Veteran Gears of War Image Comics bring readers Scrapper, the tale of a heroic super-dog and his campaign against a totalitarian dictatorship. Set in the domed city of New Verona, the second issue begins with Scrapper on the run from the brutal, draconic regime SMITE, following the apparent deaths of his owners.
Created by Bleszinski – alongside co-writer Alex de Campi and artists Ryan Kelly and Jordie Bellaire – Scrapper tells the tale of a government-experiment-turned-talking-superhero-dog, and his fight against organized crime and fascism. Bizarre as this premise may be, it looks to be shaping up into an interesting balance of elements. Check out the exclusive preview below from Image Comics:
Even Animals Aren’t Safe In A Dystopian Nightmare
In some ways a twisted Disney yarn, similar in spirit to Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely’s We3, or Brian K. Vaughan and Niko Henrichon’s Pride of Baghdad, Scrapper is notable for its cyberpunk influence. On the run from SMITE (Special Monopoly for Industrial Tech & Engineering) Corp, Scrapper and his best friend Tank the bulldog attempt to evade the police state’s forces. The preview for Scrapper #2 shows Scrapper in a terrible predicament, thanks to the source of his powers: his electronic collar. The high-tech battle collar gives him superpowers, including laser vision, and may be the source of his heightened “rage mode” from the end of issue #1, but it also makes him a target.
Dark Dystopias Can Have a Bright Spots Too
Though a bleak vision of humanity's future, as New Verona is surely a city in need of saving, Scrapper still strikes a key balance, maintaining a surprisingly lighthearted atmosphere, in part thanks to its delightful animal protagonists. Artists Ryan Kelly and Jordie Bellaire bring the intrepid canine heroes adventure to life in a way that evokes a certain pensive perspective of innocence, in the face of a mad militaristic capitalist nightmare run amuck. There’s an implicit allusion in this concept to the kind of classic children’s literature fare with talking animals, like Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH and Charlotte’s Web, that adds weight to the significant dangers Scrapper faces.
Scrapper #2 continues to build on the world established in its debut, a Blade Runner-esque dystopian cityscape, seen through the eyes of a dog. As the preview pages show, the issue begins with the eponymous Scrapper trying to remove the collar forced on him as a puppy by SMITE. However, given that the collar empowers him, it is likely to be a necessary evil, one that the protagonist must keep wearing if he is going to turn the tables on his pursuers and take the fight to the villainous SMITE. Whatever direction Cliff Bleszinski and the creative team behind Scrapper take the story in, it is one of Image Comics most exciting new titles.
Scrapper #2 is on sale August 23, 2023 from Image Comics.
