Comixology Releases Exclusive Atomic Robo
If there’s one long-running title in the world of comic books with a very dedicated fan base, it has to be Atomic Robo. I discovered the heroic battle bot a few years ago whose longevity can be traced throughout numerous mini-series. Arriving March 5th on Comixology, the wise-cracking metallic hero is back in his latest adventure in Atomic Robo: Along Came a Tyrantula, as an Emerald City Comicon exclusive.
What separates this Atomic Robo story from its predecessors is the fact that you won’t find this tale at your local comic book retailer. Along Came a Tyrantula (ACAT) is exclusive Comixology content, but this concept received some special treatment. For those not familiar with Comixology, here’s a quick overview. It is, in my honest opinion, the best way to read and store comics. It’s completely digital, being accessed via the Comixology app or website, so there are no more stacks of white comic book boxes taking up room. Secondly, you have the option of reading a comic page by page or the much preferred guided view where it takes you from panel to panel, even from dialogue balloon to dialogue balloon sometimes.
In the case of ACAT, you not only receive a panel to panel view, but what is basically a motion comic with dialogue and action changing within the same panel. It really provides a heightened experience for the story and increases the entertainment factor while reading it. While this isn’t the first title to utilize this technology on Comixology, it is one of the very few.
Guided View Technology: 
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So, how was the story? The story and art are the product of one Scott Wegner with script credit going to Brian Clevinger. The dialogue is typical for Atomic Robo. For a bucket of bolts, he sure can be a smart ass, but he’ll laugh in the face of danger and come back swinging…or unload a clip of ammo on it. This time around, the threat at hand is allegedly someone from Atomic Robo’s past. She’s a little off her rocker (aren’t all of his enemies?) but her six-limbed robotic contraption she pilots makes her a force to be reckon with. The two trade barbs while going head to head as Atomic Robo tries to figure out just who this threat is.
Story: 
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While this Emerald City Comicon exclusive is receiving a lot of buzz, it did have its not-so-impressive moments. On the technical side of things, there were constant loading problems. I would close the window and start from the beginning, only to get hung up on another frame somewhere else in the read. When it was all said and done, I basically skipped, albeit unwillingly, at least a few frames just to get to a page that would load. Who knows what I missed along the way? The story is a short read and isn’t one of the better Atomic Robo stories out there. If you want the “in a nutshell” version, here it goes. Atomic Robo meets a chick with six arms and he gets thrown around like a rag doll for most of the story. The technology here rocked but the content suffered. The end. I think what tried being done here was using an established character to promote the latest advances in a digital comic book. If that is the case, it was successful then as your pushing a feature rather than a story.
Overall:
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