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Not All Robots
Not All Robots
In the year 2056, robots have replaced human beings in the workforce. An uneasy co-existence develops between the newly intelligent robots and the ten billion humans living on Earth. Every human family is assigned a robot upon whom they are completely reliant. What could possibly go wrong? Meet the Walters, a human family whose robot, Razorball, ominously spends his free time in the garage working on machines which they’re pretty sure are designed to kill them in this sci-fi satire from Mark Russell (The Flintstones, Second Coming) and Mike Deodato Jr. (The Amazing Spider-Man, The Resistance).
128 pages, Paperback
First published February 23, 2022
36 people are currently reading
410 people want to read
About the author
Mark Russell
427books366followersMark Russell is the author of God Is Disappointed in You and Apocrypha Now. He also writes the comic book series Prez and The Flintstones for DC Comics. He lives and works in Portland, Oregon.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 118 reviews
August 15, 2022
“What does it say about the world when even those who terrify you have to live in fear?�
It’s 2056 and robots have completely replaced human beings in the workplace. An uneasy reliance on robots has been in place since humans are no longer allowed to work and must now completely rely on a working robot assigned to their family to provide for them. What could possibly go wrong?
The second best book AWA has ever put out (check out Crimson Cage!!). Mark Russell puts out a scathing satire touching on issues like toxic masculinity, AI supremacy, and consumer culture and just knocks it out of the damn park. I would seriously recommend this to any and everyone. I read the issues as they came out, but I liked this even more on a reread of the whole trade. Fantastic art by Mike Deodato Jr. as well.
My only two complaints about the entire book are that the robots can be kinda hard to tell apart sometimes, which is such a nitpick in the grand scheme of things. I also would say issue 4 is stronger than the last one, but that’s like saying the final issue falls flat because it is only a 5/5 rather than a 6/5, like it’s still incredible, it just had a really tough act to follow.
The story itself is gripping though, with honestly one of, if not the single best dialogue exchanges in any comic I’ve ever read taking place in issue 4. Bravo to all involved with making this incredible book happen, and thank you AWA for actually picking the series up when no other publisher would. I cannot wait for Volume 2!
It’s 2056 and robots have completely replaced human beings in the workplace. An uneasy reliance on robots has been in place since humans are no longer allowed to work and must now completely rely on a working robot assigned to their family to provide for them. What could possibly go wrong?
The second best book AWA has ever put out (check out Crimson Cage!!). Mark Russell puts out a scathing satire touching on issues like toxic masculinity, AI supremacy, and consumer culture and just knocks it out of the damn park. I would seriously recommend this to any and everyone. I read the issues as they came out, but I liked this even more on a reread of the whole trade. Fantastic art by Mike Deodato Jr. as well.
My only two complaints about the entire book are that the robots can be kinda hard to tell apart sometimes, which is such a nitpick in the grand scheme of things. I also would say issue 4 is stronger than the last one, but that’s like saying the final issue falls flat because it is only a 5/5 rather than a 6/5, like it’s still incredible, it just had a really tough act to follow.
The story itself is gripping though, with honestly one of, if not the single best dialogue exchanges in any comic I’ve ever read taking place in issue 4. Bravo to all involved with making this incredible book happen, and thank you AWA for actually picking the series up when no other publisher would. I cannot wait for Volume 2!
September 18, 2022
Another social satire from Mark Russell
In the future robots do all of the jobs while humans stay home and are pretty much worthless. Every once in a while a robot glitches and kills a lot of people. There are a lot of analogs to social justice movements and the alt right. Russell’s commentaries are always spot on and witty, but they are also exhausting. I had to read this in small chunks to digest and to keep from reminding me how much our current society depresses me.
In the future robots do all of the jobs while humans stay home and are pretty much worthless. Every once in a while a robot glitches and kills a lot of people. There are a lot of analogs to social justice movements and the alt right. Russell’s commentaries are always spot on and witty, but they are also exhausting. I had to read this in small chunks to digest and to keep from reminding me how much our current society depresses me.
March 20, 2022
When the earth fell into ruins and the humans put robots in charge, everything seemed fine. But what will the robots do when they're replaced by newer models and they're suddenly declared obsolete?
Mark Russell is always good for a cynical, depressing, thought provoking good time so I grabbed this as soon as I could. Mike Deodato Jr and a copious amount of robots were just icing on the cake.
When power and status is your bread and butter, what happens when you're in danger of losing it? That's the question Mark Russell poses in this book.
