Publisher: Dynamite
Writer: Kyle Higgins
Artist: Jorge Fornes
Colourist: Chris O’Halloran
Release Date: OUT NOW!
Price: $3.99

My ageing fanboy heart did flip-flops when I saw Magnus #4 on the masthead of this Kyle Higgins and Jorge Fornes collaboration. Knowing how much I love original Golden Age greats and seeing as Dynamite had already premiered a masterful combination of Magnus, Robot Fighter, Turok, Son of Stone and Dr. Solar, Man of the Atom in Gold Key Alliance,

I felt sure that this was the same Magnus now upgraded to his own title. One glance at the cleavage focused cover art made me think I had maybe go things a little bit wrong. The star of Magnus #4 is actually Kerri Magnus a therapist helping A.I.’s find peace when their enforced servitude to humankind gets too much for them to bear. So, not some muscular dude in spandex kicking clanking monstrosities into scrap metal then.

The similarity between this Magnus and the original is that Kerri used to be a bounty hunter and when an A.I. called Frederick murders his employer and plants bombs in order to start a Human-Robot war everything becomes less touchy-feely and more metal butt kicking. With riots erupting on the streets and anti-droid hysteria taking a grip, Kerri must search for Frederick in Cloud World, the place where good robots get to spend time if they have served their masters well. As the only human able to spend an indefinite period in Cloud World, because she was kidnapped by her father’s robot butler and grew up in Cloud World – it was cheaper than kindergarten –  without going insane, Kerri Magnus is humanity’s only hope.

A modern re-boot of a classic legend with a feminist twist, Magnus #4 has all the original ingredients; paranoia, fear of the unknown, hysteria, xenophobia etc. which made the Golden Age Magnus great. Whether as successor or running mate, Magnus #4 looks set to carry on a proud tradition well into the twenty-first century.

 

 

Reviewer: Gary Orchard
Reviews Editor: Steve Hooker