REVIEW: Atomic Robo and The Flying She-Devils of the Pacific #2

Downed in the Pacific while testing his latest jet plane, Atomic Robo is rescued by the rag-tag group of flying females – The Flying She-Devils of the Pacific. The latest issue from Red 5 Comics has arrived, and you better believe Major Spoilers is ready to dive in with its review!

ATOMIC ROBO AND THE FLYING SHE-DEVILS OF THE PACIFIC #2
Writer: Brian Clevinger
Artist: Scott Wegener
Colorist: Nick Filardi
Letterer: Jeff Powell
Editor: Lee Black
Publisher: Red 5 Comics
Cover Price: $3.50

Previously in ARATFSDOFP: While test flying an experimental aircraft over the Pacific, Atomic Robo was attacked by a mysterious fleet of ghost planes that look more like U.F.O.s than airplanes. Before being lost forever, Robo was saved by The Flying She-Devils of the Pacific – a group of A.W.O.L. female pilots and mechanics from various nations around the world. Instead of going back to their regular lives, the She-Devils have taken it upon themselves to clean up the Pacific by removing all the weapons left behind from the war, and keep them out of the hands of pirates and mercenaries. Little do the She-Devils and Atomic Robo know that the Foo-Fighters are really high tech Japanese soldiers who are set on destroying the She-Devils forever.

SPIN-IT

While waiting for his jet to be repaired, Atomic Robo, Captain May Carter, and Val decide to dig up some clues at Pete’s, a safe-haven bar that is certainly a hive of scum and villainy. I believe this is the first time we’ve seen Robo in a bar, and the events that play out, and how Robo and his companions deal with alcohol (or whatever it is Pete is serving them) is full of wit and entertainment served up by Brian Clevinger. The best line of the entire issue (and quite possibly the second best character of the issue – Robo is number one of course) has to be Pete and his silent partner. A close runner up is Uncle Liu and his tales of the ghost planes…

This story flows very well, and that may be due to the team island hopping throughout the book as they gather clues to the mysterious planes, and discover who is really behind it. One of the things I was really worried about after the opening issue was that readers would be bogged down and lost with the myriad of She-Devils who made appearances throughout the book. It looks like Mr. Clevinger is keeping that fear in check as we seem to have gone from a cast of thousands to four characters readers can easily remember, with the rest popping up when needed – like when the Japanese decide to attack She-Devil Island.

There is plenty of humor in this issue, but it isn’t the over the top laugh-fest we have seen in other stories. Instead the humor slides in under the radar and detonates at just the right minute. Atomic Robo and the Flying She-Devils of the Pacific is Mr. Clevinger at the top of his game.

A LITTLE SQUISHY

Scott Wegener’s style has also evolved over the years, and the one big stylistic change I noticed in this issue was that everyone seems a little squishier, rounder, and more cartoony than the more rigid features we’ve seen before. Save for a few pages in the bar that have thicker ink lines than usual, I like what I’m seeing all around. The detail is amazing in many panels, and the color scheme used during various scenes complement the action very well.

BOTTOM LINE: NO QUESTION, GET THIS SERIES

I’m still amazed that there are people who have still not read Atomic Robo. This book should be selling in the hundreds of thousands each month. Robo is like Superman, Batman, Sherlock Holmes, Deadpool, The Challengers of the Unknown, and Spider-Man all rolled into one. Brian Clevinger’s writing is superb, and Scott Wegener’s art is wonderful to behold, which makes buying new issues of Atomic Robo something to look forward to. Atomic Robo and the Flying She-Devils of the Pacific is a series you should be picking up, and issue two earns 4.5 out of 5 Stars.