Lio by Mark Tatulli for September 07, 2023

4 is my favorite number.

I think the robot didn’t look “evil” enough. Maybe wicked looking cutting things and spikes in addition to the ’bots other armorment.

Wonder what the prizes were for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd?

It must have done better than Dr Mel’s spacesuit.

Not much of a competition if , by the look of it, the town (and earth) is still standing when it ends.

Evil scientists making robots is so 20th century. It’s all about AI now.

I like how Lio’s dad sees his son leaving with a robot and just thinks “He’s having fun, that’s what matters.”

Lio’s dad is one of the best. He might encourage Lio to try out some more traditional things like sports but he won’t force him to play. Probably cuz he knows about the jetpacks.

Lio set his sights a little too high.

There’s always next year, Lio…

Maybe next time you should remind your your robot NOT to set one of the judges’ beard on fire with its death ray!

Awww! There’s always next year….

They didn’t think his molesting robot was evil enough. >

The winning project was a baking soda volcano.

Maybe if it had hands it would have been better received. Even two-fingered pincers would make it more capable of evil.

My sympathies. I remember getting an “honorable mention” for one of my Science Fair projects.

with AI developers, there is a lot of competition out there.

Sounds like the contest was rigged…..

at least it has emotions, poor thing

Don’t do evil.

Probably because you didn’t use the robot to get rid of the competition.

Four Is Death, according to TV Tropes.

Dr. Frankenstein once entered a Body Building competition. Boy, was he disappointed….

It’s more of an engineering project. I’m not surprised.

There were three eviler than Lio. So think about that.

Why the mirror headband? And it seems like he should’ve been carrying the flag in the first panel – I don’t think it would’ve messed up the joke that much…

Still probably finished ahead of Heinz Doofenschmirtz