The Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot

AUTHOR: Miller, Frank

ARTIST: Geof Darrow (illustrator); Claude Legris (colorist); Bill Spicer (letterer); Lynn Varley (cover colorist); Xavier Giacometti (logo design)

PUBLISHER: Dark Horse Comics

FIRST SERIAL PUBLICATION: 1995

FIRST BOOK PUBLICATION: 1996

Publication History

Characters from The Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot first appeared in comic books published by Dark Horse Comics during the late 1950’s. The Big Guy was featured in issues published in 1959 and throughout the 1960’s and 1970’s. Covers displayed the Big Guy in action, confronting such foes as crocodiles and dinosaurs, traveling to the Moon, and rescuing victims exposed to a villain named Captain Chernobyl. Artwork incorporated Cold War imagery. Issues in 1963 displayed the Big Guy with Rusty the Boy Robot, with Rusty’s name printed on covers. In 1969, a comic focusing on Rusty the Boy Robot depicted him exploring electricity, including visiting a dam generating hydroelectricity.

Three decades later, Frank Miller and Geof Darrow, the artistic team who created the Hard Boiled comics, collaborated to produce a modern version of an adventure starring Rusty the Boy Robot and the Big Guy. Their publisher, Dark Horse Comics, released two issues featuring Miller and Darrow’s work in the summer of 1995, combining those comics in a graphic novel the next year. They strove to honor their comics and other media precedents, both in the United States and in Japan, which celebrated the roles of robots, monsters, and superheroes. Miller and Darrow aimed to create an entertaining comic suitable for younger readers that would also appeal to adults who had enjoyed similar heroic, action-filled adventure cartoons when they were children.

Plot

The Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot chronicles the heroes’ response when a monster attacks Tokyo. In the first section, titled “Rusty Fights Alone!,” scientists at the Itsibishi laboratory activate amino acids in a genetic investigation that goes awry, spawning a horrific reptile. The powerless scientists cannot stop the monster from crashing through the laboratory’s wall and trampling through Tokyo, provoking mayhem. Using telepathy, the monster impedes people’s escape by transmitting messages that their destiny is to submit. The creature states that it is superior to humans and its mission is to seize control of Earth. The monster’s saliva transforms people it touches, converting them to mutants.

The creature effectively resists military forces flying helicopters and driving tanks. A Japanese military leader deploys boy robot Rusty, who bravely confronts the monster, which swiftly immobilizes Rusty, tossing him aside, then stepping on him. In a secret chamber, Japanese officials agree to seek assistance from the U.S. military just prior to the monster’s attack. Japan’s prime minister manages to alert the Big Guy with a signal. This section concludes with the signal reaching a satellite that sends it to a U.S. battleship stationed for duty in the Persian Gulf.

The second section, “The Big Guy Kicks Butt!,” starts with U.S. military personnel on the battleship preparing for the Big Guy’s emergency mission. The Big Guy, a pilot named Dwayne, is swiftly transported to Tokyo in a rocket resembling a large robot. He confronts the monster, and the rivals taunt and insult each other. The monster utilizes its telepathic abilities to disrupt Dwayne’s thoughts. His eyes glowing red, the Big Guy throws missiles at the monster. Thinking he has killed the monster, the Big Guy then fights the mutants swarming around him, trying not to hurt them because he recognizes their humanity. The Big Guy uses anesthetic bullets and then tranquilizer grenades until those weapons are depleted.

Sensing a large foot overhead, the Big Guy realizes the monster has regenerated. The monster realizes that the Big Guy is human, not robot. The Big Guy’s thoughts indicate that he is defeated and is asking for the monster’s forgiveness, but he has actually blocked the monster’s power and is able to attack and wound it. The Big Guy seems to be winning until the monster’s fluids infect the armor on the Big Guy’s right arm. The armor’s molecules mutate, and the Big Guy is forced to remove that arm. The monster thrusts the Big Guy underground into the subway. Determined not to quit, the Big Guy forms a rope with subway cars, which he uses to fling the monster out of Tokyo. As the creature enters the atmosphere, U.S. forces launch a nuclear missile to the coordinates the Big Guy specifies. The missile strikes the monster, which falls into the ocean. A mushroom cloud rises over that site.

