Friday, January 16, 2026

ACAB (and one is a robot.)

It's overtime season for me once again, and I'm working it in smaller chunks because I'm so bored. Which leaves me a little short on time this week, but we luck out with a great book right next to me: from 2014, That's Because You're A Robot #1, written by David Quantick, art by Shaky Kane.
I feel like there should be much more of these, but this is another fun one-shot from Shaky Kane, with a deceptively simple premise: two cops, Jeff and Matt, are told one of them was a real human, the other a robot...but they didn't know which was which! Despite the fact that I think that should raise even more questions, this kind of does a number on the cops' working relationship, as they spend the rest of the issue rather gently accusing the other of being the robot. They were partners and buddies, so it doesn't come to gunplay or fisticuffs, just a lot of "no, you are" while their work suffers a bit: other stuff is going on, but you can understand how they're a bit preoccupied.
Man, I wish I had a massive budget and production house, since I would love this as a TV show, especially with all of Kane's weird background stuff. Just a half-hour of gunplay and accusations every week, with only the leads unchanging: the setting, format, supporting cast, costumes, everything else different every episode, but Jeff and Matt still arguing away: "I cut myself shaving, Matt; how could I be the robot?" "Maybe you used the electric razor, Jeff." "...maybe you're too stupid to be the robot, Matt."

3 comments:

Mr. Morbid said...

Well thanks for reminding me that is probably the one Shaky Kane drawn comic of his I haven’t read yet, the other being an issue of Elephantman. Honestly this comic premise would make for a good short film or tv series, with many twist & turns to really make things interesting.

googum said...

I was thinking like THE PRISONER: here's a spy episode, here's a children's story, here's a western episode; and all the while they're still "you're the robot, beep-boop" "I wish they trained your AI on something besides TJ HOOKER reruns" and so forth!

H said...

Yeah, Shaky Kane’s pretty great- especially when he writes or co-writes for himself. And of course, any time he goes full Kirby-mode is awesome.

As for this one, I’m going to guess they’re both robots and it turns into one of those Blade Runner things.