‘Total THB, Volume 1’ (review)

Written and Illustrated by Paul Pope
Published by 23rd Street Books

Man, I first picked up THB in the 1990’s and I remember loving it. Issues were hard to come by, but when you did find them a whole new world was opened to you.

Paul Pope’s legendary science fiction mixture of so many things was one of the big independent books that hit, right before the marketplace gave out.

Collecting all the issues of this sprawling book was near impossible, and trying to track it down up to this point was an exercise in frustration and futility. That is, up until now.

23rd Street Books has finally starting collecting all of the books and this is the first volume. And man, is it ever a first volume.

This book is beautiful and exciting and well packaged making the wait to read it whole almost worth the wait. I’m just glad I’m still alive to read it.

So what is this story even about? Well, for the people not initiated, I’ll try to explain it the best that I can. The book takes place on Mars, but it is a planet that only Paul Pope could imagine. The planet is teeming with life and invention. It had plenty of interesting structures and the architecture is something truly special and unique. It also has a cast of crazy characters, all of which who are fully formed and interesting. The book has a bunch of things going on, but the environment makes the book feel dreamlike and otherworldly. It is so cool, that you really can’t take your eyes off of it.

Mars is also a planet that is now divided. There are two separate factions on the planet that are opposed to each other. It is cool how Pope sets up the geopolitical climate on Mars and makes it all very streamlined.

However, the book has a main storyline with a main character. That character is HR Watson. She is an interesting young girl that seems like that perfect character to lead off a book by Paul Pope. Watson also has a super robot bodyguard who is named THB, and that is who the book is named after.

Basically, Watson carries around THB much like a small rubber ball. However, in times of danger or when he’s needed, she pours a little bit of water on him and he grows into full robot form. This concept is much like a genie and a magic lamp. Together, Watson and THB get into all manner of hijinks and various adventures involving peril. They also go through a lot of chase sequences, which is great because Pope’s artistic lines excel at those scenes.

Watson is the daughter of a wealthy robot manufacturer named Clovis Watson. She lives with him in Velo City and we get to see some of their dynamics as father and daughter. We also get to see her take classes at the Academy of Advanced Disciplines and watch her day to day life there. All the set up is there and ready for the main storyline to really commence.

And commence it does.

Basically, the main storyline is about how Clovis Watson wants to take his manufacturing business out of Velo City. He wants to relocate it and mine the asteroid belt to avoid the taxes that he is getting hit with. This attracts the Buranchrist party known as the Bugfaces. They decide to take HR Watson in for questioning as they do not like her father’s plans. She doesn’t enjoy the Bugfaces harassment and together with THB she decides to make an escape from them.

Things do not go as planned. As she escapes the Bugfaces, HR Watson has to make her way to Plutonium City. There are a bunch of adventures that happen along the way, but this is only the first volume. A lot of set up happens and you get to experience the whole world. There is a lot more to come to, and every part of it is exciting.

There is a lot to take in. But if you are willing to go on the journey, you will find it very enjoyable and entertaining. The world building is incredible. Paul Pope does a hell of a job setting up this universe and making the whole thing work and work well. I can’t wait for future volumes, the only drawback I can see is the wait time between releases of these tremendous volumes.

RATING: A