Magnus: Robot Fighter #0 Review

Will this origin story be worth getting or should you skip it and move onto the next part of the main story? Read on to find out.

The official description from Dynamite:

An ALL-NEW GOLD KEY adventure spinning directly from the events of MAGNUS: ROBOT FIGHTER #4! Magnus is A robot fighter…but not THE robot fighter. How has the merciless LEEJA: HUMAN HUNTER kept the robot fighters from causing chaos on earth? And how does it tie into THE SINGULARITY? It’s overstuffed action and intrigue from FRED VAN LENTE (Conan) and ROBERTO CASTRO (Lords of Mars)!

Magnus: Robot Fighter gets somewhat of an origin issue as Dynamite push their line of #0 issues. The story is narrated by a Gunbot showing how he’s upgraded through the Central Network and how that itself is connected to the Singularity. With intriguing twists and interesting information the tale proved to be very enthralling. On the other hand it did feel a little too thorough with the overall energy being somewhat lacklustre.

Fred Van Lente has been doing an outstanding job on this series making it one of Dynamite’s best properties. His work on this issue continues to show just why as though it may not be on par with the main story the clever way that Van Lente narrates the issue proved very captivating. In addition to this I also loved seeing that there are more Robot Fighters than Magnus leaving the door open for more in the future. Despite all this the lack of energy really hurt the overall quality of the issue with Leeja’s lack of appearance not helping thing either.

The artwork on this issue was really impressive as though not quite as good as main series artist Cory Smith‘s, Roberto Castro still managed to amaze me. The rough and energetic layout of his artwork really made up for the lack of energy from the script with the opening sequence being very exciting. Castro also manages to give a somewhat sombre feel throughout the issue, enhancing the depth of the Gunbot’s story. Luigi Anderson‘s washed out colours also added to the atmosphere both matching the series president whilst also feeling slightly unique.

Magnus: Robot Fighter #0 may not be a necessary read for fans of the series but the interesting background work definitely adds more depth. Due to that it gets a recommendation from me.