by Orion Tippens
Incredible Change-Bots
Writer/Artist: Jeffrey Brown
Top Shelf Comics
Vol. 1 – Sept. 2007, 146 pages
Vol. 2 – March. 2011, 146 pages
More than just machines!
Finally, a story about fighting robots with all of the emotional depth and drama that comes with the consequences of personal change…into vehicles.
And within that tale, questions arise. Did the Incredible Change-Bots evolve from word processors? Can Shootertron handle a sudden existential crisis? Can a robot police car and a robot truck explore their forbidden love? Can Big Rig become a credible leader to his gang of Awesomebots? Can’t we all just get along? Answers to those and more happen in this epic two-part graphic novel.
YES. THIS. This x 1 million.
Incredible Change-Bots is the underrated work of Jeffrey Brown, better known for his self-reflecting autobiographical works including Clumsy and Unlikely and the recent hit Darth Vader and Son. Brown carries a unique sense of dry wit often focused on the observed irony and melodrama of the mundane. For the visuals, he keeps it simple and fun with everything crudely hand-drawn, sticking to the basics of a bored child stuck in after-school detention. For Incredible Change-Bots, Brown adds all of that to this colossal parody of the Transformers.
The story is simple: the Awesomebots (led by Big Rig) fight against the Fantasticons (led by Shootertron). The Change-Bots engage in their lengthy conflict carried over from their war-ravaged planet of Electrotronocybercircuitron over the usual reasons: Continue reading
