What’s Next For Atomic Robo
Last Updated on Saturday, 3 January 2009 08:13 Written by Brian! Saturday, 3 January 2009 06:11
It’s 2009 and this year will be bursting with Atomic Robo.
Bursting, I say!
The fifth and final issue of our second volume is on sale now.
For you filthy trade-waiters, you can pre-order the trade paperback of Volume 2, Atomic Robo and the Dogs of War from comic shops and online stores all over planet Earth. It collects all five issues, all five mini-comics, and the 16-page Robo story from last year’s Free Comic Book Day.
Beyond that we’ve got Volume 3, Atomic Robo and the Shadow From Beyond Time coming up for pre-order in…uh…weeks? Months? Not 100% on that one. It’s soon though, I promise you that! And, yes, we’re doing another story for Free Comic Book Day this year. Look for that at your local retailers in May.
There’s a lot I want to say about Volume 3, but none of it makes sense without context. So, for now, I’ll just say it’s another five part series. Scott’s finished the first issue and I’m currently writing the fourth wherein we bring back our favorite guest star from Volume 1. We’re taking things in yet another direction with this volume. Oh, don’t worry, all the sci-fi adventure comedy of Atomic Robo is there. We just take it down a new path this time. Hell, you’ll see!
Looking way beyond the horizon here, we originally intended for Volume 4 to be Atomic Robo and the Flying She-Devils of the Pacific. Kind of our ode to the ridiculous scientific excesses of the post-WW2 military industrial complex of the ’50s. With Communism on the rise and the three-way aerial collision between prop planes, jets, and atomics, it was a crazy time…and there were air pirates.
But then Scott hit me with this great idea for a modern story that’d push the She-Devils back to Volume 5. The only problem? I can’t think of a good pulpy title for it! Ah well. Either way, we should have a fourth volume for you guys later this year as well. Depending on how the timing works out, and how many issues the fourth volume has, 2009 may actually see two full Atomic Robo mini-series. Historic!
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Loved Vol. 2 (of course)! Although I still sorta’ missed the dropped Nazi werewolf story line, I did appreciate the little things like the 2nd Pursuit Squadron patch on “Special Agent Robo’s” jacket, the weapons technology experimentation angle(s), and all of the juicy nationalist sentiment from the diverse, international cast. All-in-all, a great sophomore campaign. Can’t wait for more Robo in two-double-ought-nine!
Damn right it is!
Glad you liked it! I think Robo's flight jacket is my favorite little detail of this series, so it's good to see someone else out there who appreciates it too.
Oh, and the Nazi werewolf plot isn't dropped so much as delayed. I don't wanna spoil anything, but we saw Skorzeny's fate. Who knows what Vanadis will get up to!
Glad you liked it! I think Robo’s flight jacket is my favorite little detail of this series, so it’s good to see someone else out there who appreciates it too.
Oh, and the Nazi werewolf plot isn’t dropped so much as delayed. I don’t wanna spoil anything, but we saw Skorzeny’s fate. Who knows what Vanadis will get up to!
I just got done proof-reading the Vol.2 TPB and damn -that was a fun series to work on.
Ryan -we strive for historical accuracy.
though there is one page in 2.2 where Ronda colored my Italians like Germans and Brian gave them German dialog. Oops. It was just one panel so I figured "What the hell, let them think they did good". LOL
Mike -I would love to see a Sparrow one-shot. I wonder if Red5 will let us do that. Or maybe a 2-part story. I dunno. It would be awesome fun though.
Will there be another Contest-thing to determine the name of vol. 4 like what was done with the first trade? That would be fantastic.
What we could do is make the back up stories for one volume one big Sparrow story. So that way you get the one-shot without having to shell out the dough for it.
I just wanted to say great work you guys!!! I stumbled upon your work the other day… and from one robot lover to another…super stuff my friends!
Hope you had a great new years and that 2009 brings much fun and success for Atomic Robo!
Well, I'm sure the filthy trade-waiters(myself included) will find their patience well rewarded. After they're chewed out for not buying the monthlies, of course…
You know, without actual sales on individual issues, how do you expect them to justify trades? Red5 has no way of knowing that you're waiting for a trade, they just see a lack of a sale.
