Customer Reviews

Robotika

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

[4.5 stars, actually] Alex Sheikman has crafted a visually stunning (props to Joel Chua for his outstanding color work) sci-fi spaghetti western that ultimately serves as an entertaining and thought-provoking introduction to three very intriguing characters -- the silent swordsman (samurai? ronin?) Niko; the enigmatic Cherokee Geisha; and the two-gun toting, cybernetic eye-having Bronski -- and an equally intriguing "far future" where technology has run amok.

The four collected issues tell two separate but connected stories, both centering on Niko, while offering a peek at a much larger world that is tantalizingly full of storytelling potential. There are two backup stories included that add some depth to Cherokee Geisha and Bronski's characters, and the Steampunk Samurai Sketchbook offers a look at Sheikman's amazing pencil work.

This is an absolutely beautiful hardcover edition -- Archaia Studios Press clearly doesn't know how to roll any other way -- and Robotika is very different from anything I've ever read, an impressive artistic vision that mixes several familiar elements into something very unique. It is, I daresay, an ambitious masterpiece -- not without its flaws, but impressive, nevertheless -- and highly recommended.

Equally influenced by the genres of the wandering samurai and the cyberpunk future, Robotika is an action-packed vision of a far-flung future and an honorable ronin trying to make his way in it.

Sheikman's artwork features the imaginative panel layouts and design touches of JH Williams III's Promethea, the over-the-top violence of Geoff Darrow's Shaolin Cowboy, the clean line and clear storytelling of Matt Wagner's Grendel and the almost photo-realistic faces of Tony Harris's Ex Machina. Artists this good aren't supposed to just appear out of nowhere, but that seems to be what Sheikman has done, as this book is one of the best-looking comics I've seen in quite a while.

The world of Robotika is a neat genre blend, featuring not only the techno-fetishism of a cybernetic future full of bio-engineering but the elegant details of Japanese culture, an influence most notable in the clothing, art and some of the architecture. The book is filled with such bizarre and intriguing ideas as cyber-nannies turned Amazonian style warriors, mixes of man and machine gone feral, demonic-looking cyborgs guarding a high mountain temple and the like.

In terms of the writing, the book is also a fusion of a variety of ideas and influences. Sheikman takes his characters across the wilds of his created universe as well as into the rarified air of high society. In addition to cybernetic creations battling one another, there are fantastic, almost magical elements, and the technology of Robotika has clearly advanced to the point where it can seem like magic.

With gorgeous art, strange and wonderful ideas and the beautiful production values of Archaia Studios Press, Robotika is definitely worth a look. It's especially worthwhile for fans of dreamy dystopian visions like Matt Wagner's Grendel or Moebius's Airtight Garage.

First, about the art. It's gorgeous. I see a bit of Dave Johnson (100 Bullets) in it, a bit of Tony Harris (Ex Machina), and as one of the contributers to the forward mentioned, a bit of Alphonse Mucha in the coloring. It's a lovely book. This shows what happens when an artist (quite competently!) writes a book at his own pace; each page can be a frame-worthy gem on its own. There's pages in this that are show-stoppers.

Secondly, the story. For me, this book peaks too early, with the end of the second issue (or chapter) while it goes on for two more issues after that. Our protagonist Niko, a mute futuristic samurai, is dispatched by his queen to retrieve the first true artificial lifeform. This takes up the first two issue, and the search ends with a denouement that is just plain shocking. (Mobius would love it!) An absolutely great moment. Unfortunately, it's impossible to match that high point in the next two issues, which see Niko leaving the queen's service and hiring out as bodyguard for some pilgrims going to a dangerous holy site. While the last two issues are anticlimactic, they do leave you wanting more. Niko and his world are fascinating, a place not too distant in the future when mechanical implants are both marvelous and repellent, sometimes at the same time.

I kicked a full star off this review for the lettering on Niko's sidekick, the Cherokee Geisha, a tough punk ninja chick. The lettering for her speech is horizontal instead of vertical, which makes reading her captions a real chore. It's "cute" but unnecessarily distracting.

How good is this book? Honestly, it's one of the most gorgeous comics I've ever seen. I put it up next to my copy of PRIDE OF BAGHDAD and fit right it. The ROBOTIKA hardcover looks THAT good. And reviewers have noticed. Every single review I've seen for this series notes that Alex is a special talent who could easily make it at any of the bigger comic companies. But Alex wants to make it one his own terms, and with ROBOTIKA, I think he has. It's hard to argue that you've not yet arrived when your work is showcased in a major hardcover from one of today's hottest second-tier publishers.

Where critics have occasionally come down against Robotika is in its writing. There are some valid criticisms there, but the story is still weird, violent, and visionary enough for even the most discerning steampunk sci fi fans. ROBOTIKA reads a little more like a pair of related short stories more than it does a single four-issue story, but so what? That's hardly a killer, especially in this format where the whole story is collected in one gorgeous volume.

