Do you love pulpy, sci-tales of robots defending humanity from evil? Tesladyne’s Atomic Robo reprint Kickstarter is for you.
There’s a lot to love about the comic series Atomic Robo. It introduces Robo, a self-aware robot designed by Nikola Tesla. It follows pulpy sci-adventures that cover Nazis, dinosaurs, Lovecraftian horrors, and much more. Most importantly, the Eisner-nominated series can be read in full – for free – on this official website. The only disappointment is that all physical copies are currently out of print – something creators Brian Clevinger and Scott Wegener hope to change. That’s why they’ve launched the Atomic Robo Kickstarter campaign, with the goal of updating all nine volumes and putting copies back in the hands of fans.
Since its original launch in 2007, Atomic Robo was unique in that every volume acted as a starting point. Thanks to Robo’s incredibly long life-span, each mini-series follows him in a different 20th Century era – and occasionally beyond that due to time travel mishaps. Clevinger and Wegener used that premise to make each storyline a standalone adventure, so that collected volumes could be read in any order. In fact, these new hardcover reprints won’t even have volume numbers on them.
This approach means the Atomic Robo Kickstarter is offering “grab bag” reward tiers. Instead of choosing which individual collection you receive, every tier from one to eight volumes offers randomized book sets. According to the campaign page, this lets Tesladyne save on shipping/handling, make accurate cost projections, and offer the books below retail price. The downside, of course, is that the only way to ensure getting your favorite volume is buying the $170 reward tier. But on the plus side, you can grab the complete PDF collection for $45.
Not that Tesladyne is just reprinting the books and calling it a day. Along with the hardcover upgrades, each of the original five volumes will be re-lettered to match the improved fonts of later books. The reprints will also include “The Secret Files of Dr. Dinosaur”, detailing the rough notes of the villain’s maniacal plans. Various tiers also include PDFs of Robo’s Real Science Adventures, along with transforming backers into Action Scientists for future Atomic Robo stories.
As of writing, Atomic Robo has raised well over half of its $70,000 – so with 22 days remaining there’s a strong chance of getting those hardcover books. Whether you’re a newcomer to Atomic Robo or a long-time fan, the status of this project is well-worth paying attention to.
Source: Kickstarter
