Atomic Robo Volume 3: Atomic Robo and the Shadow from Beyond Time TP Paperback – December 22, 2009

I don't read many comics, except Cthulhu mythos stuff, so I was unfamiliar with Atomic Robo until I saw the blurb suggesting that Atomic Robo and the Shadow from Beyond Time was Lovecraftian. I am very glad I checked it out. ARATSFBT is a graphic novel (a collection of individual comics in one convenient soft cover)from red5comics. List price is $18.95 but Amazon discounts it heavily. The creative tems includes Brian Clevenger (story), Scott Wegener (art), Ronda Pattison (colors) and Jeff Powell (letters). Production qualities are excellent and the grphic novel form includes some extras.In this story, a nameless extradimensional entity keeps reappearing in our world at predictable intervals, trying to consume everything. It is created with wonderfully Lovecraftian sensibilities, in terms of its uninterpretable motives, its appearance and its interaction with time, straight out of Yog Sothoth. In fact, in its first appearance in the book, it springs directly out of the skull of HP Lovecraft himself (normally I don't like it when HPL appears in mythos stories, but it was a reasonable plot device here, and anyway the book itself was so much fun, who cares). The idea of a mathematically predictable appearance of the thing echoes an important plot device in the superior mythos novel, Where Goeth Nyarlathotep by Daniel Reiner. Anyway, the Lovecraftian geek in me was both pleased and impressed by this aspect of the book.As far as the whole experience of ARTSFBT goes, it was a hoot. I liked the drawings, I liked the character of Atomic Robo, I liked the bit players and I found the dialogue crackling with humor. As I noted above, the plotting was quite deft. It only took me an hour or so to zip through it, and I was highly entertained throughout. I think Cthulhu mythos fans (like me) who only dip into Atomic Robo's world for this adventure will be happy, and Atomic Robo fans will, of course, be ecstatic.

I was wary of this title at first. Much as I am a fan of the original HP Lovecraft stories, homages to C'thulu tend to take the subject matter too seriously and fall flat. I was even more anxious about the inclusion of Carl Sagan as a charachter. Never fear, though, this is Robo, and nothing is ever TOO serious. Somehow Brian manages, as usual, to strike the perfect balance between humor and drama, being neither too reverant or too irreverant with dear old Howard Phillip, and the bit with Sagan was possibly my favorite part. I was surprised to find that this was the true fulfilment of the potential that was Atomic Robo. I knew it could be just ever so slightly more than it was in the first volume, but I did not expect this volume to be the one that finally brought it to that level. The art continues to be brilliant, adapting seamlessly to fit the (increasingly surreal) needs of the story. While the stories remain almost surprisingly short, they all tie together in a way that is very satisfying to watch unfold (into impossible geometries, perhaps). It will be interesting to see if they can keep things going at this level, and I look forward to their future works with great anticipation.

Atomic Robo fights a Lovecraftian inspired horror 4 Times! Or rather he fights it once but from 4 different perspective of his life simultaneously. With guest star H.P. Lovecraft in all racist gibbering madness, yet still sympathetic as his breakdown was caused by witnessing horrors beyond his understanding.To be honest I actually find this story scarier then most of the things Lovecraft actually wrote. Yet it still maintains the brilliant comedy for which I love Atomic Robo.As with other Atomic Robo books this book is fairly stand alone where all you need to know going in is that in the 1920's Tesla built an atomic powered self-aware robot that goes on science fiction style adventures.

I'm a fairly new reader of comics and graphic novels, but have really latched on to this series, as well as it's twitter savvy writer/artist duo. Let me break down why.Pros: -Great "period" settings from the early 20th century onward.-An atomic-powered robot with a sardonic wit and a love for punching things.-Monsters and magic-Dinosaurs (occasionally, but not in this book)-All technical sides, the writing is tight, art is clean and expressive, and the entire cohesion is entertaining and interesting.-In this book in particular, the time travel is addressed in an interesting and extremely sensible manner, for those that like to argue in/about the 4th dimension.Cons: -Not appropriate for readers looking for classic Marvel or DC characters.That's the most I can possibly cook up, really.The bottom line: I hope to one day read this book as a bedtime story, as I already view it as an instantly classic series that no self-respecting comic fan should miss.

Atomic Robo meets HP Lovecraft, both thematically and literally! In this story, spanning most of the 20th century, we see Atomic Robo fighting a monster from beyond time and our universe. Beginning in 1926, when Robo first encounters the monster alongside HP Lovecraft and Charles Fort, through the 1970s when Robo enlists the help of scientist Carl Sagan (making his second appearance in the Atomic Robo series) through today, we see some spectacular battles against giant tentacled monsters and swarms of insects (from Beyond Time)! Most fascinating is seeing the character of Robo develop from an eager young kid in 1926 to the (slightly) more mature version of the 21st century. Brian Clevinger subtly shows the changes in Robo's personality as he ages, and artist Scott Wegner perfectly captures the feel of each historical (and modern) era while making everything feel perfectly consistent. And, of course, along the way, the humor and action that make Atomic Robo such a stand-out series continue to shine through.

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