RoboCop is back, “To serve and protect,” in RoboCop #1, a new ongoing series from BOOM Studios, and boy is it ever a doozy. From what I can tell the entire story takes place months after the original film and brings back all the original cast for a new round of adventures in Detroit.
Joshua Williamson has writing duties on this new book and does his best to capture the feeling of the original movie. He does well with calling back to past events and characters while still moving the story in a forward direction. While RoboCop is front and center here (His name is on the cover) the meat of the story really comes from the secondary characters. It’s a difficult task to bring Robocop to life while still making feel like a machine and this new series so far sticks with the latter.
He’s a cold, emotionless machine hat is simply doing his duty to protect the streets of Detroit. I think this really is the best possible way to handle the character, at least at the present time, because we’ve seen the whole “torn between worlds” shtick done many times before. Officer Lewis, even this early in the books run, is already showing some character growth and leaves the door wide open with regards to her future in both her working and personal relationship with Murphey.
There is a lot of setup being done here to let us in on just where the book is heading. The writing does a fair job of cramming it all in among the action scenes that leave little to the imagination. This new RoboCop series clearly has the original R-rated film in mind with its deception of violence and brutality. Artist Carlos Magno dosn’et hold back and takes a very unique and gritty approach to the book. There is an extreme level in detail not only with our core cast, but with all the backgrounds in many of the books scenes.
The coloring helps to set the mood that gives Robocop #1 a very dark an gritty ’80s feel, but the pencil work is where the book really shines. It helps to set the book firmly in the real world and not some over-the-top fantasy land. There are a great deal of little touches within the book that reward multiple reading, both from a narrative and visual perspective.
Not only that, but the entire issue is bookended by the appearance of a new villain, one that is looking to take down RoboCop simply because he is the biggest dog on the yard. There is a lot of possibility here with the story in the way our antagonist, Killian, a low-level street thug uses OCP and the political system to light the fire of disorder within Detroit. He comes of as a nobody when we are first introduced to him and by the books end we see that he is a great deal more than a petty thug, instead we see a larger mind at work that is clearly looking to strike, not with guns or violence, but through the people.
Robocop #1 is a solid first outing that is setting up a much bigger series of events. It’s a bit to early to say this is going to be series you are going to “have” to pick up, but the book is a very real, dark, and gritty adventure that is going to be hard to pass up for fans of the character. The art is clearly the stand-out here and fans of the classic film version of RoboCop will no doubt enjoy this new series. RoboCop #1 doesn’t dwell heavily on the past, so new readers will also be able to join in on this adventure, but if you haven’t done yourself the pleasure of watching the original RoboCop film, I suggest you do that ASAP.
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