Comic Book Review - Killtopia - Volume 3

Rob reviews Killtopia Volume 3...

I have a confession...I've never read Killtopia! I know right!? And I call myself a comic book fan! However that all changed when I came across a Tweet from Killtopia creator Dave Cook. Our brief DM chat then resulted in Killtopia Volumes 1,2, and 3 landing in my inbox. And dear comic book God's...it's amazing! 

As you'd expect Killtopia Volume 3 picks up right where Volume 2 left off. The Stilleto Corp siege has reunited both Crash and Shinji, with Crash potentially using his own code to cure the Rot. Meanwhile a batch of sex dolls develops a case of self-awareness which naturally causes its own chaos. Even as the pieces of the giant Killtopia chess board move into their final positions there's still plenty of story to tell. And that's what makes Volume 3 a must read!

Those of you returning from Killtopia Volume 1 & 2 will notice straight away that Volume 3 is different. This is mainly down to Clark Bint taking over art duties from series regular Craig Paton. Paton's work on the first two volumes really brought the world to life through plenty of neon colours and a lot of gorgeous crisp sci-fi goodness. Bint however uses his work in this volume to not only deliver his own interpretation of this cyberpunk world, he also keeps inline with Paton's established look and feel. Even with this change of artist the gritty, blood soaked feel is still present throughout Killtopia Volume 3 and it makes for a truly gorgeous tale. 

I can't praise Cook enough for his writing throughout the whole series. From how Killtopia is layered you can tell that Cook is a comic book fan and he is bringing us a story that he would want to read. His grasp on the whole cyberpunk theme is just amazing. There's plenty of small details within this world that really show this dystopia as a real-lived in place. Everything from the neon soaked street signs to the back room dealings feels very real. Even the opening pages where we're introduced to the sex-dolls is a great piece of writing. It's all delivered in that satire TV advert style to then switch to one of the dolls who's full of murderous intent.

For me this volume feels to be the turning point of the series. With the events of Stilleto Corp still fresh, each character deals with their own past or face new challenges. Each character has so many layers to their personalities it's great to see Cook explore them in such intricate detail. Every story strand is adhered to and even when the questions are asked you know you'll be getting an answer in some shape or form.

Overall Killtopia Volume 3 is a great addition to the Killtopia story. Each page is packed full of gorgeous artwork that's in turn full of small details that define this cyberpunk world. The entire cast will characters are intricately designed and packed full of small details and quirks that really bring them to life. After reading Killtopia Volume 3 I went back to re-read what had come before and its startling to see so much groundwork layer within these issues. It's clear that Cook has a plan and I can wait to see it come to fruition.

Rating 10/10

Rob Lake - For more comic book and video game chat why not follow Geek Culture Reviews on Twitter and Facebook @GeekCultureRev