AUTHOR: TINI HOWARD | ART: KEI ZAMA | PUBLISHER: MARVEL | FORMAT: SINGLE ISSUE | RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

It seems you can’t put a good bounty hunting robot from the future down. Death’s Head was meant to be a throwaway villain from Marvel’s run on Transformers way back in 1987. But the wisecracking mercenary was so much fun that creators and fans alike kept asking for his return until he got a short-lived mini-series. The improbably unlucky badass robot has since hopped around the Marvel Universe, facing off everyone from Doctor Who to Spider-Man, occasionally getting his own book.

Death’s Head has always been about two things; the character itself is a cool bounty hunter robot. Shiny, chrome, lots of sarcasm with some funny verbal mannerisms and a load of nifty yet deadly gadgets. The other thing is that Death’s Head will always be in an absurd situation beyond its control. No amount of super-tough style can make, say, dealing with an army of tiny psychotic gnomes any less ridiculous.

The new book gets the balance completely right. We open with Death’s Head trapped on current-day Earth, being used as an amp by a rock-band. A quick flashback later and we understand how things have gone badly wrong for the unluckiest mechanoid in the Marvel Universe. 

The opening issue places the titular hero firmly in the ‘new and interesting’ end of Marvel’s current storylines, promising to expand on the character’s potential. Death’s Head has never exactly been a hero, but he is a good source of angst, and the new book wants to pop him straight into the drama. Kei Zama’s art is charming throughout, capturing the scrappy look of the original ‘80s character design but with more of a sense of humour. Tini Howard nails the writing from the get-go, bringing the various heroes together with the right mix of mystery and motivation.

We’ve only seen the first part of this 4-issue series, and it’s looking great so far. Perhaps Death’s Head’s run of bad luck will cease, and Marvel will decide to give us more stories featuring this not-well-known but well-loved character. Heck, they eventually gave Rocket Racoon screen time, could a Death’s Head movie be very far away? And if so, maybe we’ll get Dragon’s Claws next!