Reviews:
In a test balloon first issue, we are introduced to a robot who just isn't like all the other robots. While it is obviously a tenuous position, to be unlike the others, a story of a robot that is like all the others simply wouldn't be very interesting. Our protagonist works through a series of search-for-self activities, which is something a lot of non-robots have experience in.
The premise is intriguing, and I think we can all relate to accidentally killing all the humans. I am a sucker for the self-aware robot trope; I probably read too much Asimov as a kid. Lucky me, Built #1 is all about the self-aware robot. Self-awareness is not enough, of course, to put serious meat on the story, but the story wastes no time providing serious action. It even ends with a bit of a cliff hanger, unless I have totally mis-understood, and the robot will simply stroll away nonchalantly.
Joe Badon's art is raw and a bit sketchy (not in the sense of being unsavory, but in the literal sense), but very expressive nonetheless. I know it cannot be easy being confined to such a small working area! The sketchiness of it actually gives it a feeling of urgency, and edginess. This is not a story about one of those excessively cute toy robots you see in a Pixar film, this robot is definitely not safe for toddlers!
Paired with Badon's art, Mitchell's story and words are delivered in a decisively streamlined and effective manner. It would take me at least twice as many words to tell someone what happens in this comic as are actually used in it! I'm impressed and will be interested to see where the story goes from here. If you are generally not into anthropomorphic robots, aka androids, or have truly abandoned the notion of self-aware androids, skip it. Everyone else will be digging Built #1 and waiting for the next issue to turn up.
~ Holly von Winckel, Sequential Tart