Comics Review: "RoboCop" #1

- by Señor Editor, 4 July 2014

RoboCop, as a franchise, never had an easy life. While I love the original movie and like the sequel, what followed these two was mostly terrible. “RoboCop 3”? This year’s remake? Awful and/or forgettable. RoboCop comics? These were never great. Now, after a very long time, it seems Murphy may finally be getting a decent comicbook series. Let’s talk about BOOM! Studios’ “RoboCop” #1.

Click to enlarge.

Now, before anybody gets up in arms about me saying Robo never had a great comic, hear me out. Sure, the “RoboCop vs Terminator” thing by Simonson and Miller was alright, but it didn’t feel like a RoboCop comic OR a Terminator comic. It was odd, and if you were looking for something like the original movie, this wasn’t it. The Marvel series? Cool, but nothing like the movie. The various miniseries ranged from bland to stupid, and you can trust me on that, cause I tried each and every one of them. Because RoboCop is crazy awesome and I really, really wanted to read a good comic with him.

BOOM! Studios did two good things with their new “RoboCop” comic. First, they set it right after the events of the 1987 movie. Cut off all ties to all the mediocre and crappy bits of continuity. Second, and most importantly, they didn’t call Frank Miller to write it. That’s awesome, because Frank Miller usually sucks as a RoboCop writer and people should have realized that 20 years ago. He can’t write RoboCop AT ALL, and yet companies kept giving him writing gigs for the character since the early ‘90s. 

And don’t bring up “RoboCop 2” because his script for that was rewritten beyond any recognition, to the point where there’s barely any trace of Miller in the movie, other than his cameo. The original, unchanged script for it got a comicbook series made out of it some time ago and it was even worse than “RoboCop 3”. Bland and uninspired and dumb, with ugly covers. So yeah… so long, Frank! Good luck with your new racist comics, or whatever it is you’re doing these days.

Instead, they got Joshua Williamson (you may remember him from “Nailbiter”, which I reviewed recently) to write it, and Carlos Magno to illustrate it. GOOD.

BRATTA TATTA TATTA BLAM BANG. All images here are © BOOM! Studios.

So what’s the first issue about? An undercover sting went wrong and armed-to-the-teeth gangsters have hostages and are shooting up cops. Murphy goes in, kills everybody and punches one guy so hard his eye falls out. IT’S VERY COOL. While Lewis and the other cops cheer Murphy on, a new player in town, a gangster called Killian, watches from afar. He’s fresh out of prison and notices that things in Detroit changed – gangs can’t deal with RoboCop. Killian comes up with a plan, the details of which are yet to be explained, and part of it is somehow exploiting the human side of RoboCop.

PUNCH!

Meanwhile, Lewis is preparing for an exam to become a detective. Only the Sarge knows about it, and another cop mentions that Lewis should let Murphy know about it. After all, they’re pretty tight, and Robo will be left without a partner, since it’s not like they’re gonna promote RoboCop, too. No, RoboCop will forever be on the streets, shooting people in the penis and taking them with him (the people, not the penises), dead or alive. He won’t become a detective or a commissioner or anything else (although a Commissioner RoboCop series could be pretty damn boss). So there are seeds of potential drama between the longtime partners here. That’s something I’m looking forward to.

Lewis & Murphy.

Another plot thread is that the cops have been confiscating all the weapons from the Detroit citizens. You have to register with both OCP and the cops to have guns. This is a new law and Murphy and Lewis will be enforcing it. That means updating RoboCop’s system, so he can respect that law. Robo and Lewis will also be working with a new “Citizen Liaison” for the whole project…. Mister Killian, dressed all business-like! What a shock! What’s his game, exactly? I guess we’ll find out in #2.

This is a good first issue. It sticks to the themes and characters we already know from the original movie, has an atmosphere that matches that cinematic classic, and has no dumb ideas by Frank Miller in it. Win-win-win. 

KIllian observes RoboCop's cowboy tricks.

Williamson has a good grip on the characters and the world of RoboCop, with all of its dark humor, graphic violence and characteristic style. Lewis is likeable, Murphy is exactly as we remember him and everything just feels RIGHT.

Magno’s art also serves the book really well. I feel that RoboCop is similar to Darth Vader, in the way that you have to draw both of them exactly right. You mess up one angle or a tiny detail in the armor and everything will end up looking completely off, so you need a good, realistic, consistent artist. Magno delivers on that. Not only does his RoboCop look better than he did in years, but all the other familiar characters also look, y’know… familiar.

All the crap that came out in the last two decades under the “RoboCop” name made me almost lose hope for a really good RoboCop comic. BOOM! Studios seem to be on the right track this time, and this has potential to become a series that all fans of Alex Murphy have been waiting for. I’ll definitely be picking up the next issues.


Have you picked up "RoboCop" #1 this week? YOU SHOULD. How did you like it? Sound off in the comments!

Tagged: comics, Reviews.

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