Atomic Robo: The Crystals Are Integral Collection by Brian Clevinger

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This collection contains stories collected in three Atomic Robo collections: Other Strangeness, The Deadly Art of Science, and the Ghost of Station X.

Other Strangeness contains four stories. Unlike in previous volumes, there's no link at all between them, other than they all happened in 1999.

The first has Robo battling vampiric creatures from another dimension, the second has Robo in Japan teaming up with a group of sorta Power Rangerish kids to battle monsters. The third story is the best with Robo battling Doctor Dinosaur, by far my favorite villain. A super genius dinosaur full of implausibility. It's absolutely awesome. This story is probably my favorite Atomic robo chapter.

The final of the four stories has Robo facing a ghost from the past, an archenemy he defeated long ago.

The second book, The Deadly Art of Science is set during the 1930s and finds Robo joining forces with a reluctant mystery man (ala the Green Hornet) and his daughter in his vigilante search. However, Tesla doesn't approve but young Robo is ready to assert himself...and falling in love. I liked this story. There's plenty of humor. I also think it takes a better take than some other Robo books which have portrayed him as having almost the same personality and view of the world regardless of how old he is. Here, Clevinger gives a young robo a slightly mature more impetuous take on the world with love for pulp fiction.

The final book, The Ghost of Station has modern day Robo going into space to save astronauts only to get blown him. He's set on the course of a mystery and an international conspiracy. This one isn't bad and has some good action, but I think it's off tonally a bit. The story seems to be too serious and to take itself too seriously and when your story's about an 80 year old robot whose CEO of his own company that's not a great idea. Still, it's not bad, but it could have been better with more humor.

The book also includes two Free Comic Book Day giveaways. The 2009 FCBD story is about Robo and team hunting for a nearly extinct bird in the rain forest. This story's okay, but not specacular.

The 2010 FCBD book finds Robo judging a Science fair when an old enemy emerges. This one is a lot of fun and manages to feature a "girls in science" message without being obnoxious. The story is hilarious, particularly the enemy. Overall, it's just a really fun ride, and one of the better FCBD stories I've ever read.

Overall, this is an enjoyable collection with the World's greatest atomic robot. Definitely worth reading.



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