Cyberman by Adrian Salmon.

It was always the Cybermen that scared me the most.
I grew up with Jon Pertwee's Dr. Who but still remember a few episodes of Patrick Troughton's character. I bought Tomb Of The Cybermen on DVD a few years ago and was stunned that I actually remembered some of the scenes. They stuck in my mind all these years, waiting to claw their way out, much like the Cybermen did in the third episode.
Epic.
Scary.


Adrian Salmon Convention sketch from 2005

I came across an artist called Adrian Salmon who was already drawing a Cyberman for another Dr. Who fan, albeit a younger fan than me but some years. I asked for a sketch of one of the earliest versions of the monster and Adrian was more than happy to produce this whilst discussing all things Who.
OK, purists might want to argue that Cybermen are more Cyborg than Robot, and I would agree that you have a point but for me Cybermen stray into the robot mold as they aren't, typically, left with any human emotion or intelligence. They've been re-programmed.

The Valiant Annual 1977 - The Prisoner of Zenga.

 An interesting one this. The cover caught my eye, and I must learn to check inside the covers of annuals that don't have a robot on the cover.

The story features the Robot Zenga, but it turns out that this robot is actually a mechanical body within which 'intelligence of ex-arch criminal Max Zenga' controls the 'merciless metal monster' towards some great crime.
As you can see from the cover the robot can fire lasers from his eyes, and is quite happy to do so, killing the inhabitants of the helicopter (in this instance). I guess having a human mind implanted in the robot means that Asimov's Laws don't apply.
This 8 page snippet seems to be somewhere in the middle of an ongoing story. Poor lab assistant Julian Caine 'has become the terrified slave' of Zenga and appears to be being dragged along for the ride. I'm not entirely sure that Caine is as innocent as this makes out though, as he appears to care for the robot and certainly does very little to change his path. From searching the web, and there's very little up there about this robot, it seems that Julian Caine was actually looking to control the robot, as it was being created, for a robbery he was planning himself and so is certainly not the innocent victim here. Looks like he got more than he bargained for.

It's a nice twist to have the robot be evil and therefore move away from Archie and Iron Teacher territory.

I also like the way the body is pitted and not the shiny expanse of metal shown on the other robots of the time.

 I'll have to see if I can find out more about the character in other annuals.

Robot Maria by Garen Ewing.

Garen Ewing has been a good friend for a long time now. He's one of those talented guys who has been around the independent UK comic scene for quite a while (even longer than I have) and has gone on to great things with his excellent Rainbow Orchid.
I asked him for this commission a little while before Rainbow Orchid was picked up by Egmont, back in the days when I think he probably had more spare time than he has today.
As the saying goes, it's the early bird that gets the worm, and in this case the Maria commission.

Maria Rediscovered - by Garen Ewing.

A very thoughtful piece that demands a story to accompany it. Feel free to make up your own, and here's the inked version for those who like things in black and white.

Lovely work as always from Mr. Ewing.

Original Robot - John Kenn Mortensen.

I've just returned from the Copenhagen Comic Convention. Had a great, and very busy, time selling comics but also spotted a John Kenn Mortensen sat at a table diagonally opposite mine.
I discovered John's books only recently and was stunned by the thought of someone drawing such exquisite images on post-it notes. Yep. The things we all use everyday in the office.
I got John to sign a copy of Post-It Monsters for me and also asked for a sketch. Not a monster but a robot please. He obliged with...

...nice and creepy.
If you've not come across John's books then I recommend you pick them up.

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.

Original Robot - Lars Rahm.

Here's an original robot, sketched at a Comic Convention.
It's often interesting when asking for robot sketch to ask the artist if he or she'd create one and rather than produce their version of a specific robot from film or comic.
I love this image from Lars Rahm, which he kindly produced at the Komiks.DK event in Copenhagen back in 2006. I love the the oversized jaw and big clunking nut holding it to his head.

I'll be off to another Copenhagen Comic Convention at the beginning of June. If I have time I'll see if I can get a few more robot sketches for the blog.

The Gigantic Robot.

I've been a fan of Tom Gauld for a while now and it was really nice to meet him at a couple of Cons last year, one in London and the other in New York.
The Gigantic Robot is typical Tom Gauld and sees the ultimate weapon being built during a time of war and... well... let's just say it doesn't do much to change things.
Meeting Tom I, of course, took the opportunity to get my copy of the book signed, and sketched.

He does draw great little robots...