Strontium Dog Recap #4: “The Hand I Boned!”

Hola, Muties!

As most of you know, I’ve been revisiting the early Strontium Dog stories lately, and holy hell-planet, folks – this one’s a banger. “No Cure for Kansyr” from the June 1978 issues of Star Lord magazine serves up exactly the kind of brutal, personal revenge story that makes Johnny Alpha such a compelling character. For those unfamiliar with this British comics legend, strap in – you’re in for one hell of a space-jaunt.

First, a bit of context for you newcomers: Strontium Dog isn’t your typical comic book fare. Born from the fallout of nuclear war, Johnny Alpha represents a darker shade of hero – a mutant bounty hunter forced into his dangerous profession by a society that fears and despises his kind. These “Search/Destroy Agents” (nicknamed Strontium Dogs due to their mutations) track the galaxy’s worst criminals, usually bringing them in dead rather than alive.

Story Details:

Title: “No Cure For Kansyr”

Appearance: Starlord Magazine #6-7 (June 1987)

Writer: John Wagner

Artist: Carlos Ezquerra

The Setup

What really intrigued me about this tale was learning about Johnny’s first partner, Sniffer Martinez. We’re used to seeing Johnny paired up with the mighty Wulf Sternhammer, but this story reveals the tragic fate of his previous companion at the hands of a particularly nasty piece of work named Kansyr. It’s the kind of backstory that adds layers of depth to a character we thought we knew.

The setup is classic Strontium Dog material – Johnny and Wulf bust into a criminal asteroid hideout on Metastis, where the local lowlifes thought their numbers would keep them safe. Big mistake. Our mutant bounty hunters cut through them like a laser through butter, all to get intel on Kansyr’s whereabouts. The violence is brutal and unflinching, exactly what we’ve come to expect from the series.

Here’s where things get personal. Through flashbacks, we learn how Kansyr used a stolen Halugin device to create illusions that let him get the drop on Sniffer Martinez, gunning him down from behind like a coward. Johnny’s response? He switched his blaster to “flesh-boning” mode and literally stripped the flesh from Kansyr’s hand, leaving nothing but bone. It’s the kind of visceral revenge that makes you wince and cheer at the same time – pure horror comic gold.

The real kicker? Kansyr got off light for killing a Strontium Dog – apparently that wasn’t considered much of a crime in that part of the galaxy. This detail speaks volumes about the prejudice these mutant bounty hunters face. They’re good enough to do society’s dirty work, but their lives are considered disposable. It’s the kind of social commentary that elevated British comics of this era above mere action fodder.

When Kansyr resurfaces, Johnny and Wulf come calling, leading to a sequence that showcases everything great about this series. The creative use of the Halugin device leads to some genuinely creepy moments, like Johnny and Wulf seeing each other as horrific monsters and nearly killing each other. There’s a tense scene in a bar mirror where Johnny has to convince Wulf of reality versus illusion, followed by an inferno that traps our heroes. The way they escape – using a Time Bomb to physically relocate themselves – is exactly the kind of sci-fi creativity that makes these stories so memorable.

The Finale

The finale is a masterclass in comic book action-horror. Wulf takes a shot in the back (though thankfully survives), and Johnny, despite being severely injured, pulls off one of the most creative kills I’ve seen in comics – pointing his blaster at his own head and using the range finder to target only Kansyr, making it appear as if he’d fired a laser from his skull. It’s the kind of wild, imaginative violence that could only work in this medium.

This is exactly the kind of dark, personal story that made Strontium Dog stand out in British comics. It shows us that even hardened bounty hunters like Johnny Alpha have hearts that can be broken – and that crossing them comes with terrible consequences. The mix of sci-fi concepts, horror elements, and emotional depth is perfectly balanced, delivering a tale that sticks with you long after reading. And if you want to pick up the recent Strontium Dog collections from rebellion Publishing, check out the 2000AD webshop.

Next up: We meet the mad computer named… McIntyre! Stay tuned, Doghouse Dwellers – this series just keeps getting better and better…

---

*Thanks for reading, Fear Planet denizens! If you want to revisit, save, highlight, and recall this article, we recommend you try out READWISE, our favorite reading management and knowledge retention app. All readers of Fear Planet automatically get a 60-day free trial.

*This post contains affiliate links. Purchasing through them will help support Fear Planet at no extra cost to our readers. For more information, read our affiliate policy.