Review by Luke Williams
By Dave Cook, Craig Paton and Clark Bint | Flats / Colours by Lou Ashworth and Ludwig Olimba | Lettering by Robin Jones and Micah Myers
Now collected in a hardback volume by Titan, Killtopia was originally a BHP Comics Kickstartered science fiction series. Set in the “Killtopia” sector of Neo Tokyo where rampaging robots wreak havoc and a disease called “the Rot”; a plague of nanomachines “terraforming” the afflicted inside out, runs rampant. “Wreckers” are those humans brave enough to participate in the sport of hunting these rogue robots. Fame, fortune and rot medication are the rewards.
Our hero, Shinji, is secretly working as a wrecker to pay for a cure for his rot infested sister, Omi. It’s on one of his jobs that he comes across Crash, a mech who, uniquely, can speak and can act as translator between humans and robots making him prized amongst the various factions of Neo Tokyo.
Word of Crash’s existence and abilities soon reach the criminal organisation, Lucky 7, led by the ruthless Saitoh places a bounty on Crash’s head. Lucky 7 plan to use Crash to repurpose all the mechs in Killtopia and take over the city. But interest in Crash is not limited to Lucky 7…
Killtopia wears its influences on its sleeve. There’s a bit of everything in here: The Matrix, Blade Runner, Akira and, probably, lots of others that your reviewer has missed. Mechanical body enhancements, future dystopia, imaginative weapons, over the top action are all present and correct.
Over the extended publication of the Kickstarter run, the series could be difficult to keep track of without rereads. Read together in one sitting it gels well and it evolves quite significantly, but naturally and logically, from its gritty, bloody, neon bathed cyberpunk origins into something quite different, more freewheeling and cosmic and less gritty and grounded but no less action packed. There is considerable character development, which is quite a feat considering the number of characters that are introduced but not the point of it being unmanageable and confusing.
Initially, the dialogue is a little rough and shouty like a Nineties action / sci fi movie. However, as the book progresses, these rough edges get filed off, and the plot, getting more labyrinthine as it develops and with some startling right turns, draws you in.
Artist for the first two chapters Craig Paton’s work is very detailed, with a great sense of page layout, design of technology, clothing and paraphernalia. Clark Bint on chapters 2-5 art is looser and more expressive, but although the difference is jarring initially, it doesn’t take long to get used to the different style.
Recommended? Yes, why not? It’s not world beating, but a good, noisy, sci fi action series, which perhaps a little derivative in places has room to breathe and develop into something more than its cyberpunk origins.
Luke Williams
• Killtopia: The Complete Collection is available from all good bookshops from 29th October 2024 | ISBN 978-1787744189 | Buy it from AmazonUK (Affiliate Link) | Buy it via Bookshop.org (Affiliate Link)
The Killtopia Team
Hailing from Scotland, Dave Cook is an author who writes comic books, video games and books about gaming. He created the award-winning Killtopia and then produced it with the series’ original artist Craig Paton. Together, they won several awards for the series. Dave’s also the writer of retro beat ’em up tribute comic series BPM: Beatdowns Per Minute, the psychological horror trip, Deadliner, and Ninja Baseball Spirits.
Dave has been crowdfunding comics since 2014, and altogether his campaigns have raised over £170,000. he also wrote a free comic crowdfunding guidebook to help others plan, market, run and fulfil their own campaigns.
Craig Paton is a comic artist and professional illustrator based in Glasgow. He was the original artist for issue #1 and #2 of Killtopia, and the creator of cyberpunk art book, Hardcode. As an illustrator, he’s worked with the BBC, Holland & Sherry and Edinburgh Gin, among others
Clark Bint is a UK comic artist known for detailed, high-octane pages. He has a passion for sequential storytelling that transcends genres. His work is equally weird and psychedelic, with equal parts heart and humanity. His work has been featured in Killtopia, Heavy Metal, Frank At Home On The Farm, and more.
Based in Cambridge, colourist NL Ashworth started making their own webcomics in 2006 and now has over a decade of experience working professionally in the indie scene. Seen in several of Dave’s projects, their energetic colours are also found in The Phoenix, ArcWorlde: Tales from the Journal, Samurai Slasher, and more.
Rob Jones, who lettered #1 of Killtopia, is primarily a letterer and sometimes writer of comics. He’s worked for Image Comics, Penguin, Scholastic, Harper Collins, Humanoids, Heavy Metal, BHP Comics and many more. He can be found on social media @RobJonesWrites – or in his local park shouting at the ducks.
Micah Myers has worked as a letterer on comics for DC, Image, Dark Horse, IDW, Mad Cave, ComiXology, Webtoon, and more. He’s lettered many critically-acclaimed books including stories in the Eisner-winning anthology, Puerto Rico Strong. In 2021 and 2023, he was nominated for the Ringo Award for Lettering, and is the creator of The Disasters.
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Brought up on a diet of Commando, British Boys Annuals and Asterix, Lucas Williams’s day job limits his reading time. Luckily for everyone else this also restricts his writing time.
Categories: British Comics, British Comics - Collections, Comics, downthetubes Comics News, Features, Reviews
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