Stroper #4 - Stroper Store

STROPER No. 4, August 2018

Significantly expanding his Galactic Union’s universal canvas to one whose size is arguably comparable to that of another galaxy “far, far away”, Edward Porter’s narrative to Issue Four of “Stroper” must have delighted its “Kickstarter” based backers with both its grand vista of planetary visitations, and the forty-six page periodical’s plethora of new characters and extra-terrestrial creatures. Yet whilst contemporary fans of George Lucas’ “American epic space opera franchise” seemingly have found the most recent ‘Silver Screen’ instalments to their beloved science-fiction saga unnecessarily complicated and chock-full of dead-ended plot threads, Pak Booker’s unravelling lifestyle as an illegal hunter probably provided the majority of this digital comic’s readers with a genuinely entertaining experience, and even the occasional skipped heartbeat when the action momentarily looks set to deprive “the space drifter” of his family or friends.

Interestingly however, it is not the story-line’s central Stroper who perhaps provides this giant-sized, lavish-looking publication with its best pulse-pounding moment, but rather one of the mysteriously sinister Dim Tong’s other operatives known as Karl Wex. The visor-wearing, “violent” killer’s battle against three fish-faced Pri-Bots on the Red Moon of Banktar is potentially the highlight of Porter’s “ten-issue indie comic series” so far, with its wonderful depiction of the grim-faced ‘Black-marketeer’ initially botching his attempt to assassinate “these abominations” due to their “L.D.R. detection” and subsequently having to get in close and finish the slavers off in personal combat. Superbly drawn by this book’s creator, the oft-times blurry speed of this fight is tremendously well illustrated, especially when one of the primitive brained humanoids is literally scythed in two by a well-placed laser grenade or another later caught up in an all-encompassing explosion of webbing; “I should thank you. If you hadn’t have fallen out of your crashing ship and shattered your false body. I would never have been able to track you.”

Similarly as successful though is the visual effects artist’s introduction of this post golden age of space exploration's other ‘new’ inhabitants, such as the truly menacing, softly-spoken Mister Tong, and a somewhat disagreeably lead salvage team who inadvertently stumble upon the imprisoned Tribals Wex left to die after he slew the pot-bellied people’s Pri-Bot captors. In addition, Edward’s script also provides some much-needed motivation behind just why Pak does such a dirty job in the first-place, by momentarily giving his audience an all-too brief sentimental glimpse of the wife and two young kids the mullet-haired citizen of the Galactic Union is trying to protect.

First published on the "Dawn of Comics" website.'

Writer & Illustrator: Eddie Porter