Webcomics Review: Fighting Stranger

I draw a lot of webcomics for GryphonKnights Studios  but on my down time I also like reading and discovering new webcomics. Sometimes they really pull me in and I find myself waiting for the next update. Usually it's only a one page update; the story doesn't progress much. But once in a while that one page changes everything.

Fighting Stranger written by Adam J. Monetta & Illustrated by Juan Romera, starts off with a beautiful splash page; A man in a cloak finds himself standing over a city remembering no more than the city's name. He wanders into the tiny cramped metropolis, and finds it to be a  mostly, deserted wasteland. He's tries to kill a fugitive mutant and is led out of the city towards another.

A man in a cloak finds himself standing over a city remembering no more than the city's name, This purposeful repetition and mimicry of the event that starts the book is what immediately sets Fighting Stranger apart from any other dystopian sci-fi. When I came to this point, I wondered if I accidentally started the comic over, and my sense of disorientation and uncertainty at this moment made me realize that I was sharing the feeling of the main character of the series. Arriving at a similar point, not sure exactly if we've been here before. It's this ability to allow the reader to empathize with it's protagonist that made the series go from entertaining to riveting, as you begin to wonder and read as the mystery of these cities and the stranger slowly unravel.

The Stranger isn't a very compelling character. He is a worn rugged mercenary archetype. The supporting cast, however, kicks ass! The citizens of this world are constantly trying to manipulate the stranger for their own ends. The Strangers stoic persona, is countered by these characters from C4D to Lacey, whose rough existence creates entertaining, dark humor which immerses me in their world.

The art and coloring of this gritty, arid planet draws you in. The colorist is excellent at conveying texture on every element of the set, from the cold metal of a gun to the rocks to the red sky. I am also a fan of the lettering, particularly  the robots' font.

I would be loath to forget mentioning the action sequences. They are amazingly story-boarded! The fights with the mutants each is laid out like a video game boss-fight, as certain mutants only have a couple of weaknesses.

So step into the rough world of The Fighting Stranger and then let me know what you think of the series, and we can theorize together!

Signing off!

T Griffin would also be remiss to forget to mention his own sci-fi, non-dystopian works WOW! Signal and Felix and Saw

Gryphon Knights at PETE's BASEMENT!

Last night we were invited over to Pete's Basement to talk about a bunch of our books, and upcoming books including, the soon to be published Frankenstein Vs. Dracula: Throughout the Ages!

We also got to discuss a bunch of indie issue ones, as well as some big events like Godhead, the female Thor, and the new Captain America. While they touched on certain things like the new Cap reveal, which was amusing because (spoiler alert!) Sam Wilson, acknowledged how much that it wasn't a surprise because of all the press and media in RL that focused on the event. 

However, I want to touch on something that I felt was relevant to the discussion but wasn't as light. I have mentioned in the past that its interesting how the mantle of our patriots passes on, and how our perspective of the Gods change, but how white, wealthy, Tony Stark is still white, and wealthy and in charge. Gail Simone recently asked on twitter "what hero do you not understand the appeal of," and for me it is none other than Tony Stark.

I have a lot more feelings on this topic which I might revisit later.

In the end the only thing that hasn't changed, and I repeat it here, is that the wealthy white guy is still in charge, and I would love for Tony Stark to be removed from the Marvel chessboard permanently.

In other news we had a great meeting yesterday with George Tsouris from GIVE UP GAMES, I believe we mentioned this company a bit on the podcast but I wanted to go in depth with our discussion yesterday. We talked to them about creating a fighting game for our recent franchise Frankenstein vs. Dracula. We brought some concepts with us, and he was sincerely excited about the concept. 

If you would also like to see a game like this let us know!