Deodato's art is fantastic in this. He's hit or miss for me but this one is definitely a hit. Russell, as always, knows how to depress as well as amuse. He explores real world issues like toxic masculinity, obsolescence, automation eliminating jobs, environmental collapse, and unrestrained capitalism, through the lens of a robot uprising.
I'm not sure how much more to reveal. The ending was both a good stopping point and a tantalizing glimpse of the next volume. Things are getting darker but also more hopeful.
Not All Robots is a chilling, thought provoking, depressing good time, like most of Mark Russell's work. Five out of five robots.
Mark Russell is always good for a cynical, depressing, thought provoking good time so I grabbed this as soon as I could. Mike Deodato Jr and a copious amount of robots were just icing on the cake.
When power and status is your bread and butter, what happens when you're in danger of losing it? That's the question Mark Russell poses in this book.
Deodato's art is fantastic in this. He's hit or miss for me but this one is definitely a hit. Russell, as always, knows how to depress as well as amuse. He explores real world issues like toxic masculinity, obsolescence, automation eliminating jobs, environmental collapse, and unrestrained capitalism, through the lens of a robot uprising.
I'm not sure how much more to reveal. The ending was both a good stopping point and a tantalizing glimpse of the next volume. Things are getting darker but also more hopeful.
Not All Robots is a chilling, thought provoking, depressing good time, like most of Mark Russell's work. Five out of five robots.
June 28, 2022
not all robots has some of the reliable Mark Russell satire without any of the liveliness. Characters are basically wearing placards stating what they represent. The gist is that in the not-so-distant future, robots have replaced men as the primary income source for households. So, no one has to work! Isn't that just peachy.
Of course it isn't. The humans are disgruntled, the robots are disgruntled, and everyone is especially on edge with new and improved robots ("mandroids") soon to be released. The satire stems from the opposition to the Me Too movement, the "Not All Men" movement (if it can be called a movement). Essentially, the robots are men, grumpy about their lot in life even though they're the ones in complete control of society.
The satire isn't quite as crisp and cutting as Mark Russell's Flintstones, though, and the action is dispersed in tiny, forgettable scenes. By the end, some humans have escaped the bubble cities and the obsolete robots are trashed. Do I care enough to carry on? Not really.
Of course it isn't. The humans are disgruntled, the robots are disgruntled, and everyone is especially on edge with new and improved robots ("mandroids") soon to be released. The satire stems from the opposition to the Me Too movement, the "Not All Men" movement (if it can be called a movement). Essentially, the robots are men, grumpy about their lot in life even though they're the ones in complete control of society.
The satire isn't quite as crisp and cutting as Mark Russell's Flintstones, though, and the action is dispersed in tiny, forgettable scenes. By the end, some humans have escaped the bubble cities and the obsolete robots are trashed. Do I care enough to carry on? Not really.
September 26, 2022
Misses the lightness of touch previous Russell stories have had.
The art is curious, haunted by famous faces (Michael Douglas, Michael K Williams).
The art is curious, haunted by famous faces (Michael Douglas, Michael K Williams).
September 12, 2022
Mark Russell aborda una curiosa pirueta sobre la obsolescencia productiva humana cuando los robots que nos han reemplazado comienzan a quedar arrinconados por la siguiente generación de inteligencias artificiales. Al principio cuesta enganchar porque se cruzan varias situaciones entre el drama y la comedia negra que prefiguran un escenario a Los humanoides, Rebelión en el planeta de los simios y los noticiarios de Robocop. Pero a mitad de su extensión la narración se focaliza sobre una familia y su robot asistente y deviene en un relato más tradicional. Deodato, al que no soporto en los superhéroes, aquí no molesta. En vez de buscar la espectacularidad se centra en ser verosímil y ha acertado con las texturas del photoshop. Veremos qué tal continúa en el siguiente tomo.
August 20, 2022
I get the idea, and I usually love Russell stuff but this was a bore. I didn't like any of the characters and the point to all the shit currently going on in this country didn't strike me hard enough. Flintstones was way better tbh.
March 23, 2024
It’s 2056 and what’s looks like due to war after war, the earth has been reduced to a wasteland. Humans have given control over to robots. They have built these bubble cities where the people now live. The robots are everything. All jobs are now performed by robots. Every household has a home-bot that goes to work to earn money for the family. Some people are scared of these home-bots as every blue moon they glitch out and kill the family they support. One robot causes an incident in one of the bubble cities that kills over 200 thousand people that were living their. This makes the tension between humans and robots even worse. The powers that be issue the new home-bots that look like humans making the old bots obsolete. Now they revolt and things get crazy. This was an interesting premise but sometimes the way the main family was written made it hard to believe. Especially the father. He was just way too far on the robots side. Anyhoo, this ended up being decent.
