The second part of my Tome & Janry "Spirou & Fantasio" double bill.

In lieu of a refund for a malfunctioning camera, Fantasio is given a small photo-taking robot instead. A series of slapstick events lead him and Spirou to the quiet village of Champaignac, where villainous robot Cyanide wreaks havoc with her electronic legion. As always, it's up to the two heroes to thwart this evil plot.

The artwork in this album is as beautiful as ever, and Spirou gets some truly brilliant facial expressions - about 5 pages in, you know he's already SO over this new chaos. Ah, the burdens of a hero! Lots of amusing slapstick - especially moments featuring the village drunk, Pessel - and some clever cultural references to both Fritz Lang's "Metropolis" (which I now know was a novel written by his wife - thanks, comic!) and Marilyn Monroe. Cyanide was intentionally built as the perfect bombshell beauty, and her looks mask her villianous nature to the innocent people she encounters.

In conclusion, a charming, slapstick-laden, sci-fi Spirou adventure.