Hi Everyone.
I'm not even going to try and guarantee that I can get back into a regular schedule anymore as my free time is rather unpredictable. I have four review comics ready to be reviewed, and I'm trying out a new way of writing them, so we'll see what happens. Thank you for your patience. :)
Anyway, the lowest selling comic of October 2014 (that wasn't a second print) (according to Comichron.com) selling 2,959 copies was Atomic Robo: The Knights of the Golden Circle #5, from Red 5 Comics.
As usual, I'm not familiar with the series, and didn't do any research into it before reading this issue, just to see if it's new reader friendly. There may be small spoilers, but I'llblockthem just in case. Let's start with the cover.
Cover:
Well I guess Ironhide is dead... Spoiler alert?
Given the title, a western setting is a bit of a surprise, but it's nice to look at, with it's rich colours, and shading that you'd expect from a sunset(sunrise?). Turns out it suits the contents of the issue though. I like the rhymes on the gravestones.
I think it's pretty cool that the writer, artist, colourist and letterer all get credited on the cover. Seeing as it takes up just a little space at the bottom, I don't get why I don't see this more often. The top left corner tells us that this is "#5 of 5, Volume 9". I think this must mean that the series is released as mini-series' with an indicator of which one in the series they are. This seems like a good idea for a format, as it would surely give very clear jumping on points.
Art:
The art, handled by Scott Wegener, who also did the cover, is made of strong lines, and an often angular quality. It's a western setting with robots in it, but not in a kind of steampunk way. Steampunk is fine, but perhaps a tad overused, so some more traditional looking robots here is refreshing. The human faces are a little cartoony, but subtly so. Our lead character Robo has a fairly simple design, face-wise, but is drawn in such a way that expression is shown well through the eyes, kind of like how Deadpools mask eyes seem to work sometimes. There's a panel that has writing on it that probably should have been edited out, but it's not so noticeable.
There's not a whole lot of location changes throughout for Anthony Clark to show off colour palette changes, but when there are outdoor shots, they really contrast with the indoor shots. The colours and shading are a welcome accompaniment to the art throughout. There's quite a bit of fighting in the issue, which brings a need for sound effects/onomatopoeia, for which Jeff Powell provides a wide range of appropriate fonts and sizes.
Story/Writing:
The recap page at the start tells us that Robo, Doc Holliday and U.S. Marshal Bass Reeves are onboard the Zeppelin of Baron Heinrich Von Helsingard, who is poised to conquer the west.
Our heroes fight through a number of cowboy cyborg things, including one that used to be someone that Robo knew. Robo lures him into the engine room, and tricks him into firing upon equipment, causing significant damage to the ship. Helsingard, seeing his plans in ruins abandons ship in an escape pod. Holliday and Reeves find pods and escape, but before Robo can join them, Caldwell, one of the cyborgs apprehends him, and the ship explodes, destroying both of them.
Back on the ground, Reeves and Holliday, carry out Robos last wishes, and take his head in a box to the local post office, before going their seperate ways. The head arrives at the laboratory of Nikola Tesla, and we see the box kept safely for many years, until 2014, where we see it is being kept at the Tesladyne deep storage facility, which is where the story ends.
A lot of the story, by Brian Clevinger, is taken up by a fight scene at the start, which may be forgivable within a series. It may fit into the whole story better, but for a single issue, it takes up a lot of space. Apart from that, the pacing is good, and seems like a decent conclusion to an arc. The end creates some intrigue for what could come next, which is a great thing for a comic to do.
Other Things Worth Mentioning:
22 Pages of comic content for $3.50. Fairly normal.
All the advertising is left to the end, so no interruptions.
Overall:
Overall, I though it was pretty good. The writing and art fit together well, and it manages to make a conclusion of a series I don't read feel meaningful. I'd maybe consider reading more. I'll give it a low 4/5(10/15).
So has anyone on here read this issue? What did you think of it? This review is just my own opinion, so it could be good to hear some others.
For all my previous reviews, see here.
Scarlotte.
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