As any parents out there know, teaching children how to read or even getting them interested in reading books can be daunting. Naturally, I follwoed my dad’s lead , remembering how he got me into reading, through the comic store. This is the place where I first met Sgt. Rock, Firestorm, Unknown Soldier, Iron Man, Daredevil, War Machine, Black Panther, and many others, a whole new world to five year old me. I did the same for my daughters, naturally they ran to the kids’ comics books , like Adventure Time and Gumball, but eventually they graduated to more mature titles, or really titles that were at their intelligence level like Ms. Marvel and Saga.

Suffice to say, me and my daughters have vastly different tastes in comics, as well as they have different tastes from each other. So there really is not too many comics other than Deadpool, that we all like. Then together we found Atomic Robo. Basically for newcomers, the story is about Atomic Robo, a self-aware robot built by a fictitious version of Nikola Tesla, reliving the different eras and adventures in Atomic Robo’s long life. We found back issues of it at a comic convention, and instantly fell in love with the series, as it was fun, quirky, and adventurous and action packed, as it was one comic that we all enjoyed together. Since that first find, it has been increasingly hard to find it in print, as the trade paperbacks, are sold by retailers at higher than market prices, as the only solace is that the creators put the series up on their website as a web comic.

Then I read that IDW Publishing was going to publish them and re-release the trade paperbacks in two omnibus editions, the first which was released this week. This first collection highlights some of his most memorable adventures, as the first set that was collected highlights his first trip to Mars, his most famous fights against his arch nemesis, Helsingard, and what has the craziest fight, a walking pyramid. The second volume, which was my favorite, delves into his adventures during WWII, fighting German walking tanks and teaming up with British spies. The last collection in this omnibus dives into Robo’s fights with a creature, right out of Lovecraft, which he actually faces off in different times of his life.

Overall, a great series, as this collection, brings together, some of Atomic Robo’s greatest adventures. The stories by Brian Clevinger, stands out in the best way possible as it brings together, nostalgia and adventure at its’ zenith. The art by Scott Wegener is both nostalgic and futuristic simultaneously. This omnibus is basically a steal of epic proportions, as you not only have great storytelling and great art, but also this series is once in a lifetime, and at $39.99, at 466 pages, everyone needs to get this.

Story: Brian Clevinger Art: Scott Wegener
Story: 9 Art: 9 Overall: 9 Recommendation: Buy

IDW Publishing provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review