Robotter er forlængst blevet en del af vores hverdag. Vores egen redaktør her på Seriejournalen, Frank Madsen, har endda en støvsuger robot derhjemme. På film har vi haft robotter helt tilbage til stumfilms-dagene, tænk bare på robot versionen af Maria i Fritz Langs berømte science fiction dystopi fra 1927, “Metropolis” (der blev skamredet af et moderne rock soundtrack til Gaumonts restaurerede repremiere af filmen i 1984):

This 1984 re-release features some color tinting, reconstruction, and a digital score with songs by Pat Benatar, Bonnie Tyler, Giorgio Moroder, and Queen.

fra www.wonderfulworldofmovies.com/Page0.html 

In 1927 Director Lang created a chilling vision of the future in which man is divided into two groups, the Thinkers and the Workers. In Lang’s future, Thinkers developed the ideas that would propel society forward while Workers made these ideas reality. When a Thinker dares to venture into the subterranean world of the Workers it causes turmoil. The film cost 7 million German Reichsmarks to produce nearly bankrupting Universum  Film A.G. (UFA). In spite of the film’s financial woes, it remains one of the most important movies ever made.

Og er man ikke ræd nok for fremtiden i forvejen, kan man sætte sig dybere ind i sagernes sande alvor med alle tiders klassiske novelle samling af The Dean of Science Fiction, The Granddaddy of sf writers, Isaac Asimov, og bogen “I, Robot (The Robot)”, hvori man kan lære robotics lovene:

“I, Robot” (Signet 1955) by Isaac Asimov. First printing in paperback. A Near Fine copy of this rare book. 

Amazon.com Review
In this collection, one of the great classics of science fiction, Asimov set out the principles of robot behavior that we know as the Three Laws of Robotics. Here are stories of robots gone mad, mind-reading robots, robots with a sense of humor, robot politicians, and robots who secretly run the world, all told with Asimov’s trademark dramatic blend of science fact and science fiction. –This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

Product Description
The three laws of Robotics:
1) A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm
2) A robot must obey orders given to it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
3) A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

Here are stories of robots gone mad, of mind-read robots, and robots with a sense of humor. Of robot politicians, and robots who secretly run the world–all told with the dramatic blend of science fact and science fiction that has become Asimov’s trademark.

From the Hardcover edition.

Ja, robotter kan være nogle aldeles slemme maskiner, derfor har vi da også måttet bekæmpe dem i tegneseriens verden, når de gik for vidt. Alle tiders klassiker er selvfølgelig “Magnus, Robot Fighter” af Tarzan tegneren Russ Manning, en serie der udkom på det amerikanske forlag Gold Key i 60’erne, samt i sh på IK herhjemme. Serien er blevet samlet komplet i facsimile farve hc’er og er absolut anbefalelsesværdig:

Og her er volume 1 af Dark Horse Archives serien:

Raised from birth to defend humankind from evil robots, Magnus Robot fighter protected the people of North Am in 4000 A.D. from diabolical robot plots, strange robot plagues, and the machinations of mere men who would use robots to conquer the world.

It was a series ahead of its time in many ways. The stories still work well today, while old fans and new readers alike will enjoy the classic art style – though to a generation grown up on “Bots” and “Droids“, the “Robs” of North Am may sound odd to the ear.

The price tag is a bit high, but it is worth every penny to get this sturdy, well-produced book with excellent reproductions, fantastic stories, and great art.

(James Mishler) 4 out of 4 stars.

Det ugentlige engelske tegneserieblad, “2000 AD”, gik også til kamp mod robotterne i den meget karikerede serie, “Robo-Hunter”, der overdrev robot klicheerne med tungen hårdt i mundhulen. Serien, der var skrevet af John Wagner og tegnet yderst professionelt af Ian Gibson, er sidst blevet genoptrykt i Verdus Collection.

fra http://truebritcomics.blogspot.com/2007/10/review-robo-hunter-verdus.html 

When I first picked up Robo-Hunter: Verdus, I didn’t realize how far back the strip went. The edition I read was the 2004 trade paperback that DC Comics released in conjunction with 2000 A.D. but the Verdus storyline first appeared all the way back in 1978 within the pages of 2000 A.D Progs 76-82 and 100-112. It would subsequently be reprinted in Best of 2000 A.D. Monthly 51 and 52, and Titan released it in two volumes as Robo-Hunter Book 1 and Book 2 respectively. Eagle Comics also released it in 5 parts. A lot of these strips have a long and fascinating reprint history so I’ll try to bring that out when I can.

The concept of Robo-Hunter is pretty straight-forward. In the future, humans rely on robots for pretty much everything, but sometimes a robot may get wonky, wild, even a little murderous. That’s when you call in Sam Slade, Robo-Hunter, the best in the business. Sam’s getting a little old and tired though, until he’s called in for the biggest job of his life. A self-replicating robot was sent to the planet Verdus to establish a colony fit for humans, but after the first human colonists were sent, they were never heard from again nor has any subsequent human venture out there. Sam is coerced into going to the planet and determine how and why the robots have taken over and what happened to all the humans.
 

Jeg vil anbefale at gå efter de gamle sh Titan album genoptryk, da det gamle “2000 AD” var i et bredere format end comic/tp formatet. Eagle bladene i farver i comic formatet var dem, jeg læste, men Titan albummene er de ultimative udgaver af denne serie.

Vi startede i filmens verden, så lad os slutte cirklen med en lille tegneserie forbindelse til en central robot film fra 80’erne, “RoboCop”, af den hollandske instruktør Paul Verhoeven. Jeg så denne cyberpunk nyklassiker i premiere run i Odeon Marble Arch i London i 1987, og fik skældud af en mand efter forestillingen, fordi jeg havde grinet for meget:

fra wikipedia:

“RoboCop” was written by Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner. Edward Neumeier stated that he first got the idea of “Robocop” when he walked past a poster for Blade Runner. He asked his friend what the film was about and he replied saying, “It’s about a cop hunting robots”. This then sparked the idea for him about a Robot Cop.

The character of RoboCop itself was inspired by Judge Dredd as well as the Marvel Comics superhero Iron Man (one of these comic books can be seen during the convenience store robbery). Although both Neumeier and Verhoeven have declared themselves staunchly on the political left, Neumeier recalls on the audio commentary to Starship Troopers that many of his leftist friends wrongly perceived RoboCop as a fascist movie. However, on the 20th Anniversary DVD, producer Jon Davison referred to the film’s message as “fascism for liberals” – a politically liberal film done in the most violent way possible.

Og lad os så afslutte med selve sangen, der inspirerede mig til denne artikels overskrift og emne, “Mr Roboto” af den amerikanske AOR gruppe fra 80’erne, Styx:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gbkhla8Ivlk&feature=related

“Mr. Roboto” is a song written by Dennis DeYoung and performed by the band Styx on their 1983 concept album Kilroy Was Here. It reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100, giving the band their first notable hit since “Too Much Time on My Hands” in 1981. Mr. Roboto is one of Styx’s most popular songs and one of Generation Y’s most known Styx songs–Come Sail Away being the other.
The song appears several times in the Japanese drama “Densha Otoko”.