April 21, 2022
Not All Robots by Mark Russell (script) and Mike Deodato Jr. (Art) is a brilliant sci-fi satire. Dark, hilarious and thought provoking with fantastic art.
Themes: AI supremacy, toxic masculinity, and consumer culture.
5 Stars
Themes: AI supremacy, toxic masculinity, and consumer culture.
5 Stars
August 20, 2024
Three and a half screws
A good robots story that, without offering anything really new - that is, without offering anything that hasn't been said before in other books or films - manages to captivate you, and the reflections on the dangers of a society overly dependent on artificial intelligence are welcome.
A good robots story that, without offering anything really new - that is, without offering anything that hasn't been said before in other books or films - manages to captivate you, and the reflections on the dangers of a society overly dependent on artificial intelligence are welcome.
December 14, 2023
"The story of human history is largely the story of armed conflict. And all armed conflict is over one of two things...the control of resources, or their distribution. This is why nation-states were formed: to fight over resources and protect the resources they've already conquered. But today, 95% of the global economy is in artificial intelligence and automation. All owned by five peopole who happened to be in the right place at the right moment in history. As a result, they owned the only resources that would matter from that point forward.
Today, we call those five people the Ruling Council."
2056: America is a desiccated wasteland punctuated by a few opulent domed cities. Robots with artificial intelligence hold all jobs (except hairdressers), which leads to bitterness in both the robot and human communities; bots resent doing menial labor for human profit, and people fear their complete dependence on automatons that go homicidally haywire with suspicious frequency.
Indeed, a maintenance bot 'accidentally' gases the entire city of Bubble Orlando to death and is acquitted by a robot judge in a 15 second show trial. It becomes a hero to anti-human robots and poster villain to human revolutionaries. When the 'mandroids' (a more human-esque second generation of robots) are released, the suddenly obsolete first-gen robots mutiny under the slogan "USER UNFRIENDLY".
Satire abounds, comparisons to real world white supremacist systems and politics rampant. When humans mass protest yet another acquittal of yet another bot who killed its family, the robot police stand around muttering 'Savages.' 'Why can't the humans just calm down.' 'It's not like those humans were angels.'
The contrast between the jokesy tone ('Ha. Ha. Laughter complete.' 'See you later terminator.') and the serious subject matter amplifies the story's gravity (the ruling council's only response to the mass death of Orlando is to mandate cuddlier names for robots--the blade handed talk show host Slicebot is now known as Spicebot). But it can grate at times.
In the end it's a game attempt that succeeds more on message than on narrative quality. Rounding up from 3.5.
"Our leaders use the appearance of concern the way a strangler uses a mask."
Today, we call those five people the Ruling Council."
2056: America is a desiccated wasteland punctuated by a few opulent domed cities. Robots with artificial intelligence hold all jobs (except hairdressers), which leads to bitterness in both the robot and human communities; bots resent doing menial labor for human profit, and people fear their complete dependence on automatons that go homicidally haywire with suspicious frequency.
Indeed, a maintenance bot 'accidentally' gases the entire city of Bubble Orlando to death and is acquitted by a robot judge in a 15 second show trial. It becomes a hero to anti-human robots and poster villain to human revolutionaries. When the 'mandroids' (a more human-esque second generation of robots) are released, the suddenly obsolete first-gen robots mutiny under the slogan "USER UNFRIENDLY".
Satire abounds, comparisons to real world white supremacist systems and politics rampant. When humans mass protest yet another acquittal of yet another bot who killed its family, the robot police stand around muttering 'Savages.' 'Why can't the humans just calm down.' 'It's not like those humans were angels.'
The contrast between the jokesy tone ('Ha. Ha. Laughter complete.' 'See you later terminator.') and the serious subject matter amplifies the story's gravity (the ruling council's only response to the mass death of Orlando is to mandate cuddlier names for robots--the blade handed talk show host Slicebot is now known as Spicebot). But it can grate at times.
In the end it's a game attempt that succeeds more on message than on narrative quality. Rounding up from 3.5.
"Our leaders use the appearance of concern the way a strangler uses a mask."
July 31, 2022
I'm extremely happy for writer Mark Russell after learning that NOT ALL ROBOTS received a 2022 Eisner Award for Best Humor Comic Series. He's a very inventive and creative writer with a sharp satirical bent and deserves more recognition. However, for as good as this is (and I recommend you read it) it's not his best. For that, check out SECOND COMING from Ahoy Comics.
