Have A Look At The Classy Robocop Vs. The Terminator Reprint

RossaLincoln

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Feb 4, 2014
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Have A Look At The Classy Robocop Vs. The Terminator Reprint



It's so good it makes me temporarily forget how much I dislike Robocop Vs. The Terminator.

As announced earlier this year, in celebration of the miniseries' 22nd anniversary (though, for some reason it's being billed as the 20th), [a href=http://www.darkhorse.com/Blog/1602/dark-horse-release-new-editions-frank-miller-walte]Dark Horse Comics[/a] is releasing two graphic novel reprintings of Robocop Vs. The Terminator, the Frank Miller/Walter Simonson collab creation from 1992 which pitted cyborg cop Alex Murphy against the entirety of humanity's future robotic oppressors. Next month, you'll be able to buy a hardcover, full-color trade collection, and a gallery edition with the art in full size that is positively gorgeous.

In advance of the July release, the publisher has made some preview images available to drool over. You can click the gallery below for a glimpse of the Gallery Edition cover and a page from the hardcover graphic novel. You can also see more of the Gallery edition [a href=http://www.bleedingcool.com/2014/06/20/preview-the-gallery-edition-of-robocop-vs-the-terminator-by-frank-miller-walter-simonson/]over on Bleeding Cool[/a].

For those of you who don't remember this series, note that if you're a fan of crossovers that make increasingly less sense the further we get from the era when everyone freaked out about the Alien skull in the trophy gallery in Predator 2, then this is right up your alley. The story reveals that the tech used to rebuild Murphy into Robocop was eventually repurposed for the creation of Skynet. Which of course makes Robocop the Donkey Kong to Skynet's Wii U. It starts as the human resistance sends an assassin back in time to pre-apocalypse detroit to eliminate him, while Skynet sends terminators back to protect him. This clues Murphy into the horrible fate awaiting him and the human race, which in the future allows his disembodied brain, now hidden inside Skynet's operating system, to undermine the robot overlords from the inside.

It had one too many grandfather paradox violations for my taste, but it did include some amusing concepts Miller originally intended to include in his scripts for Robocop 2 and 3, plus a cool moment with a large number of Skynet-manufactured Robocop-Terminators fighting alongside the human resistance. Also, Walt Simonson's art is fairly exceptional, especially for the early 90s, and it's always nice to be reminded of a time before Frank Miller fell down the rabbit hole.

So what do you think, readers? I'm personally not a fan of the practically ubiquitous franchise crossovers from the 90s, but I can't deny the idea of Robocop fighting Terminators is kind of cool.

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ZZoMBiE13

Ate My Neighbors
Oct 10, 2007
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I saw these sitting on the comic shelf in the 90s. Never got them then, probably won't get them now either.

Not that there's anything wrong with them really. I don't mind a good crossover and I certainly enjoy both properties enough. This one just never lit my fire so to speak.

Come to think of it, I don't own a lot of those crossover comics. I got Batman: Judgement on Gotham and the original 4 issue run of Aliens vs Predator, but that's about it.
 

Redlin5_v1legacy

Better Red than Dead
Aug 5, 2009
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Consider my curiosity piqued but my wallet flaccid. I like both series to the extent that I enjoy both their original movies and their immediate sequels[footnote]3 is where both strayed away from the path of the righteous film[/footnote] but the prospect of a well drawn crossover just doesn't quite scream 'buy me'. I guess being a student with less disposable income is making me more choosy. :D
 

Something Amyss

Aswyng and Amyss
Dec 3, 2008
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Objectable said:
Oh, look. One of the four good comics that Frank Miller wrote.
I legit forgot Miller was behind this until I looked at the pictures.

With so much shit to his name, I find myself surprised when I do stumble back onto something good he did.

I must have this.

ZZoMBiE13 said:
I saw these sitting on the comic shelf in the 90s. Never got them then, probably won't get them now either.

Not that there's anything wrong with them really. I don't mind a good crossover and I certainly enjoy both properties enough. This one just never lit my fire so to speak.

Come to think of it, I don't own a lot of those crossover comics. I got Batman: Judgement on Gotham and the original 4 issue run of Aliens vs Predator, but that's about it.
Well, in fairness, a lot of the crossovers were pretty bad. I bought a few, but not that often. I had these, though, and I enjoyed them. Would have liked more, really.
 

Gennadios

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Aug 19, 2009
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Wait, so is it redrawn or just a reprint?

I vaguely remember reading the anothology (a reprint of it around '96?) In high school, and the art was OK but by no means great, and even my high school self didn't really care much for the story, so I don't even know why it would be worth it now.

Maybe if either of the movies did better...
 

Mortuorum

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Oct 20, 2010
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My original copies are sitting in polybags somewhere in my basement. I probably haven't read them in 20 years, but I remember them being entertaining. Walt Simonson was producing some pretty outstanding art then, so they're worth checking out on that basis alone.
 

Quellist

Migratory coconut
Oct 7, 2010
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Ugh, i remember this piece of shite from first time round. I gave up on issue #1 (i think) when three Terminators (a man, woman and child Terminator no less!) appeared naked in the center of an ongoing Basketball match, complete with crowd and in the next panel were seen walking out in looted clothes, implication being they had somehow killed every single person in the Stadium...players, coaches, crowd, the lot! without an alarm being raised or anyone escaping...

Perhaps i didnt give it a chance but honestly it seemed pretty crappy for Frank Miller. Maybe this was his first step to becoming a Right-leaning Wingnut...