Dynamite’s new Robocop series  (see “Dynamite Gets Robocop”), premiering in January, will launch with a four-issue story arc that takes place immediately after the end of the first movie.  Writer Rob Williams said of the choice, “I figure, go to the heart of what made RoboCop work, and that’s the origin story and the crazy Dutch extreme aesthetic of that first movie.”  Williams plans to incorporate both the extreme violence and action with the humor of the film, trying to “stay true to the sick spirit of Verhoeven.” 

Dynamite publisher Nick Barrucci said the decision to stick to the canon of the first film came early in the process.  “None of them stood up to the holy grail of the first movie,” he said of the later films, comic series, and TV shows.  “If the writer had come back with a different take we would have looked at it,” he said, but Williams obviously approved of and supported the choice. 

The four issue arc will be followed by a stand-alone story, and then a new story arc will kick off.

A reboot of the Robocop films is planned, with Darren Aronofsky attached to direct and a 2011 release date planned.