The first issue is absolutely brilliant and very funny. In the back content, Russell explains "so I wanted to write a futuristic dystopia that was intentionally about something happening to people right now, but set is such a way that people who were not experiencing it, maybe even its perpetrators, would identify with the victims. Writing, when done right, is an exercise in forced empathy . . . so I started writing a story about robots as a metaphor for toxic masculinity."
A noble goal, and I do believe he pulled it off (at least in the early issues). In NOT ALL ROBOTS humans are forced to live in fear of the robots in their lives, who have all the jobs and all the money. In this world, robots are the sole source of support for human families. Russell's work is also a keen and humorous look at consumerism, corporate greed, haves and have nots, the one percent with all the money and power, profits before safety, marketing schemes, and so much more.
Mike Deodato Jr's art style is well suited to the storyline. Maybe it's the futuristic robotic themes but his illustrations seem just a little different to me here, and recall the best works of Wally Wood for EC Comics science-fiction stories.
Issues #2 and #3 maintain the atmosphere, humorous bent, and satiric symbolism established in the first issue. However, somewhere within Issue 4 the jokes begin to disappear and the story turns a bit more serious. Issue 5 reads like a survival story out of THE WALKING DEAD. Just substitute robots and vicious gangs for the zombies and vicious gangs from that series. The change in tone was enough to pull me out of the story and change this rating from Five Stars To Four Stars.
The first issue is absolutely brilliant and very funny. In the back content, Russell explains "so I wanted to write a futuristic dystopia that was intentionally about something happening to people right now, but set is such a way that people who were not experiencing it, maybe even its perpetrators, would identify with the victims. Writing, when done right, is an exercise in forced empathy . . . so I started writing a story about robots as a metaphor for toxic masculinity."
A noble goal, and I do believe he pulled it off (at least in the early issues). In NOT ALL ROBOTS humans are forced to live in fear of the robots in their lives, who have all the jobs and all the money. In this world, robots are the sole source of support for human families. Russell's work is also a keen and humorous look at consumerism, corporate greed, haves and have nots, the one percent with all the money and power, profits before safety, marketing schemes, and so much more.
Mike Deodato Jr's art style is well suited to the storyline. Maybe it's the futuristic robotic themes but his illustrations seem just a little different to me here, and recall the best works of Wally Wood for EC Comics science-fiction stories.
Issues #2 and #3 maintain the atmosphere, humorous bent, and satiric symbolism established in the first issue. However, somewhere within Issue 4 the jokes begin to disappear and the story turns a bit more serious. Issue 5 reads like a survival story out of THE WALKING DEAD. Just substitute robots and vicious gangs for the zombies and vicious gangs from that series. The change in tone was enough to pull me out of the story and change this rating from Five Stars To Four Stars.
December 22, 2022
In the year 2056 robots have supplanted humans in a futuristic world. Humans are no longer required to work, with newly sentient robots doing everything for them. An uneasy alliance has formed between the two factions, with each nervous about what the other is capable of.
The Walters family made up of teens Cora and Sven plus their parents have been assigned Razorball, a hulking giant of a robot who seems to spend a lot of free time in their garage tinkering on an unknown project. Tensions are high within the family, with the father being slavishly devoted to the robot while the mother and teens question this new way of life. While at first humans were grateful for the help and giving up menial labor, they are now perceived as little more as pets to the AI robots. Another wrinkle is that occasionally the robots malfunction and go on killing sprees.
But even the robots face obsolescence when new mandroids are manufactured, looking humanoid and making the metal robots look outdated. This obsolescence makes me think of the classic Twilight Zone episode The Obsolete Man when all that is good is brushed aside for technology and progress to the detriment of mankind.
The art is solid and appropriately shadowy and moody considering the storyline. The artist Mike Deodato Jr is very fond of grid overlays and it works effectively. The dot matrix that often was used to convey shadows was very apropos for the storyline.
Author Mark Russell’s satire is spot-on, highlighting toxic masculinity, consumer society, corporate greed and white supremacy. Taken as purely social commentary, the narrative is biting, with a side of snark. Recommended!
This review can also be found on my blog:
The Walters family made up of teens Cora and Sven plus their parents have been assigned Razorball, a hulking giant of a robot who seems to spend a lot of free time in their garage tinkering on an unknown project. Tensions are high within the family, with the father being slavishly devoted to the robot while the mother and teens question this new way of life. While at first humans were grateful for the help and giving up menial labor, they are now perceived as little more as pets to the AI robots. Another wrinkle is that occasionally the robots malfunction and go on killing sprees.
