Another great issue in this five-issue series, with the introduction of the androids it creates a three-class system as well as shows humanity's ability to be distracted by the newest shiny object. If this is our future many will think we deserve it. Read Full Review

Not All Robots #3 - The Obsolete Machine
Writer: Mark Russell | Artist: Mike Deodato Jr. |
Publisher: AWA Upshot

Review ✍
In my previous reviews of “Not All Robots”, I put a lot of stock into the Human/Robot conflict that had been brewing. Mark Russell shifts that dynamic a bit by introducing a new wrinkle that should have probably been obvious from the start.

Not All Robots #3 introduces Omni, the corporation behind the machines currently plaguing humanity. Omni plans to introduce a new line of Robots with human-like features (Man-Droids). This threatens the current model of House-Bots with the same fear of obsolesces currently facing humanity. It's an interesting twist that grants the Robots a degree of empathy that was lacking in prior issues.

The irony is that all the death and misery is being caused by a small cabal of elites that could care less about either group. Profit and power is the ultimate goal and everything else is a means to an end.

Thematically, Not All Robots #3 is brilliant. It puts a new spin on the working class vs. corporate elite trope. There is the obvious allusion of automation supplanting large swaths of the workforce and how this impacts those left behind. The head of Omni looks suspiciously like Jeff Bezos, which is ironic because most of the Amazon workforce is a few lines of code away from being replaced by A.I.

The story also presents a tongue-in-cheek example of capitalism run amuck with no apparent safeguards. The series has covered several ugly aspects of society and feels even more timely in an age where fascism and authoritarianism seem to be reemerging across the world. There is a political subtext to the series but I never felt talked down to nor did I feel that Mark Russell was using the series as a soapbox.

When Mark is at his best he draws attention to an issue in a matter-of-fact way. He presents the problem to the reader and allows them to take the stories and implications from there. It is a cool philosophical way of storytelling that I wish we got more of across entertainment.

Mike Deodato Jr. shines again in this issue and manages to capture emotion in the faceless machines. There’s also a ton of detail conveyed in the linework and inks throughout the issue. The detail in the art makes the story feel grounded yet larger in scope in scale than it would have otherwise. It was also a nice touch that the lead character suddenly becomes a spitting image of Michael Douglas from “Falling Down”.

In Short: Not All Robots is one of the best titles on my reading list. It's easy to see the real world through the lens of this scenario, which is a hallmark of the best science fiction.

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