This issue opens with the narrator reminiscing about the time there were actually heroes in New Detroit. Then we see Robocop rescuing a child from a fire. After that we cut to the funeral of Alderman Moses Desulma. He’s being eulogized as a public servant who was dedicated to making New Detroit safer. There’s a lot happening in the first few pages of this issue.
The Creative Team:
Brian Wood wants us to remember what made Robocop great in the first place, the spirit of Alex Murphy. A representative of OCP reminds us that the prime directive for the company: “Serve the public trust, protect the innocent and Uphold the law.” It’s a mantra we’ve heard time and time again, but as conditions in New Detroit may be looking up, they could also just as easily deteriorate again. The OCP rep let’s us know that there’s no purpose to any of this unless it’s to make the lives of citizens better. Great stuff includes a droid finding a child home alone with no adult supervision and threatening to call the department of health and human services. We also witness a group of disgruntled citizens who lost their jobs because of OCP. There’s a difference between the reality of what OCP does and it’s representation in the media, like a lot of politicians I know in both major parties. It’s amazing how the fictional future of this comic book reflects todays realities.
Jorge Coelho gives Brian Wood’s words some edge. His Alex Murphy goes from being a compliant OCP goon to rediscovering what his original purpose was. He paints the citizens of New Detroit with an everyman slant that shows most of them as ignorant of the reality of what’s happening right underneath their noses. Highlights include the city of New Detroit burning. We can almost see Nero playing his fiddle in the background. Plus the page where an explosion thrusts Murphy headlong into a truck.
In Conclusion:
Robocop comics have a history of being hit or miss in trying to capture the spirit of the original movie. This is one of the better attempts as we’ve seen Murphy stripped of his badge, so to speak. This is his continuing struggle of trying to find his place in a corrupt world and the struggle to regain his identity, all the while relying on the technical wizardry it takes just to keep him breathing. The big question here is: Will Alex Murphy regain his “Badge” and return to a police force that no longer wants him. This is a fine entry into the Robocop mythos and the conclusion of this issue leaves us wanting more. *** (8.1 rating)
[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]
Writer – Brian Wood
Art – Jorge Coelho
Colors – Doug Garbark
Letters – Ed Dukeshire
Publisher – Boom
Author Profile
- Kevin Given has studied with “ Longridge Writers Group †and “ Writer’s Boot Camp †a speech/communications major from the University of Maine Presque-Isle/Orono sites. He has created the “ Karl Vincent Vampire Hunter †franchise which includes novels and comic books. They can be found on amazon, Indyplanet and Kindle. For a limited time you can get digital copies of “ Karl Vincent: Vampire hunter †# 1 and “ Files of Karl Vincent †# 1 for free on Indyplanet. Kevin is producing the third novel in the series “ Dracula Rising †(working title) and developing “ Foul Blood †into comic book form. Don't forget to check out the YouTube show " Comics: Let's Talk " hosted by Kevin Given
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