But even the robots face obsolescence when new mandroids are manufactured, looking humanoid and making the metal robots look outdated. This obsolescence makes me think of the classic Twilight Zone episode The Obsolete Man when all that is good is brushed aside for technology and progress to the detriment of mankind.
The art is solid and appropriately shadowy and moody considering the storyline. The artist Mike Deodato Jr is very fond of grid overlays and it works effectively. The dot matrix that often was used to convey shadows was very apropos for the storyline.
Author Mark Russell’s satire is spot-on, highlighting toxic masculinity, consumer society, corporate greed and white supremacy. Taken as purely social commentary, the narrative is biting, with a side of snark. Recommended!
This review can also be found on my blog:
October 29, 2022
В не столь отдалённом будущем остатки человечества ютятся по городам-капсулам, всю работу за них делают роботы, которые зарабатывают деньги, а также живут в каждой семье. Разумеется, не всё так гладко в датском королевстве победившего блейдраннера и скайнета.
Мини-серия на пять выпусков заинтересовала меня тем, что взяла айснера-2022 в категории "лучший юмор". У меня лично аллергия на манипулятивный, дуболомный подход "Чёрного зеркала" (и, соответственно, от всеми любимого "Don't Look Up" я тоже не был в особом восторге), но тут, хотя перед нами и явно злободневная сатира, авторы не пытаются так уж подражать окружающей реальности, регулярно делая разумный выбор в пользу чистой комедии.
Помимо гоголевского абсурда и узнаваемых политических аллюзий мне понравились тут и чисто визуальные хохмы: н-р, глава семейства � вылитый Майкл Дуглас из "", простой мужик, которому выдался плохой день, и он взрывается чрезмерным насилием, прямо как Хоакин-Фениксовский "Джокер", однако в сюжете комикса это не находит абсолютно никакого отражения.
В послесловии к первому выпуску авторы объясняют, что комикс вдохновлён несуразным движением #NotAllMen (ответом на #MeToo), и здесь они захотели побудить мужиков сопереживать традиционно угнетённым слоям общества. Но я бы сказал, что с одной стороны мне пришлось поднапрячься, чтобы соотнести это объяснение с сюжетом, а с другой � здесь явным образом напихано столько всего ещё, что я бы рекомендовал мини-серию вне зависимости от ваших политических симпатий или антипатий. Прикладываю .
Мини-серия на пять выпусков заинтересовала меня тем, что взяла айснера-2022 в категории "лучший юмор". У меня лично аллергия на манипулятивный, дуболомный подход "Чёрного зеркала" (и, соответственно, от всеми любимого "Don't Look Up" я тоже не был в особом восторге), но тут, хотя перед нами и явно злободневная сатира, авторы не пытаются так уж подражать окружающей реальности, регулярно делая разумный выбор в пользу чистой комедии.
Помимо гоголевского абсурда и узнаваемых политических аллюзий мне понравились тут и чисто визуальные хохмы: н-р, глава семейства � вылитый Майкл Дуглас из "", простой мужик, которому выдался плохой день, и он взрывается чрезмерным насилием, прямо как Хоакин-Фениксовский "Джокер", однако в сюжете комикса это не находит абсолютно никакого отражения.
В послесловии к первому выпуску авторы объясняют, что комикс вдохновлён несуразным движением #NotAllMen (ответом на #MeToo), и здесь они захотели побудить мужиков сопереживать традиционно угнетённым слоям общества. Но я бы сказал, что с одной стороны мне пришлось поднапрячься, чтобы соотнести это объяснение с сюжетом, а с другой � здесь явным образом напихано столько всего ещё, что я бы рекомендовал мини-серию вне зависимости от ваших политических симпатий или антипатий. Прикладываю .
November 27, 2022
Bought this on a lark because of the pedigree of The Flintstones comic, and I can summarize my feelings in a few words: should have gotten something else.
The characters all feel kind of pointless. The social movement of the robots and the humans happens with or without them, and not enough time is devoted to their lives to give them any grounding or to provide their interactions with each other any oomph. I wanted everyone to die for at least some wow factor.
It is essentially a story of how everyone is frustrated with each other and so they all flail their arms and make a show of it without any good reason for the reader to care. There is some importance to the narrative—the robots are stand-ins for the men that exist in the real world!—but the sci-fi trappings serve to distract from the real message of toxic masculinity rather than to highlight it. Why does it matter if robots are in charge if the world just keeps going? Why do robots even have the capacity to be pissed off if all it does is create artificial problems that could be easily avoided if they lacked the ability to be pissed. They are robots, and everything about them should be constructed in their programming.