The Japanese prime minister rewards the Big Guy by giving Rusty to him at a celebration. Rusty is thrilled to be near his idol. Wanting to impress the Big Guy, Rusty states he is prepared to serve. He feels rejected when the Big Guy responds to an emergency call that aliens have invaded Cedar Rapids, Iowa (Darrow’s hometown), and departs. In pursuit, Rusty declares he wants to be the Big Guy’s sidekick.

Characters

•Rusty the Boy Robot, is the first protagonist who confronts the monster. A prototype utilizing artificial intelligence, he is built to resemble a child and is eager to defend his homeland. He is devastated by his failure to stop the monster and excited about being given to the Big Guy.

•Big Guy, formally named Dwayne, is the second protagonist to respond to the crisis. A U.S. military pilot who answers the Japanese leader’s emergency request, he maneuvers inside a large armored device, which causes most people to think he is a robot, and defeats the monster.

•Monster, the antagonist, is a gigantic lizard that is unintentionally created in the Itsibishi laboratory during a genetics experiment. The monster plans to defeat humans by mutating and killing them, resulting in battles with the Big Guy, who refers to the monster as Liz.

•Scientists are unnamed male and female genetics investigators whose scientific endeavors at the Itsibishi laboratory create the monster.

•Japanese civilians are unnamed masses of people who become victims of the monster; many are transformed into smaller versions of the monster. Although none of the civilians is identified by name, several are given lines of dialogue expressing people’s reactions to the monster.

•Japanese soldiers include unnamed helicopter pilots and tank personnel who unsuccessfully attempt to kill the monster and an officer who orders Rusty to fight the monster.

•Japanese prime minister is a political official, who activates the emergency device when the monster attacks the site where he is sequestered. He later presents Rusty as a gift to the Big Guy at a victory ceremony. His name is not revealed.

•American soldiers include unnamed personnel serving on an U.S. battleship who receive the emergency beacon and deploy the Big Guy to fight the monster.

Artistic Style

The Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot utilizes vibrant colors, not black ink, which is used in Miller’s and Darrow’s noir works. Instead of accentuating despair and hopelessness through dark imagery, illustrations convey optimism that justice will prevail no matter how much tragedy is inflicted. The front cover welcomes readers, with Rusty waving and the Big Guy standing ready for action against a background of blue sky and white clouds. The back cover shows the protagonists from behind and a backdrop of pink clouds suggesting the sun setting after a victorious day. These covers are reminiscent of the 1995 comics covers, except that one issue’s cover has Rusty airborne in front of the Big Guy and another has a close-up of the Big Guy’s torso, head, and clenched fists.

Tall with thick arms and legs, the Big Guy’s exterior resembles an astronaut’s spacesuit. Rusty’s childish nature is portrayed with a curly cowlick and a wide grin; he looks like a robotic Kewpie doll. His playfulness is emphasized with illustrations showing him pulling back page corners and peeking at readers. Both protagonists are drawn with elements suggestive of 1950’s technology. Rusty’s belt buckle displays an atomic symbol; the Big Guy resembles a rocket.

The monster has horns, claws, and a spiked spine and tail. Its mouth is lined with sharp teeth, and it spits venomous fire beams. It fills frames as it grows, with some panels focusing on its feet crushing cars or its fists seizing humans.

Illustrations move readers quickly through the story. Panels depicting the urban landscape are congested with skyscrapers, traffic, and apartment buildings. Illustrations use blue and white coloring and flat and curved lines to indicate glass and steel in structures. Succinct, frequently alliterative dialogue and thoughts effectively convey characters’ alarm, furor, and resolve.

Images revealing decorum, then frenzy in the laboratory and cabinet’s secret room, show the abrupt transition from normality to chaos. Some scenes are angled to emphasize turmoil as the monster’s rampage upsets Tokyo. Panels become crowded with mutants as the monster moves through the city. Darrow creates several panoramic images, spreading across two pages to display the immense damage. The artwork sometimes seems three-dimensional, with some panels zooming into the panoramas of previous panels to provide close-ups.

Themes

Survival is the primary theme of The Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot and is associated with power. Themes of warfare and defeating foes are intrinsic to plot development. The monster represents the dangers of uncontrolled science. However, science also represents the theme of salvation though technology. With Japan threatened with annihilation, Japanese leaders hope the robotic boy, Rusty, can save Tokyo and Japan from destruction. Rusty’s diminutive size and enthusiastic naïveté contrast with the huge, vile monster, which is reminiscent of the horrific Godzilla and Grendel from films and literature. The monster is a metaphor for greed, because it craves power over all of Earth and its inhabitants. Intent to succeed, Rusty is overwhelmed and soon conquered. Thematically, his loss of innocence parallels that of the vulnerable civilians whose bodies and minds are usurped en masse by the monster.

