Atomic Robo and the Dogs of War

This is the second trade paperback for Atomic Robo, a wonderful comic about a robot designed and built by Nikola Tesla. I'm not much of a comics reader and even less of a comics buyer, but this series won me over with one of its Free Comic Book Day releases and I'm slowly working my way through the TPBs. This one is entirely stories set in World War II, with Robo working for the Allies, and is consequently a bit darker and less whimsical.

I enjoyed it, but the stories didnt seem to be as well-constructed, not that they were anything complicated in the first TPB. But it feels a bit slapdash – for example, you're introduced to characters as if you're supposed to already know who they are, and while you can put two and two together easily, it doesn't feel elegantly done at all. They're fun characters, though, especially the Scottish commando. Weirdly, Robo feels borderline incompetent in this installment, constantly getting himself into trouble.

There are some extra quickie stories in the back, but they're even more unplotted. A few moments of fun but those bits are otherwise forgettable.

Despite the problems, it's still Atomic Robo and I still enjoyed it quite a bit. Hopefully #3 will be a bit more cohesive.