Hey there, fellow thrill-seekers. It’s that time again when we venture down memory lane, dust off the archives, and revisit some of the iconic stories that have shaped our beloved 2000AD comic book universe. Today, we’re teleporting back to the seminal beginnings of one of the most enduring and compelling characters ever to grace the pages of Britain’s comic book scene. Enter Johnny Alpha, the Strontium Dog, a creation that has become synonymous with thrilling narratives and rich, evocative artwork.
In the bustling spring of May 1978, nestled within the vibrant pages of the inaugural issue of the UK’s Starlord Comic Book magazine, a new hero was born. Created by the dynamic duo of writer John Wagner and artist Carlos Ezquerra, Strontium Dog quickly captured the imaginations of readers across the country and beyond. This was no ordinary hero, no clean-cut caped crusader, but a gritty, mutated bounty hunter navigating an unforgiving post-apocalyptic universe.
Wagner and Ezquerra, true masters of their craft, were the architects of this first story. With Wagner’s razor-sharp dialogue and Ezquerra’s striking, atmospheric art, they crafted a world both compellingly alien and hauntingly familiar. The first time we met Johnny Alpha, we were instantly drawn into his radioactive reality, where the lines between villain and hero were as blurred as the wasteland horizons.
So, prime your blasters, fellow 2000AD and Starlord enthusiasts! Let’s dive headfirst into the radioactive world of Strontium Dog, re-exploring the captivating debut of Johnny Alpha, and reminding ourselves why, after all these years, we still can’t get enough of this strontium-infused hero. Let’s turn the time drogue back to 1978 and relive the thrill of that first encounter. Stay tuned and keep those nostalgia goggles on tight!
The First Episode
Our story kicks off with Johnny and his time-displaced biking partner Wulf thousands of light-years from Earth, hunting their quarry – one Maxx Quirxx – on the planet Caytor. No sooner have they sniffed out the trail than they are ambushed by a couple of Caytor’s goons, who seek to turn the two Search/Destroy Agents into bubbling piles of goo with scatter beams!
When the bushwhackers employ Chameleon Tech to blend into their surroundings, Johnny reveals his mutant heritage – his Alpha eyes! A permanent effect from the atomic wars and the Strontium fallout that warped humans on Earth, these eyes can see through stone, metal, and even skin & bone.
Determining their attackers’ location, Johnny relays the information to Wulf before giving the chilling command: “Set blasters to FLESH!” Predictably, the ambushers are reduced to skeletal corpses by the bounty hunters’ devastating beam weapons in seconds.
As Johnny and Wulf approach the smoldering cadavers, we manage to get our first real look at these fearsome hunters. johnny is tall, with a mop of unruly black curls beneath his odd helmet, his pupilless mutant eyes inscrutable. Wulf looks like your typical 9th-century Scandinavian raider – fearsome, bearded, gigantic, and wielding a terrifying melee weapon, a half axe/half hammer he calls “Der Happy Stick.”
Just as they are about to investigate the corpses, the local fuzz arrives. Here we as readers come to realize the central premise of the entire series – humans (‘norms’) of all stripes hate mutants with a fierce passion throughout dozens of galaxies. Only Johnny and Wulf’s SD badges save them from being accosted – apparently, the galactic crime commission has given SD Agents full sanction when it comes to apprehending or terminating targets. The law may never interfere.
After the vitriol and verbal abuse from the cops have subsided, Johnny traumatizes them by interrogating one of the corpses! He employs the advanced tech all SD agents wield, in this case a TIME DROGUE, to reverse the flow of time and bring the dead man back to life. Here we learn of another pivotal power in Johnny’s arsenal – the power to read men’s souls and minds with his strange Alpha eyes. Playing the part of a living lie detector, Johnny ascertains the current whereabouts of his bounty Max Quirxx before mercilessly flicking off the time drogue. Having witnessed the chilling sight of flesh crawling back on scorched bones mere moments ago, the cops are further scarred when they see Johnny’s victim die a second time; his flesh blasted from his skeleton in a paroxysm of agony!
The location of Max Quirxx in hand, Johnny and Wulf commence their hunt, all the while musing on the hatred humans bear mutants, and whether or not an ungrateful universe would ever accept the mutant Search/Destroy agents who rid the galaxies of scum (‘voorms’ as Wulf calls them). In their wake, the bigoted words of the cops drift in the air… SD Agents? No. Humans prefer the disparaging term ‘Strontium Dogs.’
And that’s it for the recap of the very first appearance of Johnny Alpha. What did you think, Zarjaz Ones? Was it epic from the start, or was it a bust? Did you enjoy the congested, economical writing of John Wagner, and the unique art of Carlos Ezquerra? Let me know in the comments below, and we’ll get a conversation going.
Remember to subscribe to the blog to be notified of future posts! Until we meet again in the Doghouse, muties, take care of yourselves, and thanks for reading.
*Note: If you want to read along with us as we blog our way through the adventures of Johnny Alpha and are thinking of picking up some zarjaz SD collections, you can find them by clicking on the following link:
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