Not All Robots, Vol. 1
Author: Marc Russell
Artist: Mike Deodoto Jr.
Colorist: Lee Loughridge
Letterer: steve chopsticks
Editor: AWA Studios – End result
Printed: March 2022
It is not day-after-day {that a} robotic story could be each humorous and an vital examination of how capitalism creates waves of ruling lessons. In an essay on the again of Not all robots, author Marc Russell explains that the unique intention of the story was to look at the methods by which a tradition of poisonous masculinity responded to the Me Too motion. Utilizing a number of bot revolutions, it finally ends up being way more of a narrative of labor and the way sure wealthy events manipulate folks (and bots) to make themselves out of date. One of many issues that impressed me probably the most Not all robots it was enjoyable to learn, and it wasn’t till later that I began to unpack the numerous layers of social considering.
It is the 12 months 2056, persons are residing in bubble cities and robots have taken over the workforce. It is not onerous to think about a world the place the most suitable choice could be to fully bubble over a metropolis and create devoted streetcar strains to different domed metropolises. People had their probability to avoid wasting the earth and failed. So when the robots took over the workforce and the cities, they made the choice to limit the cities and include them. Robots do all the roles besides one – they can not be hairdressers. They tried it, but it surely was manner too harmful to permit so many sharp fingers to get near delicate human heads, which is only one of many enjoyable distinctive panels which are slowly making increasingly more sense. on the earth of comics. As a result of hairdressers have been the final human staff, they act as a union and rebellion occasion by default; they type an underground motion to oppose the robots.
This stability between dystopian comedy and emotional drama in a world the place robots are the primary mechanism of the story, and the place people develop into a type of unstable class with out a lot objective, is splendidly characterised by the artist Mike Deodoto Jr. Sooner or later in historical past, there are two (or three) generations of robots inhabiting the world concurrently, and it is so clear that a variety of thought has been given to how the primary era could be represented. They take a type of traditional robotic look, ala Quick Circuit or Star Wars, and say issues like “pricey bot” as an alternative of “pricey God”. These little particulars add up as you progress by the primary quantity to create a way of place and character for the robots we observe. Against robots are people, who additionally inhabit some kind of place on the earth. Now not wanted, they principally keep house and dwell socially remoted lives. Watch TV, play sports activities. Plan revolutions in opposition to their robotic leaders.
In one of many important pivot factors of the primary story, certainly one of these bubbles has an oxygen imbalance and plenty of people die – the entire metropolis, in actual fact. However the robots are positive, in fact. There may be some debate whether or not this catastrophic (human) demise occasion was an intentional transfer on the a part of the robotic answerable for the air filtration items, which creates a variety of pressure in society and reinforces class divisions fairly strongly. What higher time may there be to disclose that there’s one other robotic degree about to be launched and, in fact, a rich ruling class pulling the strings. These characters sit at the hours of darkness moments of the comedian (actually, but additionally figuratively) making small components to rebalance the peace (or not). After the oxygen incident, for instance, they modify the title of every robotic to make them extra nice. As an alternative of Shredder, the robotic would then be known as Muffin or Blankets. One thing mild and non-threatening.
I believe a extra rushed story would have solely had one or two social parts, however Not all robots manages to boost the stress in several methods. Tensions in human vs robotic circles, pressure in robotic vs robotic circles and pressure in human household circles. Cleverly, there is a human household on the heart of the story to offer some type of relative perception into what it will be prefer to dwell in a time like this – the place the weary, virtually upset, robotic member of the family working from the angle of two varieties of household insurance policies. The one who desires the robotic to be blissful and love them, and the one who fears robots will in the future trigger them by Oxygen-Incident to demise.
On the finish of the primary quantity, a variety of issues fell into place. Folks have been murdered, robots have been impersonated by different new robots, and a few folks have been legally banned from the dome metropolis. However as soon as once more I need to say it: I had a good time studying this comedian. It was humorous and fascinating, each scene was properly thought out and detailed. The coloring, by Lee Loughridgeand lettering, by steve chopsticks, do a variety of work to verify it’s totally clear who belongs to what bodily physique kind, which begins to fade a bit on the finish in a humorous manner. It has quite a bit to say, however projecting a few of our social issues onto one other distinct class of being – a robotic – Not all robots tells a refined story tailored to our instances. When requested in a Interview of the world in preview on whether or not the story was professional or anti-robot, Mark Russell stated: “It is in opposition to the discount of individuals and robots to their financial operate. It is pro-accepting that folks (and robots) have worth no matter their financial utility.
Verdict: Purchase
Not All Robots, Vol. 1 is out now.
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