In this comic, people die en masse, but it happens randomly and without buildup so it simply carries no weight. There weren’t even any real characters that died in that thing, so why is it anything more than a superficial plot point?
I was expecting something that I would have liked.
The characters all feel kind of pointless. The social movement of the robots and the humans happens with or without them, and not enough time is devoted to their lives to give them any grounding or to provide their interactions with each other any oomph. I wanted everyone to die for at least some wow factor.
It is essentially a story of how everyone is frustrated with each other and so they all flail their arms and make a show of it without any good reason for the reader to care. There is some importance to the narrative—the robots are stand-ins for the men that exist in the real world!—but the sci-fi trappings serve to distract from the real message of toxic masculinity rather than to highlight it. Why does it matter if robots are in charge if the world just keeps going? Why do robots even have the capacity to be pissed off if all it does is create artificial problems that could be easily avoided if they lacked the ability to be pissed. They are robots, and everything about them should be constructed in their programming.
In this comic, people die en masse, but it happens randomly and without buildup so it simply carries no weight. There weren’t even any real characters that died in that thing, so why is it anything more than a superficial plot point?
I was expecting something that I would have liked.
September 10, 2024
Leta 2056 ima svet precej drugačno podobo kot danes. Večino delovnih mest so prevzeli roboti, 10 miljard človeških prebivalcev Zemlje pa živi v mehurčkih z umetno ustvarjenim ozračjem. Človeštvo je namreč naravo in njene vire dodobra iztrošilo, v želji po vse bolj lagodnem življenju pa so postali ujetniki svojih robotov, ki jih ima že vsako gospodinjstvo in umetne inteligence na splošno. Od bliže spoznamo človeško družino Walter, ki je vse bolj sumničava do svojega robota Žiletkarja, za katerega je večina družine prepričana, da pripravlja orožja za množično uničenje. Ko pride do dejanskega napada na ljudi v enem od mehurčkov, se napetosti stopnjujejo - tako v družbi, kot v sami družini Walter, saj niso vsi njeni člani na istem bregu.
Tema risoromana je futuristična distopija in moram priznati, da to vsekakor ni ena od mojih ljubših tem. Prav tako nisem prevelika ljubiteljica takšnega zelo pisanega sloga stripovske ilustracije, ki je sicer značilna za večino znanstveno-fantastičnih stripov. Kljub vsemu me je zgodba kar dobro potegnila vase, tudi s premetenim humorjem in besednimi igrami, ki so zagotovo tudi zasluga prevajalca, Boštjana Gorenca Pižame.
Zgodba vleče številne vzporednice s sedanjostjo, v kateri si ljudje ves čas želimo olajšati življenje a obenem postajamo sužnji - tehnologije, socialnih omrežij, dostopnosti. Prav tako lahko vzporednice potegnemo z vladavino določene skupine ljudi, ki ima v rokah vse niti, a skuša ustvariti občutek lažne enakopravnosti.
Zanimiv in tudi zabaven strip, ki odpira številna vprašanja in teme. In ima fantastično naslovnico!
Tema risoromana je futuristična distopija in moram priznati, da to vsekakor ni ena od mojih ljubših tem. Prav tako nisem prevelika ljubiteljica takšnega zelo pisanega sloga stripovske ilustracije, ki je sicer značilna za večino znanstveno-fantastičnih stripov. Kljub vsemu me je zgodba kar dobro potegnila vase, tudi s premetenim humorjem in besednimi igrami, ki so zagotovo tudi zasluga prevajalca, Boštjana Gorenca Pižame.
Zgodba vleče številne vzporednice s sedanjostjo, v kateri si ljudje ves čas želimo olajšati življenje a obenem postajamo sužnji - tehnologije, socialnih omrežij, dostopnosti. Prav tako lahko vzporednice potegnemo z vladavino določene skupine ljudi, ki ima v rokah vse niti, a skuša ustvariti občutek lažne enakopravnosti.
Zanimiv in tudi zabaven strip, ki odpira številna vprašanja in teme. In ima fantastično naslovnico!
March 7, 2022
Dark sci-fi satire, a quick, dirty, hilarious look at a future run by robots.
August 4, 2022
¿Qué sucedería si los robots nos sustituyeran, si fueran ellos los que acudieran a trabajar cada día y los humanos nos convirtiéramos en meros amos de casa? ¿Y si viviéramos bajo la amenaza del estado anímico de una máquina cuya programación puede dar lugar a errores? Vivir con el miedo a ser masacrados mientras dormimos, bajo yugo de las leyes de la robótica.
