Review: Magnus: Robot Fighter #2 by Fred Van Lente and Cory Smith

Reviews, Top Story

Magnus-Robot-Fighter-2-variant7

Review:  Magnus: Robot Fighter #2

Published by Dynamite

Written by Fred Van Lente

Art by Cory Smith

Coloured by Mauricio Wallace

The Plot

Two robots are looking over some rare evidence (a print book) and they explain how crazy and obsolete it is from their point of view.  Meanwhile Magnus is coming to just in time to see another robot getting executed.  Afterwards, he is getting interrogated by Inspector Clane who wants to know the location of 1A (his father figure from the first issue).  He is trying to tell her about his simple background, but he sees something that contradicts what he believes he knows.  As he is being hauled away by the guards, Magnus realizes that he has the ability to pick up all of the machines transmissions in his mind.  As another robot is about to be executed, Magnus makes the save and they both make their escape.  The robot’s name is H-8-R and he has a…peculiar attitude.  Magnus has a quick flashback to his training as a child just before he goes to battle with some pretty big bots.  Meanwhile, a mysterious group reveals what they believe Magnus to believe, which prompts Clane to take things into her own hands.

The Breakdown

There were some elements from the first issue that I really liked.  I enjoyed how they devoted so much time to establishing Magnus’ “world.”  It was effectively done and it made me really root for him to get back to it someday.   It also established him as basically a good guy with a sense of humour.  This issue started off with the amusing scene with the robots examining the book.  It also did a good job of helping to further establish what state of the world is and how everything is perceived.  The part with Magnus and the three laws of humanities reminded me a lot of that movie from about ten years ago called “I Robot.”  In fact, I think that the laws are the same in that movie just with humans and robots reversed.  I liked the explanation as to why robots are getting executed.  It also shows the flaw in their post-singularity perfect society.  The intercourse between Magnus and Clane was very well done as I really enjoyed their back and forth banter.  I liked how Magnus was so reserved when cutting her down, he seemed to have a really dry sense of humour.  The revelation with Magnus being able to understand machines so well was a good one.  I liked how he used it to his advantage and I’m looking forward to seeing how he’ll continue to use and develop this ability.  Also, watching him kick ass is fun and those scenes flow very well.  With H-8-R I kind of had a stunned reaction at first and then I started laughing out loud.  Dynamite is really pushing the new Vampirella series to the point where I think I’m going to at least pick up the first issue.  This isn’t part of the actual story, but the two page ad came right after H-8-R’s (that’s kind of a pain to type) talk with Magnus.  I’m really looking forward to seeing what will come of Magnus’ reality and what those implications will be.  These experiences and his relationship with 1A have shaped the person that he is and I’m anxious to see what was real and what was not.  I’m looking forward to seeing the confrontation between Magnus and Clane next week.  I’m really enjoying Smith’s art in this series so far.  The panel designs are well done and they tell a very good story (also props to Van Lente here too).  His style really suits the tone of this book.  Wallace’s colours are something that I’m really enjoying in this book as well.  There is a lot of gray in this book yet he keeps it from looking bland.  I also enjoy how he colours the flashback scenes.  There was a lot to like in this book this week.

BUT…

As much as I’m looking forward to seeing what’s really going on with Magnus’s past, I’m dreading it at the same time.  I just hope that there is something that exists for him to fight for.  There wasn’t really anything that I didn’t like in this issue though.

Buy It, Borrow It, Shelf Read It, or Ignore It?

Buy It.  So far this Gold Key revival has been well…gold.  They’re making a great effort at creating solid and enjoyable comics.  Magnus: Robot Fighter is quickly becoming a title that I’m getting excited for and if they keep up this quality, it will be one of the top titles of the year.  I have zero familiarity with the original series, but that has not impeded my enjoyment of this installment at all.  This title is a lot of fun to read and it has different elements that just make it work.  There are no cheap marketing ploys here or anything, just a creative team working hard to put out a great product.  This is a refreshing experience.  I’m adding this title to my file at my LCS.  Great job Dynamite.

I have been both an avid and casual comic reader over the years (depending on the quality of books). I have been reading Comics Nexus even prior to it becoming Comics Nexus and am glad to be a columnist. In addition, feel free to leave comments whether you agree or disagree because it always leads to discussions.