Unfortunately, the odds are pretty good that your local comic shop didn't order this book. That's too bad. This book is well worth your time and as well illustrated as anything on the market.

I think that the brilliant quality of format of this book cleary is in response to wonderful comic it holds within the pages. The art is amongst the finest in the comic book world, Alex Sheikman is an award winning artist, and the story is absolutely unique. There are quirks and missteps but overall this is a fun story, done wonderfully and is offered to the reader at a fair price for such a good comic story.

If I were to create a rating system of 1-10 with 10 being the best
The Art would get a 10
The Story/Writing would get a 8.5
The format would get a 10.

that is a pretty fine tally.
It is a pretty fine book.

This was a great book, a futuristic look at traveling samurai. Sheikman integrates old and new ideas into a sci-fi extravaganza with a feudal feel, and the art, layouts, and even lettering are all inventive and exciting. This kind of freshness doesn't come along very often in comics, and it's great to see it in such a nice hardcover package. Well worth your money.

Overall I was pretty disappointed by this book. It held a lot of promise in the foreward and raised my expectations even more than when I purchased it. I quickly understood that the reality of the execution was much different than I had expected.

The text was sparse and uninteresting, telling me nothing about the characters or the world that they were fighting for. I'm sure that the author would tell you that it was his intention to impress you with the sparse way that characters communicate in this neo-future, but I feel that a 115 page epic takes you 20 minutes to read, then the story is too thin. Acknowledging this misstep, the publishers attempted to fill the book with 2 other artist renderings of different stories using characters from the main story. Unfortunately this too is a failure as these too are too short and offer details about the character that were avoided in the first place because they were not interesting enough to be put in the creators version of his characters. The panels were usually poorly organized, giving you the feeling of big fights but missing most of the action. The pen style in unique, but too simple for my taste.

I would not recommend this to anyone unless they were really hurting for a samurai story. But even in this department there are much better options like Okko or Samurai's Blood.

I love Robotika. It is a collection of four issues that were published a couple of years ago. It reminds me of the reason I originally started wanting to draw comics. It recalls to me those great comic books from the early 1970's that were so full of imagination and energy. Names like Ploog, Kaluta, Wrightson, Starlin, Russel, Jones, Smith and Brunner litter the landscape of my mind when I read Robotika. It's not that Sheikman copies or tries to draw like any of those people, it's just a feeling that I get from looking at his pictures. Everyone will gain a unique from experience from Robotika.

When you buy the Robotika Hardcover you get all four issues of the series in a beautiful format. I have read it twice and I'm still figuring out some of the more subtle nuances, but it sort of goes like this: The first two issues are a kind of origin tale that sets our hero (Niko) on his way. The next two issues tell the story of his first adventure with his partners (Cherokee and Bronski) and sets them up for future adventures.

There are also two wonderful short stories in the edition. They are flashback origin tales about Cherokee (drawn by Travis Sengaus) and Bronski (art by Leif Jones) that are well drawn and very fun to read. There is also a great Sheikman sketchbook section in the back that has some terrific art and conceptualizing by Alex. So yes, there is a substantial amount of extra material in this edition. Once again, this is a great collection... I really enjoyed it.

I was totally blown away by this futuristic samurai/spaghetti western epic. Robotika blends science fiction and western genres in a manner that establishes a universe both credible and familiar-feeling while being refreshingly unique at the same time. The story and the writing are superb, but it is Alex Sheikman's artwork that really steals the show--he is an amazing talent who has created pages that are reminiscent of Tony Harris and P. Craig Russell. Archaia Studios Press continues to put out some of the best creator-owned titles available today and I can't say enough good things about this compilation of Sheikman's first mini-series. The second Robotika series is now making its way through comic shops and I can only hope that it will get a beautiful hardcover treatment like the first Robotika book. Very highly recommended.

Alex Sheikman's neo-cyberpunk/samurai/kung-fu/western is unlike any other comic. The art is superb and the writing is surreal adventure at its best. This collection of his first 4-issue series came out a few years ago, but it is a timeless saga of a distant future that combines and mixes genres to create a flavor unlike any other comic or graphic novel. From the wordless cyborg samurai, Niko, to the bizarre eroticism of the assassin known as Cherokee Geisha, this is a world full of wonders, terrors, and technology gone wild. Techno-organic societies mix with sorcery and wild-west violence in an odyssey of strangeness that must be experienced to be believed. Anybody who enjoys high-quality graphic novels and comic books owes it to him- or herself to buy and read ROBOTIKA. It's the kind of achievement that comics needs more of--a singular vision of one man's creative obsession. It is Alex Sheikman's imagination, poured onto the page in an exquisite ballet of line-art, beautifully-choreographed action, and mind-boggling technologies. Quite simply, ROBOTIKA is a masterpiece. Order it now and thank me later.
--John R. Fultz