Blood Money and Time Bombs: Strontium Dog Recap #2

Welcome back to Fear Planet, where I dig into the radioactive wastelands of science fiction and the cosmic nightmares that keep me up at night. Today I’m cracking open Starlord #2 from May 1978 to revisit my favorite mutant bounty hunter, Johnny Alpha—better known as Strontium Dog.

When I last covered Johnny’s debut, he and his Viking partner Wulf were tracking Max Quirxx (that’s Q-U-I-R-X-X—two X’s, because apparently one wasn’t enough for this psychopath). The bastard had vaporized an entire city on Bario 3 with a P-bomb, and now he’s got a date with the vapor chamber if Johnny brings him in breathing. But I know Johnny, and breathing bounties aren’t exactly his specialty.

Blow-by-Blow Breakdown

Wagner and Ezquerra kick off this second appearance with a brutal montage that hammers home the reality of mutant life in the 23rd century. Four panels of pure misery—mutants starving in the streets, forbidden from owning businesses, banned from honest work. The only way these irradiated outcasts survive is by becoming what normals fear most: hunters of men. And Johnny? He’s the apex predator in this food chain of desperation.

The action picks up with Johnny and Wulf approaching the Nova Conapt building where Quirxx is holed up. The moment they breach, Quirxx opens fire like the cornered rat he is. Here’s where things get interesting—Johnny sets his blaster to stun. Stun! I’m thinking maybe he wants that vapor chamber bounty bonus, but no. Johnny’s playing a different game.

Quirxx crashes through a window and does what scum always do—grabs the nearest innocents. A mother and her daughter become his human shields while some education bot drones on in the background, oblivious to the violence. Quirxx pistol-whips the mother hard enough to make my teeth hurt just reading it, threatening to paint the walls with their blood if Johnny takes another step.

But Johnny’s got those alpha eyes—strontium-90’s gift that lets him see through walls like they’re tissue paper. He spots Quirxx’s exact position and pulls out one of his nastier toys: a time drogue (D-R-O-G-U-E, for those keeping score). While Wulf lays down suppressing fire, Johnny lobs this temporal grenade with surgical precision.

The beauty of the time drogue? It doesn’t kill you. It just displaces you two days into the future. Same spot, different time. Problem is, planets don’t stand still. Two days later, Quirxx materializes exactly where he was standing—except now that spot’s in the cold vacuum of space. Him and that useless education bot, frozen solid and drifting in the void. Justice served, Johnny Alpha style.

Here’s where my gut twists. The mother Johnny just saved? The second she sees those glowing alpha eyes, she turns on him like he’s the monster. Kicks him out of her home without so much as a thank you. But the kid—she gets it. She sees past the mutation to the man who just saved their lives. “You’re nice,” she tells him. In Johnny’s world, that’s probably the kindest thing anyone’s said to him all week.

At the local law office, the cops hand over the bounty like they’re handling toxic waste. They spit the name “Strontium Dog” at Johnny like it’s a curse. Standard procedure in this cesspool of prejudice. But what kills me—what really drives home who Johnny is—comes next.

Outside, there’s this mutant beggar. Poor bastard’s got an arm growing out of his skull, holding out a bowl for credits. Johnny and Wulf? They dump their entire bounty into that bowl. Every last credit. “At least it’s for a good cause,” Johnny says, walking away empty-handed.

My Thoughts on Max Quirxx Part 2

That’s Johnny Alpha for you. Not the cold executioner Dredd would be. Not some noble hero expecting parades. Just a man doing ugly work in an uglier world, trying to leave it a little less cruel than he found it.

Wagner and Ezquerra are building something special here. Johnny’s arsenal—those time drogues that turn physics into a death sentence—shows they’re not playing it safe with the sci-fi concepts. The partnership between Johnny and Wulf flows like they’ve been doing this dance for years, each knowing their steps without needing to speak.

But it’s the quiet moments that hit hardest. The way children see through the prejudice. The casual cruelty of being saved and rejected in the same breath. The choice to give away blood money to someone who needs it more. This isn’t just another space Western—it’s a mirror held up to our own ugly prejudices, wrapped in radioactive packaging.

What’s Next in our Alpha Coverage?

Next prog (or whatever they used to call a Starlord issue), we’ll be meeting a cutesy mainstay of the series – the Gronk! If you know, you know. If you don’t, strap in—things are about to get weird in the best possible way.

That’s all from the irradiated wasteland for now. Keep your blasters charged and your alpha eyes open, Fear Planet Denizens. This is Herm, signing off.

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