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The basic pitch for writer/artist Royden Lepp's Rust: Visitor In the Field would appear to be a sepia-toned tale of robots and jetpacks set in the aftermath of a mechanized version of All Quiet On the Western Front. The story, involving the mysterious Jet Jones and the rural family whose life he disrupts when he comes flying in while being chased by a killer robot fuses sci-fi with family drama, taking its time to tell its tale. In fact, I would have to say that to enjoy what is apparently the first volume in a series of stories set in this world, you would have to be prepared to accept that Lepp is content to draw out the plot at his own particular pace.

Lepp sets his story somewhere around the 1960's or so, nearly 50 years in the aftermath of what looks like their version of the first World War which was waged using robots of escalating sophistication. A quick digression here—Lepp shows the robots initially in direct conflict with humans on the battlefield and later simply fighting amongst themselves which begs the question, is it really a war at that point when the participants are all automatons and no threat against human life appears to be present? The absence of any lives or territory being in peril makes the stakes feel weird.

In the "present," our hero isn't our mysterious boy with the jetpack, Jet Jones, but instead farmer Roman Taylor, responsible for maintaining the family homestead with his father away. Roman's not alone: he tends for his younger siblings Amy and Oswald as well as his mom, and with his younger brother preparing to go to school in the fall, Roman is looking to automate some of the farm work with scrap robot parts. When the seemingly impossible-to-kill Jet comes crashing into Roman's life, pursued by a towering robot bent on killing the rocket-propelled boy, the duo fend off the machine and Jet temporarily joins the Taylors on their farm as thanks and by way of apology for smashing a hole in their barn.
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