Wednesday 19 February 2014

RoboCop: To Live and Die in Detroit (One-Shot) Review

Writer: Joe Harris
Artist: Piotr Kowalski

Is this one-shot a must read for RoboCop fans? Read on to find out.

The official description from BOOM!:

WHY WE LOVE IT: With the release of RoboCop, a re-imagining of the all-time classic, fans of the new and old will be immersed in the action, oppression and humanity that is RoboCop. We cannot wait to be first in line for this new motion picture event!

WHY YOU'LL LOVE IT: Four anthology-style one-shots exploring the world of the new film, brought to you by some of the freshest voices in the industry -- Joe Harris (GREAT PACIFIC), Frank Barbiere (FIVE GHOSTS), Ed Brisson (SHELTERED), and Michael Moreci (HOAX HUNTERS).

WHAT IT'S ABOUT: RoboCop is too good at his job. While the people love him, his ability to find and remove corruption puts fear into the corporate heads and government leaders. 

With OCP at the wheel, they will do their best to steer him away from the powerful corrupt leaders, and keep him on the lower-level criminals. But some crimes cannot go unpunished.

I was a huge fan of the original RoboCop film, and despite it's sequels not being quite as good I also liked them. It was this that had me excited about the reboot film's release and although I haven't watched it yet I'm glad that BOOM! Have made comics based around it.

Joe Harris gives us a interesting and unique tale for RoboCop, but unfortunately it's let down by it's overall pace. Pacing is a problem that a lot of one-shot stories have, as due to their limited page count there isn't a lot of room for suspense and development. Harris did however create an emotionally compelling tale, that shows the corruptness of certain people. There is also some exciting action, and intense interactions, but unfortunately this isn't enough to make up for the awkward and sudden flow of the story.

Piotr Kowalski's artwork is very good, with there being little to fault it on. To start off the layout of Kowalski art gives a terrific cinematic feel to this tale, with the explosive panels being a joy to mull over. I did however have mixed feelings on the facial expressions, as despite adding a lot of drama and realism to certain panels, there were others that looked a little awkward. This however has little effect to the overall art, and along with Vladimir Popov wonderful colours this is some of the best art I've seen on a RoboCop comic in a while.

RoboCop: To Live and Die in Detroit has some positive features, but it's overall briefness takes away from the lasting effect. This issue does however still squeeze through with a recommendation.

Rating: 6/10

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