Todo eso y muchísimo más es lo que nos plantea Russell en esta excelente obra que recomiendo encarecidamente.
La historia se sitúa en un futuro no muy lejano donde los robots han sustituido a los humanos en el plano laboral. Cada familia posee un robot del que depende económicamente y con el que tienen que convivir.
Los robots lideran el mundo y, como sucede en estos casos, se crean grupos y revueltas de humanos que están en contra de depender de máquinas, cansados de sentir que estorban y de ser relegados a un plano inferior.
Por un lado, el miedo y la animadversión invaden a la humanidad mientras que, por el otro, la inteligencia claramente superior de los robots ven al ser humano como una carga inútil, sin derecho a alzar la voz.
Una obra que gustará a los lectores de Asimow y a todo aquel que disfrute de una buena obra de ciencia ficción en la que se plantean dilemas que te hacen pensar, tan cercanos a nosotros que llega a dar vértigo.
Todo eso y muchísimo más es lo que nos plantea Russell en esta excelente obra que recomiendo encarecidamente.
La historia se sitúa en un futuro no muy lejano donde los robots han sustituido a los humanos en el plano laboral. Cada familia posee un robot del que depende económicamente y con el que tienen que convivir.
Los robots lideran el mundo y, como sucede en estos casos, se crean grupos y revueltas de humanos que están en contra de depender de máquinas, cansados de sentir que estorban y de ser relegados a un plano inferior.
Por un lado, el miedo y la animadversión invaden a la humanidad mientras que, por el otro, la inteligencia claramente superior de los robots ven al ser humano como una carga inútil, sin derecho a alzar la voz.
Una obra que gustará a los lectores de Asimow y a todo aquel que disfrute de una buena obra de ciencia ficción en la que se plantean dilemas que te hacen pensar, tan cercanos a nosotros que llega a dar vértigo.
May 27, 2022
I had trouble connecting with this. The metaphor behind the story interested me at parts, but I couldn't get into the plot.
Read for The Geekery book club
Read for The Geekery book club
June 14, 2024
This is amazing. I wasn't totally sold at first. Even though I loved the humor, I didn't quite buy the robot's personalities. That changed rapidly. Masterfully done, I borrowed this from the library and will be purchasing it soon.
Also, the art history nerd in me is freaking in love with these covers, featuring Norman Rockwell and Grant Wood!
Also, the art history nerd in me is freaking in love with these covers, featuring Norman Rockwell and Grant Wood!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 5, 2021
In standard tradition, Mark Russel is humorous and deceptively subtle with his commentary. Art is gorgeous and I'm excited to see this 5-issue series play out!
August 3, 2024
Strong satire, weak characters.
September 13, 2022
Me ha parecido muy original. A traves de pocos personajes en una familia y los robots que trabajan te mete en una historia que te plantea el futuro. Mas que recomendable sin duda
September 12, 2022
There's an allegory in here somewhere, but it's more enjoyable as a near-future fantasy.
Thinking about it o much will just depress you.
Thinking about it o much will just depress you.
August 19, 2022
Bajada de puntuación por el dibujo. Pegar cabezas de actores sobredimensionadas en cuerpos dibujados es terrible.
Want to read
July 12, 2022(Recommended by A.J. Anders)
May 19, 2022
I'm a big fan of how Mark Russell manages to pack his writing with so much poignant and humourous social commentary, but Not All Robots didn't land as well with me compared to some of his other work.
I found the tone slightly muted for Russell. Unlike with his previous writing on The Flintstones this failed to strike that magical balance between laughs and ethics for me, and because of that it seemed like it wasn't quite sure what it wanted to be from moment to moment.
The art is great though. Wonderful illustrations of robotics and dystopian cities are display well by Deodato JR and it all fits with the atmosphere and plot.
Sadly it's the plot that hinders here. So much of this story ends up being dependent on a second volume it's hard to attach a value to the first - although I'm partial to a suspenseful conclusion, it's not something I'm keen on when it's this extreme between volumes.
Overall, I found the social commentary and illustration work great, but the mix of humour seems out of place and feels unnatural here. It's a quick and average read - and one I'm quite surprised has made the nomination list for this year's Best New Series Esiner Award - it appears my views may be in the minority here!
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My Score: 4/10
My ŷ: ⭐⭐
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I found the tone slightly muted for Russell. Unlike with his previous writing on The Flintstones this failed to strike that magical balance between laughs and ethics for me, and because of that it seemed like it wasn't quite sure what it wanted to be from moment to moment.
