)
So let's cut out all the dumb stuff that could get in the way of letting you enjoy that.
Comic Series
- Atomic Robo
- Volume 1: The Fighting Scientists of Tesladyne
- Volume 2: The Dogs of War
- Volume 3: The Shadow From Beyond Time
- Volume 4: Other Strangeness
- Volume 5: The Deadly Art of Science
- Volume 6: The Ghost of Station X
- Volume 7: The Flying She-Devils of the Pacific
- Volume 8: The Savage Sword of Dr. Dinosaur
- Volume 9: The Knights of the Golden Circle
- Volume 10: The Ring of Fire
- Volume 11: The Temple of Od (current)
- Volume 12 (upcoming)
- Buffer content
- City of Skulls
- The Revenge of Dr. Dinosaur
- Bug Hunt
- Real Science Adventures
- Volume 1
- Volume 2: The Billion Dollar Plot
- Volume 3: Raid on Marauder Island (current)
- Volume 4 (upcoming)