Atomic Robo is back this week. I read a preview of the first issue of the latest miniseries Ghost of Station X and it looks like this is another in a long line of excellent Atomic Robo stories. If you haven’t read Atomic Robo, think Hellboy with a sense of humor. If you have read any of the previous Atomic Robo stories, then you know what kind of goodness to expect. Don’t be the type of chump who is tied in with buying 52 #1 issues from a company who will probably be cancelling at least half of them within the year, be the type of chump who buys one #1 from a company who will at least make sure to tell the entire story.

Atomic Robo #1 // Ghost of Station X (#1 of 6)
Written: Brian Clevinger
Art: Scott Wegener
Colors: Ronda Pattison
Letters: Jeff Powell
Publication Date: 2011-09-07
Format: Comic, Full Color, 6.5 x 10, Soft Cover, 32 pages
Price: $3.50

Diamond Code: JUN111232
UPC: 811316010658

There is a section entitled Buy Digital Comics that only contains Tommie’s books, but hopefully as the site grows,that section will be a great resource for finding Irish born creator-owned comics.

A huge plus is the fact that he is using the Arras WordPress theme, which I also happen to like a lot.

The story in the first issue is more Maverick than PotC, but hopefully later issues will add an X-vibe. The synopsis is “In 1849, suave British con-man Foster Broussard comes to San Francisco hoping to find his fortune and save his neck in the California gold rush. His multi-layer grift spins out of control as stumbles between an American Industrialist and an ancient evil spirit held in check by a Native American tribe.” The plot was well paced and the dialog was entertaining. The cliffhanger leading to the second issue was a little obvious, but fun nonetheless.

The artwork is very good although there are points when the art team (penciller Dan Glasl and inker Amber Gant) makes sure to add little details, like brickwork on walls in the background, buttons on the clothes of background characters, or smoke from faraway chimneys, but then will forget to add the correct number of buttons on the clothes of characters in the foreground. This isn’t overly distracting, but weird in spots.

The lettering was a little too angular and stylized, but unlike a lot of non-standard fonts, it was legible. There were also some spelling errors, but once again, they weren’t overly distracting. The color artist used a nice unoffensive color pallet, which was also used as shading.

The first issue is worth checking out. The Diamond order code for the first issue is MAR111238. Pre-order it.

Fallen Heroes Comic site

Published by Dynamite Entertainment
Written by Matt Brady and Troy Brownfield
Illustrated by Carlos Rafael
Colored by Carlos Lopez
Lettered by Simon Bowland
I got the cover by Carlos Rafael

Synopsis: Buck Rogers gets a message from the past that will affect his present and future. (Takes place between issues 6 and 7)

The story was written by a new writer, but the artwork was by the same dude as the regular series, so it felt consistent. However, it made the same error that a lot of writers have made throughout the history of comic books, a vital story point revolved around music/sound. This is, of course, the one thing the comic book medium does horribly. Beyond that, it seems like the proofreader took the day off when they were reviewing this issue because there was a pretty bad error on the first page and then another during what should have been a pretty emotional scene. Those errors took me out of the story.

I enjoyed the book, but I admit it is not exactly necessary to enjoy the regular series. In fact, it felt a little tacked on. Still, if you were a fan of the original series, then I would suggest you pick it up.