Shmobots

By Adam Rifkin

SMALL SOLDIERS and MOUSEHUNT screenwriter and DETROIT ROCK CITY director, Adam Rifkin, pairs with pin-up artist supreme Les Toil to create Shmobots! In an world where man needs robots to do menial... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1934506400
• ISBN13: 9781934506400
• Release Date: September 2008
• Publisher: Boom! Studios
• Length: 128 Pages
• Weight: 0.79 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 6.3" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

SHMOBOTS is a blast

I was lucky enough to read an advance copy of Shmobot's and I found it truly impressive with Adam Rifkin's witty writing and Les Toil's phenomenal artwork. The concept of 'lazy' robots is astounding! The story is centered around Miles (a human), and his lethargic robotic friends. His friends are 'Shmobots', the new subculture of slacker robots and the city's new minority group. As great as the character Miles (the 30 year old lazy musician) is, the heart of the story belongs to Rusty (the fearless leader), 69.5 (the worrier and closet homosexual), and Eyeballs (the knowledgeable robot that was programmed to speak in third person). When these guys aren't getting thrown out of nice little coffee shops, hitting up the local 'Egg Salad King', getting busted for soliciting by the 'fuzz', or getting bounced from the local strip club for hustling some free lap dances... They're running into local meat head jocks that can't help but give 'Bots a hard time about practicing for the 'big show' that Saturday night. If that wasn't enough, they also have to keep a look-out for the Shmobot Killer. This insane serial killer will stop at nothing until every last bot has been taken out... Will he succeed? Will the band get signed at the big show Saturday Night? Will Rusty get his date with the human Judy? Will 69.5 come out of the closet? There's only one way to find out... CHECK IT OUT NOW!!! --- Jeremy Morrison

Schmobots the Madcap Robots (and their pet human)

The first thing that struck me about Schmobots, of course, was Les Toil's amazing art. The drawings are so clean and crisp with an incredible eye for detail; the coloring meticulously and artfully executed. After reading the story, I was compelled to go back through the graphic novel again and carefully examine every frame on every page. The perfection of detail stood up meticulously against my intense scrutiny. I really appreciated the subtlety of Rifkin's humor around the kittens from outer space segments. I found these segments truly funny and silly (or ridiculous in a Pythonesque way). I also enjoyed the bawdy, sophomoric humorous moments (such as the robots' hard-ons) and thought the camaraderie amongst the 4 protagonists of the story (though I found Rusty to be more of an antagonist) felt genuine. While the story is pretty light reading, there are some disquieting moments when our heroes are subjected to racism (or perhaps in this instance, robotism?) - I thought the reactions of frustration and anger when confronted with the bigotry were poignant and on target.

A VERY funny, sharp and notable novel!

Cover to cover, Shmobots is a very funny, sharp and notable novel! The writing, by Adam Rifkin, is clever as well as relevant; the twists and turns skillfully maneuvered. The art, by Les Toil, is rich, detailed, brilliantly-colored, and up there with the best comic book art I've ever seen! This is a gem of a book, filled with slovenly slacker robots, booze, prostitutes, and a surprising twist all dolled-up and professionally delivered by the indelible writer-artist team of Adam Rifkin and Les Toil.

I loved Shmobots!!

As the product review says, there's a social statement not so thinly veiled in this graphic novel but that doesn't mean this wasn't a fun book. It reminds me of Tenacious D with robots. I laughed a lot and the art is great - very unique - nostalgic yet contemporary. The writing is strong and the story is always involving.