The Iron Teacher.

Whenever I visit a book shop that stocks old books, or an antique fair, I keep my eye open for any old copies of LION, looking out for a new Archie story.
I was quite surprised then to come across this issue of Hotspur...

...which sports what at face value looks a bit like a Robot Archie clone.
Were Hotspur trying to attract readership from LION with its own mechanical marvel ?
The 6 page story tells the tale of Jake Todd, a teacher, who finds himself teacher school children in what looks to be Alaska. I've no idea how he ended up there but he and his mechanical pal take on some pirates and during the action manage to sink a Destroyer.

This is achieved by The Iron Teacher punching a hole in, and then ripping plates of steel, out of its hull and so sinking it.
But is the mechanical marvel actually a robot ?

Not by my definition.
Jake Todd appears to control all of The Iron Teacher's motions through a control device in his glove, and the words that appear to come from the Iron Teacher are actually spoken by Jake Todd through a 'throat microphone'.
The Iron Teacher is not self aware then and seems to be more a remote controlled device than anything else.

It's a nice design though and he may actually have been self aware as this version is a re-design and Jake Todd is a new addition to the character's tale. He may even become self aware in a later issue.

Guess I'd better add Hotspur to my list of things to look out for.