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

Stroper #3 - Stroper Store

STROPER No. 3, June 2018

Palpably pedestrian in its pace, at least until its titular character decides to tangibly intervene when two “knuckleheads bumped into my stuff”, Eddie Porter’s narrative for Issue Three of “Stroper” seems far more concerned with progressing its plot and introducing more mysterious inhabitants of his colourfully-populated Galactic Union, than the usual clichéd phaser firing obsessed antics some arguably lesser writers might have been tempted to employ in order to overtly place their lead protagonist in peril. In fact, nearly all of this digital only publication’s foreboding aura of jeopardy is actually created simply by the look upon Pak Booker’s well-illustrated face rather than any space-faring shenanigans, as the mullet-haired hunter helplessly watches the space police discover his criminal carry-ons and subsequently becomes embroils ever further into the bloated bureaucracy’s “deep corruption” by becoming one of the so-called law’s lackeys.

Such detailed visual story-telling won’t admittedly be to everyone’s taste, as the author’s reliance upon his highly-stylised artwork to ‘push things along’ instead of using a plethora of text-filled speech bubbles, could cause some readers to fleetingly skim through this periodical’s thirty-one pages at a disconcerting tempo which does little to no justice to the visual effects artist’s illustrations and probably left them feeling somewhat unsated. However, for those more willing to soak in the sheer breath-taking scope of the Red Moon of Banktar with its “walking mountains” or the cosmopolitan hubbub of “the sleaze pit of a place” known as the Dome, there’s a lot to see as an ever-blanching Booker continues upon his “journey for redemption” and becomes increasingly resigned to his hapless fate when he's gloatingly informed by the authorities that “you will be sent away for a long time.”

Just as enjoyable, though pulse-pounding in a far more physical way, is Pak’s rather one-sided punch-up with two “dirtbags” who seem intent on selling a bound young woman to the highest bidder simply due to her bloodline being “worth a lot of credits.” The ensuing fisticuffs are as savagely frenzied as the drawings dynamically animated, and alongside demonstrating that despite his increasing years, the “old man” is still clearly able to more than hold his own against two low-level thugs, also provides this comic's cliffhanger ending with a jolt of energy which should make many bibliophiles desperate to know just who this mysterious lady is who can apparently “handle a ray gun like any other swinging d#@k on this side of the galaxy”…

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

Writer & Illustrator: Eddie Porter

Stroper #2 - Stroper Store

STROPER No. 2, June 2018

It’s clear from Eddie Porter’s script to Issue Two of “Stroper” just why the digital comic’s Kickstarter managed to raise an impressive $2,186 in funds by the end of February 2018, with its broadening of the title’s leading cast and additional insights into Pak Booker’s incarceration “in the Bo’ak 5 prison mines”. Indeed, the thoroughly entertaining interplay between the mullet-haired hunter and his robotic assistant Tango, is arguably worth any cover price alone, especially when the surprisingly terrified bot begins to produce a high-pitched scream as it desperately tries to help its master lug his latest prey’s burdensome corpse aboard their spaceship before the pair are consumed by zillions of hungry Krill; “You know my courage drive is under cranked. It’s a sensitive subject for me.”  

Similarly amusing is the automaton’s all-pervading aura of doom, which persistently appears to tweak the nose of the fate for all its worth. Understandably defensive when it is initially blamed for not correctly calculating that the stalker would actually encounter a female Rook on the Moon of Centi-7, the android rather humorously constantly goads the gods with its prediction that “things could be worse…” and subsequently seems to set up a sequence of events which disquietingly sees Booker’s dead extra-terrestrial prize ‘give birth’ to a cute, six-eyed living hatchling just before his vessel C16-227 is intercepted by “the boys in blue”.

Far less witty however, and understandably so, is the visual effects artist’s disconcerting dalliance upon Pak’s daily deadly routine “chain ganged to the Galaxies finest scum bags.” Strapped into a hammer suit whilst drilling for “the galaxies most precious resource” this arduous, soul-sapping punishment actually seems entirely appropriate for someone who killed “endangered aliens for money.” But when the prisoner stood working right beside our titular character is seemingly vaporised by a ruby-red release of rays from inside the ‘coal face’ upon which they’re working, it quickly becomes apparent that Pak’s sentence is probably a short-lived terminal one, where he literally takes his life in his hands every second of the working day…

Of course, what really helps bring across the monotonous nature of the captive stroper’s existence is Porter’s excellent computer-generated artwork. The scenes showing this title’s protagonist simply being one of many minuscule-sized miners as he traverses a leviathan-long, winding ravine “down into the belly of hell” alongside his innumerable fellow inmates, really captures the analogy of him simply being seen by the Galactic Union as nothing more valuable than a replaceable worker ant. Whilst Booker’s increasingly troubled facial features, in light of his latest hunt’s aftermath, shows the man's agitated unease as circumstances pour woe after woe upon his shoulders, and really adds to the growing tension inside his spacecraft’s cockpit.

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

Writer & Illustrator: Eddie Porter

Stroper #1 - Stroper Store

STROPER No. 1, June 2018

Awarded “Comic of the Week” during June 2018 by “ComixCentral” - “The Hub For Indie Comics”, Issue One of “Stroper” undoubtedly relies far more upon its visual content than it does dialogue in order to tell the digital-only publication’s tale of Bo-ak 5 Prison miner Pak Booker, and resultantly, despite its twenty-six page length, could arguably therefore be viewed as a somewhat short reading experience. Yet such is Edward Porter’s attention to detail with his quirky, cartoonish story-boarding, that anyone in this book’s audience who doesn’t invest some additional time perusing the finer points of his computer-drawn imagery, such as blood vessels in the titular character’s eyes or the reflection of Krill eggs on his bubble-style astronaut’s helmet, will absolutely be missing a trick with this title.

Naturally for a narrative focusing almost solely upon a hunter’s “illegal harvest of alien wild life” though, there still needs to be some sort of hook with which to ensnare any bibliophile’s passing attention besides pretty artwork, and fortunately this adventure set “in the far future, [when] Mankind’s golden age of space exploration has ended” manages to provide one by depicting an expedition which is far from straightforward. Indeed, the inclusion of “a violent and invasive fungus that spreads from space rock to space rock” in the very vicinity of the stroper’s injured prey must genuinely have made some readers momentarily hold their breath just as soon as it becomes clear that any noise generated by the tracker will result in the carnivorous parasites instantly eating the main protagonist alive; “Sound sensitive. Vibration sensitive. One more misstep and I am a dead man.” 

This underlying threat also causes Booker to put down his long-range ray-gun and attempt to settle matters “the old fashioned way” with a long knife. Perhaps unsurprisingly however, the gigantic extra-terrestrial insectoid Pak ultimately faces isn’t going to be so easily dispatched and the ensuing pulse-pounding close combat quickly produces far more noise than the long-haired stalker’s rifle arguably ever would have. Certainly, the multi-legged alien’s shrill cries of pain as its limbs are brutally carved away from under it, causes thousands of the purple hatchlings to break free of their reproductive cells and helps establish a well-thought out cliff-hanger by subsequently stampeding towards the cave entrance where the a worn-out stroper has only just successfully finished fighting…

Writer & Illustrator: Eddie Porter