In the far future on the desolate exoplanet designated Copper 9, the humans are long gone but the robotic worker drones they created to mine the planet’s resources are still hard at work. Together, they have managed to forge their own makeshift society… or so they thought until a previously unknown kind of robot — the dreaded ‘Murder Drones’ — are activated by a long-forgotten human-scripted protocol to disassemble any worker that deviates from its original programming. But when a rebellious young worker drone named Uzi forms an unlikely alliance with two disassembly drones — Serial Designations N and V — can they, together, uncover the secrets of their origins… and stop the spread of the unsettling mechanical virus known as the Absolute Solver? Murder Drones #1 is an interesting start bringing the animated series to the comic page but might be for the uber fans.
There’s a lot I want to like about Murder Drones #1. The story about cute robots that were enemies, now friends, working together against a larger threat sounds like the type of story I’d fall for. With the cuteness of Astrobots, with the kinetic energy of manga and anime, and a nice underlying message, Murder Drones #1 feels like a property geared for my tastes. But, while I get what it’s going for, the dialogue of the comic feels a bit like “how do you do, fellow kids?” There was a point I had to stop to see if I was having a stroke while reading it, it felt so bizarre to me.
Set in a future where it’s just robots, humanity has wiped itself out, there’s a cringe feel to the comic for me, where it feels like adults trying to mimic how kids sound. With dialogue like “Ha Ha! Classic toxic masculinity, Chad! That’s never gonna end up problematic!” the comic to me comes off in a way I can’t enjoy. I’ve never seen the animated series, so no idea how well the comic reflects it, but as a new reader, there’s something off-putting with the dialogue. I like the underlying aspects and interactions, but it’s the words themselves where I’m left scratching my head. I’m sure it’s a generational thing, and robots using dialogue like this from a “dead” civilization is part of the point, but for me, it’s just something I have trouble getting past.
But, Liam Vickers and Wyatt Kennedy do craft an interesting debut. It has a lot I really do enjoy including the introduction to the world, and some aspects of the characters, particularly the relationship between a daughter and father. There’s some interesting commentary here and biting satire… if you can get past the dialogue itself.
The art by Jo Mi-Geyong is great. The comic pops with a look that feels like Astrobots but a glowing color palette. The character designs are cute and adorable, to a point you want figures of them, and the world works really well in telling the backstory. The action is great with a manga/anime feel about it all that really does pop on the page.
While I enjoyed the story and details of Murder Drones #1, there’s a point where I was pulled out and wondered if it was a generational thing I just wasn’t getting. I couldn’t tell if some of the dialogue was just flavor, serious, how kids talk, or how adults think kinds talk. While interesting, it was distracting as someone new to it all. Murder Drones #1 has a lot going for it and I’m sure it’ll find a fandom in comics that’ll love it but as someone new, it might be one you have to know the property to really get.
Story: Liam Vickers, Wyatt Kennedy Art: Jo Mi-Gyeong
Story: 7.0 Art: 8.25 Overall: 7.0 Recommendation: Read
Oni Press provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
Purchase: Kindle
