Dogs are some of the most adaptable creatures ever. If a dog becomes blind, they will figure out where all the walls are. If they lose a leg, they’ll hop around happily on three. If they lose a tooth, they will still huff and puff in your face happily as if nothing happened. Dogs are just superhuman. Now, what if we had a crime fighting dog named Scrapper that can talk, with a sidekick named Tank who is also a dog that can talk, and they were inserted into a dystopian future ripped straight from Blade Runner?
Renowned Game Developer Cliff Bleszinski (Gears of War, Lawbreakers, Fortnite) and Eisner Nominated Alex de Campi (Archie vs. Predator, Smoke) seek to answer these very questions with Scrapper. A comic series with the best ravioli-eating boy.
There is a good amount to digest in the first issue, and the de Campi x Bleszinski team do a great job of fleshing out the world of Scrapper. The setting is the futuristic city of New Verona, and like an episode of Black Mirror, it shows what could potentially happen in a society with too much technology. New Verona is a domicile city that has limited space to occupy, so of course the evil head corporation SMITE (Special Monopoly for Industrial Tech and Engineering) values the space more than the inhabitants. A corporation with the word Monopoly in it can’t be good.
The city is home to people who are suppressed by the government, and the suppression is enforced by massive spider-like creatures who evict with alarming prejudice. Besides massive spider sentries and humans treated like vermin, the city is home to what feels like an alarmingly high crime rate, wherein SMITE (the ‘good guys’) performs half of the injustice present in the first issue. This concept feels like a direct commentary on society today, and the translation is expertly done.
“Scrapper is what happens when you combine District 9 and Rush Hour, except remove the aliens and insert dogs to replace Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan.”
Scrapper and Tank strut a beat as pups of justice (think police, but dogs), and as they wander the streets their conversation details the world around them. Rats and pigeons can even join the conversation, and they provide necessary comedy relief in such a dreary setting. Tank is a fully fleshed out character, and you can almost hear his grizzled veteran voice in your head as he speaks. He has a scar over his eye and appears to play the old mentor role, like Vesemir in The Witcher. He takes charge of giving Scrapper advice.
While the writing is good for some genuine laughs and solid moments featuring Scrapper and an ‘adoring fan’, the artwork keeps up at full pace the entire time. Action sequences are presented soundly, and the detail shown on Scrapper and Tank’s faces give a lot more than what they are saying. These are fully animated characters with humanity, but they’re dogs. Although making animals appear to have human-like expressions with still images is a daunting task, Sandy Jarrell hits a grand slam developing these believable animal characters. More importantly, he works magic, allowing the characters and setting to fit together organically.
Scrapper is the buddy cop comic we need, with four-legged heroes we deserve. Scrapper is what happens when you combine District 9 and Rush Hour, except remove the aliens and insert dogs to replace Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan. Scrapper knows exactly what it is, and exactly where it is going with confidence. While the origin story for our hero is incredibly safe, and it has been done before, the overarching plot and writing seize the audience and demand whoever is reading to continue.
