“Atomic Robo and Other Strangeness (Atomic Robo, #4)”

“This book warranted the creation of a shelf for Pete’s Top of 2013 reads. That’s most of what you need to know right there.

Atomic Robo, always an excellent book with perfect art and hilarious dialogue, is in rare form. If you STILL haven’t read Atomic Robo for some reason, like perhaps you only read the stuff I post on Goodreads because you are so thoroughly shocked and amazed that one man could so perfectly feel the exact, precise opposite of how you feel, I would still tell you to get this volume and flip to the story “Why Atomic Robo Hates Dr. Dinosaur and Why Dr. Dinosaur Hates Atomic Robo.” Yes, it is ridiculous. But what really makes this book is that the main character, Robo, KNOWS and often points out that things are ridiculous. It only takes him two dialogue balloons to explain why time travel is impossible, or at least highly impractical. And his dinosaur knowledge, simultaneously complete and at the level of a grade schooler, is unassailable.

Comics aren’t just words, of course. They are also art. Never has anyone given a dinosaur so many great expressions. I’ll save them for your surprise and delight.

Just to try and entice you more, here’s one of my favorite scenes: