The Stop Button
blogging by Andrew Wickliffe
Category: RoboCop
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Ok, so this issue of Robocop is a little more interesting than usual–a little more interesting, maybe, than any licensed property comic outside of Dark Horse’s Star Wars ones where there was a “enhanced continuity” or whatever LucasFilm called it–this issue of Robocop features one of the series’ mainstay characters, the sidekick and token black…
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Maybe I was too rough on Furman last issue–I ought to be saving my bile for inker Candelario, as this guy completely wrecks Sullivan’s art. Having gone over ten issues with Sullivan inked well, seeing this disaster is just … upsetting. But Furman, well, Furman’s not terrible. He’s got a handful of decent scenes. There’s…
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I guess I shouldn’t be surprised Furman lacks Alan Grant’s deft touch, since the new editor basically said he would. Furman’s Robocop is, as a protagonist, pretty lame. The series is now a sequel to Robocop 2, but Furman’s Robocop is still all bent out of shape about having been turned into Robocop, something the…
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According to the letter pages, Robocop is going through an editorial shift with this issue and the next ones. Way from Grant’s sci-fi based future and into… well, they don’t exactly say. This issue almost seems like a direct sequel to the first movie, only with a giant robot running around with a guy’s brainwaves…
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In one of the letter pages, the editor said Robocop would never meet up with any Marvel superheroes (I guess the licensing worked differently than that Spider-Man crossover with the Transformers) and this issue kind of shows why it wouldn’t work. The last two issues have been about costumed vigilantes. Some of them are silly,…
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Thank goodness, DeMulder’s back. Grant’s doing another multi-part story here, with Robocop trying to deal with OCP (his bosses) inspired vigilantism. It’s a little strange, just because it’s in a comic book so you’ve got the protagonist fighting the traditional protagonists of the medium. There are some absurd vigilantes and then some more serious ones–it’s…
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Wow, I really miss Kim DeMulder. Keith Williams inks this issue and it really doesn’t work. Robocop’s definition is silly, he looks clunky instead of streamlined. Worse are faces. I was lamenting the lack of Robocop’s partner, Lewis, in my response to the previous issue, but she’s here all the time and it never feels…
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So Alan Grant did Westworld with dinosaurs before Michael Crichton? There’s a dinosaur park in this issue, which came out a few months before Crichton’s novel, and, strangely, things go wrong. They go wrong for different reasons, but still… this issue could have been called “Robocop vs. Jurassic Park.” There’s a lot of action here…
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Grant’s resolution to the Robocop at war thing is surprising. First, the big revelation (of why the Arabs aren’t really the bad guys) is good enough I’m not even going to spoil it. Second, he’s got a very mild, conclusion (albeit some lame lines about Murphy being a good cop again). Third, he introduces cybernetic…
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Robocop goes to war. It’s an interesting idea, Robocop being used as a military weapon–leased out by his owners, instead of policing–but Grant seems more concentrated on the action potentials for this issue. There’s a lot of suggestions the morality of it will come into play next issue, but for now, it’s Robocop versus weird…
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Grant runs a subplot throughout this entire issue–riots caused by poisoned soda pop–just to fill in time and to give a sense of time progressing. It’s a technique way too nice for a Robocop comic, especially one featuring a fight between Robocop, a cyborg gorilla (what did I just read with a cyborg gorilla–B.P.R.D.: 1946)…
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Grant’s approach to this series–Robocop on a case–is nice. I mean, his future isn’t the greatest thing ever (again, I think it’s just rehashed Judge Dredd trappings), but there’s a procedural aspect to it. All of the Robocop thought balloons are a problem, as Grant has completely humanized the character–he’s just a guy turned into…
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The Comics Code approved this one? Robocop kills people left and right throughout. Hmm. On we go. The issue ends with Robocop and Lewis making kissy faces at each other. Apparently, all Robocop writers (except the guys who wrote the original movie), want to introduce this plot element. I’m not complaining. It’s better handled here…
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Alan Grant wrote Judge Dredd, which probably explains some of his Robocop. His Robocop is talkative and makes occasional jokes; neither facet particularly works. But Grant’s Robocop isn’t terrible. It’s a sequel to the movie and, while some of the other film characters do appear, Grant’s taking things in his own direction. He’s got evil…
The Stop Button 