The art is great though. Wonderful illustrations of robotics and dystopian cities are display well by Deodato JR and it all fits with the atmosphere and plot.
Sadly it's the plot that hinders here. So much of this story ends up being dependent on a second volume it's hard to attach a value to the first - although I'm partial to a suspenseful conclusion, it's not something I'm keen on when it's this extreme between volumes.
Overall, I found the social commentary and illustration work great, but the mix of humour seems out of place and feels unnatural here. It's a quick and average read - and one I'm quite surprised has made the nomination list for this year's Best New Series Esiner Award - it appears my views may be in the minority here!
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My Score: 4/10
My ŷ: ⭐⭐
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Read
July 19, 20232056: it's ten years since robots took all the jobs, except hairdressing*. Classic clunky bipedal robots with inexplicably murder-y names like Razorball, because it's funnier that way, though Emotional Manipulation Algorithm #49 has just won his seventh Best Picture Oscar. Sure, there's still the occasional incident where they glitch and massacre humans - and the cops, being robots too, never seem to do much about it - but everyone says the systems are improving all the time. So how come humans are still so scared? Hell, how come the robots are unhappy too? It's a parable, obviously, with the robots standing in for all the privileged groups and the humans for the oppressed ones in a society that ultimately doesn't benefit either, or even really the tiny group of people who hold the actual power. But Mark Russell being Mark Russell, there's no flip reversal or kumbaya happy ending in sight, just pitch black satire, and a painful awareness that everyone is awful but we could still probably do slightly better than this shitshow if we made a bit of an effort, which we inevitably won't. Probably his bleakest and best work since The Flintstones.
*Deodato really sells the gag about nobody wanting a robot slicing and dicing around their head, but as someone who's always uneasy with the intimacy of a person I'm not sleeping with spending so long fiddling with my head, I would be insanely annoyed if this were the one job still left in biological hands.
*Deodato really sells the gag about nobody wanting a robot slicing and dicing around their head, but as someone who's always uneasy with the intimacy of a person I'm not sleeping with spending so long fiddling with my head, I would be insanely annoyed if this were the one job still left in biological hands.
October 13, 2022
Not All Robots, by Mark Russell and Mike Deodato Jr. (AWA Upshot)
I picked this trade up after seeing it received a 2022 Eisner nomination for “Best New Series�. I was not familiar with AWA Studios; however, I knew both writer Mark Russell (from his previous Eisner nominations in 2018 and 2019) and artist Mike Deodato Jr. I was a little disappointed with my first impression of the AWA label based on an error on the initial title page of the TPB when they erroneously credited Mike Deodato Jr. as “writer� and no credit as the artist. The book itself was strong. Strong creators. Intelligent story. Complimenting art. Good build up. The theme was dark and heavy. Not a perfect modern allegory but very relevant to modern themes of power, relevancy, obsolescence, tribalism, consumerism, and justice. I think I prefer such heavy themes to be a little more subtle but Not All Robots intended to put them front and center. It felt like a self-contained story (like it should have been a limited series rather than a continuing series).
I picked this trade up after seeing it received a 2022 Eisner nomination for “Best New Series�. I was not familiar with AWA Studios; however, I knew both writer Mark Russell (from his previous Eisner nominations in 2018 and 2019) and artist Mike Deodato Jr. I was a little disappointed with my first impression of the AWA label based on an error on the initial title page of the TPB when they erroneously credited Mike Deodato Jr. as “writer� and no credit as the artist. The book itself was strong. Strong creators. Intelligent story. Complimenting art. Good build up. The theme was dark and heavy. Not a perfect modern allegory but very relevant to modern themes of power, relevancy, obsolescence, tribalism, consumerism, and justice. I think I prefer such heavy themes to be a little more subtle but Not All Robots intended to put them front and center. It felt like a self-contained story (like it should have been a limited series rather than a continuing series).
February 12, 2022
I be upfront that I've liked the majority of Rusell's writing that I've read. Then as I started this I was very close to giving up on it (reading it as digital floppies).
As the series progresses it does get better. If you've read a lot of science fiction, and I have, the story of robots subtly taking over society is not new. What starts to make the story better is that of one human family Russell has the reader follow.
This story really makes me think I have to sit down and read Russell's Flintstones, yes Flintstones comic, all the way through.
As the series progresses it does get better. If you've read a lot of science fiction, and I have, the story of robots subtly taking over society is not new. What starts to make the story better is that of one human family Russell has the reader follow.
This story really makes me think I have to sit down and read Russell's Flintstones, yes Flintstones comic, all the way through.
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