Reading – Robot 13: Colossus!

Robot 13: Colossus! found in a comic store! I first mentioned Blacklist Studios’ Robot 13 (also known as R13) way back in May. At about that same time the guys at Blacklist Studios sent me a PDF of the first issue, but as much as I enjoy reading novels and short stories onscreen I just couldn’t get into the comic.

Fortunately, I found issues one and two at Austin Books and I’ve now had a chance to read through both issues. My one word review has to come down to: Fun!

A Skull-Headed Robot

A steampunk-styled, iron-bodied, dome-encased, skull-headed robot, the star of R13 comes at us straight out of a melding of a furnace with long, lanky limbs and translated through a heavy dose of artwork influenced by Mike Mignola. Our story starts when a captain and his mate find a “diver” in one of their nets and, in true Hellboy-style*, everything automatically devolves into a fight with a tentacled sea monster. Page after page of beautiful artwork — artist Daniel Bradford may have been influenced by Mignola, but he pulls it off better than many similarly styled books I’ve seen in the past — has our robotic hero tangling with the monster.

Hints at a Deeper Story

R13 slays the beast and then, in flashback form, we’re given just a brief glimpse of how the skull-headed robot found his way into the ocean. It’s a short sequence, but it sets up just enough of a background to keep events moving. Issue one closes with the captain promising to take R13 back to land.

Next Fight!

Did I mention the influence of Mike Mignola on the artwork? (Which is obvious by the images shown here.) Well, that influence extends into the story, with the second issue starting with another flashback that then dives right into R13 getting into a second fight in present day. The poor robot doesn’t even make it to land before a phoenix swoops out of the sky and grabs him.

More Hints at a Background . . . and a Future

Issue two starts with a little background teaser, jumps into a fight, and then ends with another teaser. It seems that our robotic hero is destined for more than just fights (but keep those coming, please, since they’re very enjoyable and excellently illustrated), as we’re told that R13 is “a protector of men.”

Again, I’m going to have to call this a Hellboy-styled comic, but that is meant as a compliment and is not a knock against author Thomas Hall and artist Daniel Bradford. I’ve seen many people attempt to imitate Mignola’s work, but this is one of the few times that it comes off more as “influenced by” than a simple copy.

Robot 13: Colossus! is fun, beautifully illustrated and colored, and leaves me hoping that issue three won’t be too long in coming. There are a few reviews of the comic online that you may want to read — Cal’s Comic Corner, Wired’s GeekDad, and Indie Squid Kid all have some words posted about the comic — but if you’re a fan of Mignola’s work then you may want to just go ahead and grab these the next time you’re at the comic store.

If that doesn’t work then you can order copies directly from Blacklist Studios. Robot 13: Colossus! isn’t a deep or thought-provoking comic, but it’s fun.

*Affiliate link: Orders using this link earn battlegrip.com cash, which is applied to buying toys.