Sledgehammer 44 #1

There's something very Atomic Robo-ish about this first issue from Mike Mignola and Jason LaTour featuring a battle between men of iron in the middle of WWII (and I mean that as a compliment). Although less wacky than what you'd get from Brian Clevinger and Scott Wegener, this first issue of a two-issue limited series about a man of iron who falls from the sky and the Army unit ordered to look after him is a pretty good read.

Although the art doesn't quite explain the electric attack our metal hero uses on the Nazi troops and their robot of destruction, I really enjoyed LaTour's designs. The mysterious man or robot in question, however, isn't the focus of the issue as much as the unit he saves and who is tasked with keeping him out of the reach of the Nazis when his energy is spent.

I know Dark Horse, and Magnola in particular, like these two and three-issue mini-series, but I'm not sure the comic publisher might not have been better off teasing this and then releasing the whole story in a single old school double-sized issue to complete the nostalgic feel of the comic. For fans.

[Dark Horse, $3.50]