- Action Comics #868, by Geoff Johns, Gary Frank & Jon Sibal (DC)
- Booster Gold #11, by Chuck Dixon, Dan Jurgens & Norm Rapmund (DC)
- Sparks #3 of 6, by Christopher Folino & J.M. Ringuet (Catastrophic)
- B.P.R.D.: The Warning #2 of 5, by Mike Mignola, John Arcudi & Guy Davis (Dark Horse)
- Hellboy: The Crooked Man #2 of 3, by Mike Mignola & Richard Corben (Dark Horse)
- Atomic Robo: Dogs of War #1 of 5, by Brian Clevinger & Scott Wegener (Red 5)
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Atomic Robo is back with a new series, this time taking place during the Allied invasion of Sicily in 1943, in which Robo is dropped onto the island to take out a group of mechanized suits which the Nazis have been using to decimate Allied forces. I had mixed reactions to the first series: There was a lot to like in Wegener’s clean artwork and the wacky inventiveness of it, but the stories felt like a series of vignettes and thus the series as a whole felt rather lightweight. So I’m encouraged that Dogs of War will be a more substantive long-form story with a little more meaning behind it.
Fundamentally, though, Atomic Robo is cut from the “big monsters smashing each other” cloth that Hellboy comes from. I don’t know why Hellboy – at least the earlier stories – felt more substantive than Robo has so far, maybe it was because it was new and different at the time. Maybe the characterizations felt deeper, as I really still have no feel for who Robo is as a character, other than a big metal smart-ass, much less any of his supporting cast. In any event I’m hoping this new series will show some significant growth over the first one. |