Written by John Wagner & Alan Grant
Art and cover by Carlos Ezquerra
DC Solicitation: A collection of action-packed adventures created by writers John Wagner (BATMAN) and Alan Grant (LOBO) with art by Judge Dredd co-creator Carlos Ezquerra (ADVENTURES IN THE RIFLE BRIGADE)!
On a future Earth following an atomic war, Strontium-90 fallout has caused mutation amongst humans. These mutants are hated and feared by "norms" and are forced to work in labor camps or for the Search and Destroy bounty-hunting agency, known as the "Strontium Dogs."
One such mutant is Johnny Alpha, a man gifted with eyes that can see through nearly anything - even men's minds! Now, in the first collection of Alpha's classic adventures, he meets a new partner, battles vicious killers and takes a journey into Hell itself!
On sale April 6* [2005] o 7.375" x 10.1875" o 192 pg, B&W, $14.99 US
*delayed to April 13
This volume reprints:
The Galaxy Killers, 9 episodes, progs 86-94 (Oct. 1978 to Jan. 1979). Story by "TB Grover" (John Wagner), art by Carlos Ezquerra.
Journey into Hell, 15 episodes, progs 104-118 (Mar. to June 1979). Story by "TB Grover" (Wagner). art by Carlos Ezquerra.
Death's Head, 4 episodes, progs 178-181 (Sept. to Oct. 1980). Story by Alan Grant, art by Carlos Ezquerra.
The Schicklgruber Grab, 7 episodes, progs 182-188 (Oct. to Nov. 1980). Story by Grant, art by Ezquerra.
Commentary:
Long one of the most popular 2000 AD strips, and second to Dredd in its episode count, Strontium Dog is the story of a mutant bountyhunter in Earth's future named Johnny Alpha, who was cursed from birth with x-ray eyes. Mutants in Alpha's world are unlike those seen in Marvel Comics; here, mutations grant only deformities or freakish characteristics, like a face on a knee, or extra arms. The only employment open to mutants is with the Search/Destroy Agency, which tracks down criminals on alien planets. Derided by the public as "strontium dogs," Search/Destroy agents are reviled and hated.
Strontium Dog first appeared in the comic Starlord in 1978 and transferred to 2000 AD after that book was cancelled. 24 episodes appeared in 2000 AD to great success before it was temporarily rested to make room for the strips 2000 AD gained when another title, Tornado, died in 1979. It returned in prog 178 and then featured at least one story a year for the next decade. Fueled by Carlos Ezquerra's fantastic art, a number of memorable characters and a morbid sense of black humor, the series has long been a fan-favorite, and this collection is long overdue.
The Early Cases reprints the first four of the 2000 AD adventures, 35 episodes in total. (The Starlord appearances, 19 episodes comprising seven stories, are not available to Rebellion to reprint at this time.) "The Galaxy Killers" is a little disappointingly ordinary, but "Journey into Hell" is a surreal spectacle with some incredibly powerful and sadistic foes, and "The Shicklegruber Grab" is one of the strip's highlights, in which Johnny and his partner Wulf Sternhammer match wits with four rival agents on a time job to bring Adolf Hitler to justice.