Atomic Robo: Shadow from Beyond Time #2 ~ Sent out by a generous Red 5 Comics as a preview PDF, although I bought it anyway (don't tell them, or they may decide there's no point to the PDFs and stop letting me have them). H.P. Lovecraft has turned into a giant extradimensional monster (not really a surprise, when you think about it) and is running amock in 1920s New York with Robo and a rather astonished Charles Fort in pursuit. Clevinger's trademark way with quippy dialogue is in full force as usual, but despite a lot of mayhem, property damage, and a hilarious phone call from the man himself, Tesla - Robo's creator - I wound up finding this issue a bit, I dunno... transitory. As I say there's humour aplenty, and also some more exposition on the critter's origin and reality-defying nature, but in concrete plot terms, there's not really a lot of distance between A and B this month. So there you go folks, fifteen issues in (6 in the first mini, 5 in the second, 2 here, and 2 Free Comic Book Day issues), and finally Atomic Robo isn't quite firing on all cylinders; I'd still rate it up around 95% though, don't get me wrong. And in any case I left the issue on a high note, since besides the main story there's a faux article in the back, two pages of journalistic text from a reporter visiting Tesladyne and talking to Robo about the goings-on there, which is a really fun bonus to the comic.
Farscape: Strange Detractors #3 ~ With the dren hitting the fan (as usual) Crichton seeks help with the make-people-crazy-angry virus at a Diagnosan enclave, a neat throwback to the TV show, with the bonus that Grunchlk turns up alive and well (alive and fed, anyway, which is pretty much the same thing for him), acting as always as the Diagnosan's translator and business partner. The Whaela'an infection gets a lot of backstory revealed, some of which is a bit conveniently related to things we already know (they look a bit un-Farscape too, with their little Evil Horde badges, rather too cartoony) but for the most part the issue is another dose of satisfying Farscape goodness, most notably in another old face showing up anew, which I was very pleased to see, and the attached story is a worthy successor to what's gone before. Oh, and Grayza (aka Commandant Cleavage) also shows up for a brief cameo, which is also promising - in the TV show she brought a lot of Peacekeeper politics with her, which hadn't really been addressed by other characters, and that's an area this comic could benefit from delving into. All in all, good fun and pleasing for a die-hard Farscape fan.
Agents of Atlas #6 ~ The Agents head seaward to have a chat with Namor, and while, yes, there's the obligatory misunderstanding-fight, it's dispensed with quickly, and much of this issue is far more interesting writing dealing with Namor, the Atlanteans, and what they've been up to lately. Namora is central, coming out of her shell (pardon the pun) in familiar surroundings, and her role among the Agents of Atlas also comes under the spotlight. Oh, and there's a truly Not Right thing with the Uranian and a sea anemone, or something (*shudder*). Brief obligatory fight aside this is a talky comic, not an action-laden one, but it's very entertaining in the quality of its writing, and obviously laying the groundwork for future stories too, both immediately and long-term, which makes it very welcome.