I only buy trades. But I'm comfortable with being a hypocrite and complaining when people wait for the trade on my own book!
Seriously though, buy Robo monthly or in trade. Whatever works for you.
I only buy trades. But I'm comfortable with being a hypocrite and complaining when people wait for the trade on my own book!
Seriously though, buy Robo monthly or in trade. Whatever works for you. Now that we've put out eleven issues and been able to track sales across that history, confidence is very high that trades will happen so long as there isn't a sudden and tremendous shift.
We were a little worried about the impact of the economic situation and Marvel's upcoming price increase, but so far oru sales have remained consistent. People are cutting back on their comics buying overall, but it appears that people were buying Robo still are. We take that as a huge compliment.
I only buy trades. But I'm comfortable with being a hypocrite and complaining when people wait for the trade on my own book!
Seriously though, buy Robo monthly or in trade. Whatever works for you. Now that we've put out eleven issues and been able to track sales across that history, confidence is very high that trades will happen so long as there isn't a sudden and tremendous shift.
We were a little worried about the impact of the economic situation and Marvel's upcoming price increase, but so far our sales have remained consistent. People are cutting back on their comics buying overall, but it appears that people were buying Robo still are. We take that as a huge compliment.
I only buy trades. But I'm comfortable with being a hypocrite and complaining when people wait for the trade on my own book!
Seriously though, buy Robo monthly or in trade. Whatever works for you. Now that we've put out eleven issues and been able to track sales across that history, confidence is very high that trades will happen so long as there isn't a sudden and tremendous shift.
We were a little worried about the impact of the economic situation and Marvel's upcoming price increase, but so far our sales have remained consistent. People are cutting back on their comics buying overall, but it appears that people who were buying Robo still are. We take that as a huge compliment.
Heck, if Robo can continue to come in at $2.95, then I could see it's sales going UP in the face of Marvel's price hike. You just have to find a way to get the people that are unhappy with having to spend the extra money to look closer at your book.
Yay, more stuff! Now we just need a Sparrow one-shot, and some merch, and I'm a happy camper. While we wait for new Robo comics to actually hit stands though, might I suggest "Killer of Demons", out in March? Ass-kissing aside, I remember seeing Wegener with his KoD banner on the Image forums way back when, and what I saw always stuck with me. It's part of why I picked up Robo in the first place.
It may come to that.
Thanks!
More Robo is always great news. Enjoyed Dogs of War a bunch, thanks guys.
Then that just means that we, the fans aren't doing our job of spreading the word well enough. Word of mouth is still the BEST way to make a comic sell. Atomic Robo was a nobody until people started talking about it. For that matter, so was Invincible, Hellboy, the Goon, even stuff from the big boys like Nova or Fables. So the question then becomes: "What can we, as the fans of Atomic Robo, do to get new people to try the book?"
If nothing else, I know Newsarama has recently started putting up first issues of some of the better books that nobody reads…is this something Red 5 can get into? I could see it working well for books like Atomic Robo and Abyss.
(Oh, and did you see? Next month from Marvel: "War of Kings: Darkhawk" #1!)
I used to be optimistic enough to believe this, but working in the industry, even for as short a time as I have, has made me too cynical to think that'll ever happen.
Hopefully it's also a sign that readers aren't going to stand for any more dreck coming out of the big name companies. Prices are going to go up and people will drop books, but I hope they then decide that books they stayed on, through some sense of continuity or whatever, will come under scrutiny. Marvel and DC do produce some good books, but not nearly enough, and maybe comic buyers will pick up something new and exciting instead of reading that new Vigilante mini. All I do is hock indy stuff at the comic shop I work at, and to very little avail. It's pretty disheartening.
And here's to the idea of a Sparrow one shot or continuing mini comics!
Make it so! MAKE IT SO!
Bah. I saw 'what's next for robo' and remembered you mentioned something about a hollywood project on 8-bit a while back. Got all excited >< Seriously though, I bet you hear constantly from fans how well Robo would work as an animated series in the vein of Justice League.
I'd watch it! Look at how good Screw-On Head was, and Robo has a kinda similar feel to it. Do it up for the sci-fi channel or Cartoon Network's Adult Swim block, and it could be badass.
