Review by Frank Plowright

Atomic Robo was created in 1923, and although his activities in the present day are regular and frequent in the graphic novels, Brian Clevinger and Scott Wegener like nothing better than a dip into his past. The Dogs of War is three connected exploits during World War II, a little of which was hinted at during flashbacks in The Fightin’ Scientists of Tesladyne.

Also introduced in that volume was Nazi scientist Helsingard, a man capable of creating devices almost as wondrous as Atomic Robo, and certainly capable of giving him a good fight. The book opens with him taking on a few laufpanzers, walking tanks. Clevinger’s rather the history buff, so instead of having Atomic Robo wade in and deal with everything rapidly and efficiently, there’s acknowledgement of the ordinary soldiers who fought for the liberation of Sicily in 1943 over the first couple of chapters.

In addition to being a very capable storyteller right from the beginning, Scott Wegener’s designs are so good. While Atomic Robo is intended as years ahead of his time, even in the present, The Dogs of War requires the technology fitting the 1940s. Wegener comes up with devices that would impress then, but now look awkward and clumsy, yet functional, with massive steam engines. The thrust of the plot is the Nazis aware they’ll lose the war if relying on conventional weapons, so they’ve invested in technology with a hint of the arcane about it, all convincingly designed and drawn by Wegener.

There’s very little fanfare about the introduction of the Sparrow, an accomplished British Secret Service agent and part of a dynasty. She’ll later appear in solo stories and we’ll also see her descendents. Her part is influential, and Clevinger establishes her rapidly helping out during a thrilling set piece on a train. Extra points are earned for the credible Scottish dialect later on with the emergence of James ‘Scottie’ Milligan, a homage to Wegener’s grandfather going by the introduction.

Always a delight is Atomic Robo’s personality. Because there’s so little able to hurt him, let alone cause lasting damage, he’s impulsively confident, and when that occasionally fails to pay off he’s given fine self-deprecating dialogue. The Nazis are also over-confident, but their style tends more toward gloating.

There a few rough edges, but this is bravura comics. They’re thoughtful, funny, and hugely enjoyable adventures.

Several short back-up strips drawn by other artists complete the collection. They connect with the main story despite taking place decades later. The opener drawn by James Nguyen drops into far deeper emotional territory than is usual for the feature, but is cleverly written to leave doubt as to the truth of what’s being said. The remainder are more in keeping with the main feature, and aren’t essential, but a nice bonus.

Dogs of War is available in paperback, hardcover and digital editions, while everything here also found in the mighty Everything Explodes Collection. Next is The Shadow From Beyond Time.