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

I consider myself an appreciator of last year’s RoboCop reboot, which carried a shocking amount of emotional weight and reverence for the original, while updating many of the themes for a modern audience. That being said, it is a delight to return to the debris-strewn streets of a future Detroit as envisioned by the 1980s in this debut issue of a new monthly series based on the world of the original RoboCop trilogy.

While the new film presents an interesting new take on RoboCop, this comic builds upon the elements which made the original so special. Here Detroit is once again more of a warzone than a city, and corruption in both the police force and in Omnicorp are driving the city further into ruins. The endemic violence of the city is made apparent in pages where the art is almost entirely subsumed by the onomatopoeia of a raging gunfight. It’s therefore no surprise that the closest thing Detroit has to a superhero is a machine haunted by the memories of a brutally murdered man which can punch eyeballs out of sockets. On an initial reading RoboCop can come across as impassive and violent as a Terminator/Batman lovechild, but the humanity Murphy rediscovered through the events of the first movie is subtly hinted at through the slightest of smiles at the prospect of returning to patrol. As well as re-introducing readers to the corruption at the heart of the RoboCop universe, this debut issue also paints a giant target on ol’ Chrome Dome in the form of a new villain who is seeking to rid Detroit of its last shining light. If this comic was the opening few minutes of a RoboCop movie set between 1 and 2, I would be hooked.

On the art side, the feeling of a sick culture as put forward by Paul Verhoeven is carried forward by Carlos Magno and colourist Marissa Louise. The neon-colouring combined with the ugly aesthetic of a dying Detroit makes every moment feel uneasy, as if violence is never more than a panel away from erupting. Imagine playing Hotline Miami on a monitor covered in construction dust and you get the idea.

RoboCop #1 sets up a new, film worthy adventure for a cinematic icon, and any fan of the original universe should definitely pick it up.

Rating: 4/5.

---

The writer of this piece was: Andrew Stevens