Summoned to Japan, the Big Guy represents themes of courage and patriotism, with images showing his mechanical appearance, weaponry, and assertive combat style emphasizing military elements. Like the archetypal warrior Beowulf, the Big Guy is determined to slay the monster he fights to protect people. He exemplifies themes of duty and sacrifice as he battles the creature, resiliently continuing despite losing an arm. Like Ted Hughes’s The Iron Man (1968), the Big Guy represents strength, loyalty, and dedication, providing support to his allies.

Humanity is another essential theme. The Big Guy recognizes the human goodness in the mutants and is reluctant to harm them even though they are hostile. He persists despite the monster’s mind games. The suspense intensifies in this confrontation between good and evil, with honor prevailing. Although the Big Guy is empowered by the technology that encases him and destroys the monster, it is his human thoughts and actions, and not the child robot’s artificial intelligence, that ensure salvation for Japan and the planet.

Impact

The Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot comics and graphic novel received minimal critical attention because their creators focused on other works: Miller on his Dark Knight stories and Darrow on his Hard Boiled illustrations. They received accolades for The Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot from many comics-industry peers such as Mike Allred, who praised their artistry, faithfulness to superhero predecessors, and contribution to popularizing that genre in modern comics accessible to both young and mature readers. Consumer interest grew when a king-sized edition of The Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot was released in 1997. That oversized book omitted dialogue that blocked details in panel images so readers could concentrate on the illustrations. Because the comic’s universal themes appeal to readers worldwide, translations were published, including the Finnish version, Iso Heppu ja Rusty Robottipoika (1995), and the Spanish edition, Big Guy y Rusty el Chico Robot (2009).

Most press coverage related to the protagonists of The Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot occurred when the television series began airing in 1999; the cartoon attracted more attention from the media than the comics and graphic novel had. Because of the success of the television series, The Big Guy Rusty and the Boy Robot was licensed for merchandise and appropriated for menu items designed by cafeteria supplier Pierre Foods for distribution at approximately thirty-five hundred schools. The characters inspired fan fiction and art, often posted on Web sites dedicated to the Big Guy and Rusty.

Television Series

The Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot. Columbia TriStar Television and Dark Horse Entertainment, 1999-2001. This animated series featured the voices of Jonathan Cook as the Big Guy and Pamela Segall as Rusty. Set in a U.S. metropolis, New Tronic City, the Big Guy instructs Rusty how to deploy his robotic resources to deter villains. Pretending to be the Big Guy’s mechanic, Lieutenant Dwayne Hunter, who pilots the Big Guy, conceals his dual identity to avoid weakening defenses against Squillacci Empire aliens and Legion Ex Machina robots. Darrow, a consultant for the television adaptation, influenced the appearance of the antagonists and the technological devices used by the protagonists. Animators incorporated some of the graphic novel’s images.

Further Reading

Kitoh, Mohiro. Bokurano (2004- ).

Tezuka, Osamu. Astro Boy (1952-1968).

Urasawa, Naoki, and Takashi Nagasaki. Pluto: Urasawa x Tezuka (2003-2009).

Bibliography

Bolton, Christopher, Istvan Csicsery-Rony, Jr., and Takayuki Tatsumi, eds. Robot Ghosts and Wired Dreams: Japanese Science Fiction from Origins to Anime. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2007.

Coogan, Peter. Superhero: The Secret Origin of a Genre. Austin, Tex.: MonkeyBrain Books, 2006.

Gehr, Richard. “Hero Worship: Frank Miller, the Creator of Dark Knight, Reinvents the Superhero Comic with The Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot.” Spin 11, no. 9 (December, 1995): 36.

Miller, Frank. “Interview Four.” Interview by Christopher Brayshaw. In Frank Miller: The Interviews, 1981-2003, edited by Milo George. Seattle, Wash.: Fantagraphics Books, 2003.

Rodman, Larry. “New Blood: A Frank Miller Career Overview.” In Frank Miller: The Interviews, 1981-2003, edited by Milo George. Seattle, Wash.: Fantagraphics Books, 2003.

Singer, Peter W. Wired for War: The Robotics Revolution and Conflict in the Twenty-first Century. New York: Penguin Press, 2009.