Publisher: BOOM! Studios
Writer: Joshua Williamson
Artist: Carlos Magno
Release Date: July 2nd, 2014

Official synopsis: Dive into the harsh world of Old Detroit with RoboCop and his partner, Anne Lewis, following the events of the original film. A deadly and charismatic criminal, Killian, is released from jail. He went into the slammer before RoboCop hit the streets, and now he wants to take out the biggest cop in the city. When OCP wants to take guns off the street, Killian sees it as his opportunity to take on the former Alex Murphy!

BOOM! Studios is no stranger to the RoboCop franchise, publishing tie-in titles as part of the marketing for the 2014 film. On June 6, 2014 they announced an all-new, ongoing RoboCop series set in the world of the 1987 movie, picking up where the original Paul Verhoeven’s RoboCop film left off. After a twenty seven year stint, can they capture the magic that made first movie so great? The answer is… sort of.

Magno’s artwork recreates the 1987 aesthetics perfectly from the tube TV’s complete with the “I’d buy that for a dollar!” guy, to the character of the old Metro West police precinct, and the guerrilla warfare in the streets of Old Detroit. I felt like the fire fights took up a few too many panels, but it could be the lack of the RoboCop theme song. In Magno’s defense the 1987 movie did have a couple shootouts that over stayed their welcome. One of the best panels though immortalizes Murphy’s final moments with Clarence Boddicker in a flashback featuring Leon Nash and Joe Cox. Colorist Marissa Louise helps complete the picture restoring the matte finishes to the OCP police cruisers down to bright pink of Lewis’ bubble gum. Overall the artwork is amazing.

On the other hand, the story is a bit thin; however, I’m sure writing a story after twenty seven years can’t easy. To Williamson’s credit the dialogue fits in with the late 80’s time period perfectly. The decision to use an inmate who missed out on the unveiling of Robocop was also smart move. The story also brings back a lot of the old characters like Sgt. Reed, Cecil, Lewis, and Mason. Even the major – held hostage by Ron Miller – makes an appearance. They’re already laying the ground work for a story dealing with corrupt politicians, but I’m hoping they explore the back story on Murphy’s wife and son or even the aftermath of creating Delta City. Again I know this issue is looking to reintroduce us to the world and set the stage for the new story, but I’m eager to see them do something that hasn’t already been done before.

It’s too early to tell where this is all headed but if you love RoboCop or just want to stroll down memory lane I suggest picking this title up. Although keep your eyes on this one, Boom! Studios has the potential to crack open the world of RoboCop since I feel like no one has really tapped into the movie’s mythology. At least correctly remember RoboCop 3 yeah… ouch.

Rating: 3/5.

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The writer of this piece is:

Laurence Almalvez
Laurence has previously written over at Whatculture.com.
Laurence tweets from @IL1511