Yeah, I love the whole DC animated thing. They pretty much did everything right and it serves as a model of how we work with the Roboverse. My primary concern with doing a serialized show like that would be burning out of material too quickly. A single season would eat up the same amount of content as several mini-series. That's less of a danger with doing movies, as a movie can be a single mini-series' worth of content.
We could do what Dini/Timm did and kind of remix comic continuity into a whole new series continuity, but I'm not sure I'm interested in that.
I've always thought it'd be cool for a bunch of fun non-big-two comics to get together for an anthology type animated series. I'm not sure anthologies are en vogue and I don't know enough about animation to know if it's in any way practical, but that's the kind of thing I'd love to watch.
What about doing something kinda like what Futurama's been doing? Your "season" could be made up of (let's say) 4 episode story arcs that could then be compressed into 3 movies. Total of 12 episodes, 3 full stories. Could even do a through-line that ties it all together, maybe.
As long as you eventually tell us what Robo did to piss off Stephen Hawking, I'm a happy man.
Well you say that now, as you try to pick 12 of your comic-miniseries plots that would work as an animated episode. But I guarantee if someone signed you off for a series and plopped you down in front of a word processor, you would have so many original ideas–ideas that never would have worked in comic form, or you only conceived in the context of writing for animation–that you wouldn't know what to do with them. I mean the way Robo's universe is set up you basically have the whole of pulp adventure fiction to pick from; I seriously doubt running out of material would be your biggest problem.
I like Mike's suggestion too, and I think that's sort of how you would even end up going about it: mostly-self-contained episodes, with loose arcs every 3-4, and a larger story for the season as a whole (with the obligatory completely unrelated Christmas special, which ends with the requisite scene of Robo dressed as Santa, giving puppies to diseased orphans)
I just came over to point out there is now a new way to buy Robo. Issues one and two are on itunes for those of us with iphones or an ipod touch. I picked up issue on and its free. Just to clarify I have the trade already, but it was tempting to get two.
On an unrelated not well played with the free varient cover of issue one of Dogs of War. I'm still amazed you got me to subscribe after since I didn't want to have the first only. I was planning on picking up the trade…and still am…. Well played indeed.
That's how we get'cha!
Good point on the iPhone stuff. I gotta add info on that. I'm Mac-stupid, so you'll have to tell me, is there an "official" store to get these things, or what?
Its at the app store on itunes. You just need to download itunes and go there. Only works on iphones and the ipod touch though.
Hey Brian! Loved volume 2.
I saw this article over at UCLA and thought you would be interested in it, if for no other reason than the company's name: Tesla Motors
http://www.magazine.ucla.edu/depts/quicktakes/tes...
I wonder if Tesladyne as a consumer division…
Oh yeah, we've had our eyes on the Tesla Roadster for a while. I'd love to place a fake ad for their car in our comic just to make people wonder what's going on
Remember when Toyota premiered the Yaris a couple years ago? They had one at SDCC that they had painted up in Tony Moore art from Fear Agent. Maybe Red5 could work out something with Tesla Motors where you could take one of the cars around to conventions painted up with Wegener's Robo art!
I think that would be hilarious! You know, I'm a UCLA grad student right now…I could just walk right over to their office for you and ask if they'd be interested in a product sponsorship
I think it would be a cool little detail if the modern Action Scientists used all-green Tesladyne technology, actually.
And I keep laughing imagining Robo doing TV commercials or something for Tesladyne Tech, advertising all sorts of technology for your average (and not-so-average) consumers. "Do you have zombie problems? The Tesladyne O23 electronic barricade system is the answer! It's even self-cleaning!"
I would probably buy just about anything that Robo tried to sell me.
Since everyone is putting down cool things here, I figured I'd link you up to some new wireless technology, electricity, http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2007/wireless-0607…..
Also, do you guys read the comic PROOF? I think it's quite good and seeing that they would probably have been around for a lot of the same time, maybe they could meet up, you know kick some people, blow some stuff up?
Thanks for the link!
I haven't read Proof, but I only hear good things about it, so I should find the time to do so.