'The Life and Death of Johnny Alpha: The Project' - John Wagner, Carlos Ezquerra (Rebellion)

It's a fact of comic books (a law even in the case of some of the larger publishers) that no-one really dies, not if bringing them back will mean a good story and a few more comics sold. Ok, there are probably a few exceptions out there ('Walking Dead' anyone?) but these are exceptions that invariably prove the rule. Superhero A didn't actually die, their body was kept in stasis by a hitherto unknown alien species. Superhero B did die but it turns out that he was from a parallel universe so that's ok; we still get to keep the one that we're used to. What 'great' ways to tug at the heartstrings but not have to develop new characters, not ones that matter to the reader anyway...

You've probably guessed that I'm not a big fan of this plot device in comics. Put it this way, if Eric Powell ever brings Goon's Aunt Kizzie back to life then I will quit readinf there and then. I thought that the characters on 2000AD would be safe from this wanton resurrection. After all, here is a comic that kills its characters in such ways that they are never coming back (apart from Judge Death I guess)... Doesn't it? Turns out I was wrong. One of 2000ADs most iconic characters is back in the land of the living and I hadn't realised that he was dead in the first place...

If you're a mutant, in 22nd century Britain, then your best chance of escaping the ghettos is to sign up with the Search/Destroy Agency and become a bounty hunter ('Strontium Dog'). Johnny Alpha was the deadliest Strontium Dog on the books and a keen fighter for mutant rights until his death (saving his kind from genocide).
Years have passed and word on the streets is that Alpha didn't actually die at all. Friends race to find his body but there are those who are equally determined to make sure that the job of killing Alpha is done properly this time. Plans are underway to finish off the mutant population for good and Johnny Alpha is the only person who might be able to stop them...

This probably goes without saying but I'm going to say it anyway. While 'The Project' works very well on its own (especially the latter parts) you really need to have read around the circumstances of Alpha's 'death' before getting stuck in here. It's not that 'The Project' doesn't fill in the gaps for new readers; it does this very well indeed, giving you enough to be going on with but not getting in the way of the story itself. If you're anything like me, you will need to have seen Alpha's sacrifice in order to fully get why it is such a big deal to the friends he left behind. I'd never read about Alpha's death so 'The Project' felt a little hollow on that score...

The story itself is fairly straightforward although Wagner does supply his readers with enough little hints to keep things interesting, certainly enough for me to want to pick up the next volume. Talk about a cliffhanger to leave things on...
Part of what Wagner does so well here lies in his treatment of Alpha's return. Again, it's all done very simply but Alpha's resurrection isn't a superhero one. No, Alpha literally has to start all over again and who can't sympathize with that? Not only that but Alpha has brought something back from beyond the grave; something that sits in his head hurling abuse at him and is clearly designed to catch our interest. It worked for me, I really want to know what is going on here...

The rest of the plot is nothing new (returning from the grave and ethnic cleansing in sci-fi, nothing we haven't seen in other books) but is examined with a real refreshing honesty that you can't help but be drawn in by. Couple this with artfully placed intrigue and gunfire and you can't really lose.
Talking of art, this is a difficult area to talk about as I can only say (once again) that Carlos Ezquerra's art is superb and it's all too easy to just sit there and stare at it. Ezquerra is 2000AD, make no mistake about it.

'The Project' is perhaps a little too familiar, in terms of subject matter, to make for a truly essential read. How Wagner treats that subject matter though... That made for an engrossing read and a story that I am eager to see conclude.