Dave Cook & Craig Paton smashed through more targets than Hawkeye with the first Killtopia Kickstarter campaign and the same frenzy from that stunning opening issue was in the air when the second issue came rolling along.
The story of Wreckers entertaining the masses with their brutal Running-Man-like death matches are still fuelling those crowds but with the plague working it’s way in from the slums it all seems to make sense that we’re on the shoulder of Shinji. His double-edged fight sees him scrambling to tackle both sides and his android companion Crash finds himself in the sights of top Wrecker Stiletto.
This confrontation brings with it a new spectacle for the masses to enjoy as an unplanned battle introduces a flood of doubt over Stiletto’s current status. That’s enough to attract even more attention to the whole situation and the other Wreckers are on the trail of Shinji, Crash and now Stiletto by the looks of things. The complex hierarchy starts to feel that pressure too and the combo of plague, a possible cure and the stability of the Wreckers make this an ever-changing field of play for every character and the reader too.
There’s A LOT of reading in this issue between the narrative & dialogue and while that might have stunted many other titles sense of momentum, the combination of Dave’s tireless work to keep things tight and the attention to detail from letterer Micah Myers helps keep things flowing along nicely. Art from Craig is again on another level with his panel layout and ability to capture the energy from fights, the pace of a chase and the kick-ass design to give that extra bit of wow. That being said, the only niggles I have for this are the lack of detail on some of the panels compared to others, particularly in the latter half of the book and some of the pages looking almost blurred in places – something I see on both the print & digital copy – which, given their own high standards, becomes a bit jarring when read & re-read multiple times.
There’s no doubt that Killtopia is a stand-out title in the indie world and the response to the Kickstarter campaigns is testament to that and with the story getting into its stride in this second issue I’m pretty sure this feels like one that’s on my indie pull-list for the duration. Smarter than it’s given credit for and styled to perfection it feels like a complete package and that’s strong enough to get me passed any minor niggles I may have. Roll on that third volume!!!
You can get hold of Killtopia over on the BHP Comics website & Amazon and keep up to date with Killtopia over on the Card Sharks website as well as the title’s Facebook & Twitter pages.
You can also check-in with everyone involved over on Twitter for more news of that third volume & more.
Dave – @davescook
Craig – @CraigPaton
Micah – @micahmyers
BHP Comics – @BHP_Comics
8/10
G-Man
COMICS ANONYMOUS 