Gunsmoke Icarus #1 – A Love Letter To Desert Eagle Toting Cyber Punk Baddies

Happy New Year, my fellow Stars! Wait, we’re approaching August? 

It has been far too long since I’ve connected with you all. While this introduction is unrelated to the truly great surprise of a read I just experienced, I wanted to get the mushy stuff out of the way. I wanted to write again for the longest time. I cannot promise a consistent schedule, but eight months into the year is far too long. Especially for the number of amazing indie content that was released over the year, including some revivals of old IPs. (Expect Tokyo Xtreme Racer 2025 coverage soon. Promise!)

I got something different for you today, Stars, from our usual video game coverage. Presenting our first-ever comic coverage on Shooting Star Galaxy! More specifically, the first issue of Gunsmoke Icarus, written by AJ Lynch and Dan Rutledge, with Dante Cutler as the artist. A special thanks to AJ herself, who reached out to me about the comic. I was drawn to its unfiltered adult-focused content, reminiscent of specific 90s and 2000s comics, with a focus on brutal action scenes and thoughtful dialogue.

Reading comics and, by extension, manga, is an enjoyable pastime that I seldom have a chance to feature. There’s a specific enjoyment in flicking through pages, gazing at iconic action shots, and the most aggressively detailed character designs that hits to the core as much as their dialogue. What I look for in a comic is characters that I visualize, given the context of the pages, playing scenes in my head. 

The 32-page issue flew by fast, almost reading like a storyboard, as I visualized Shion and Leon’s drug cartel deal turn sour. Gunsmoke Icarus is a page flyer; beginning with our two heroes rendezvousing in a car before going in peace, leaving out guns blazing, and leaving with nary a scratch. Well, more on that last part later.

Shion Jurrez, our heroine in this story, is a feisty cuervo, sorry, la loba negra, with a mullet as unapologetically rugged and beautiful as she is; A black wolf with the presence of a raven. What I appreciated about the art design for Gunsmoke Icarus is how it details this duality of the protagonist. I’d describe Shion’s aura as a spectrum between Ripley from Aliens and Revy from Black Lagoon, one of Gunsmoke Icarus’s inspirations, along with Cyberpunk 2077. 

A smart mouth wiseass who will keep her mouth shut when it matters, Shion will curse at you in a language you don’t understand under her breath just to get the last word. These examples highlight the writers’ ability to utilize bilingual dialogue for immersion. It also expresses a lot about her character without relying on backstory to tell a narrative.

Icarus is the name of the “megacity” that the story is set in. Although we see a glimpse of the urban jungle in passing, the architecture is human-made. Not by licensed carpenters and engineers either. Lynch describes it as a mix of “Mad Max” meets “Night City,” not a desolate wasteland in the desert, but a city that’s very “DIY” in terms of mechanical engineering. This is also represented by the vehicle driven, a clean 70s era muscle car that’s modified with reliability over comfort in mind.

At one point, Shion suffers a gun wound in her leg, but “suffer” is an exaggeration based on Shion’s reaction. It’s her partner, Leon Esteves, who notices her wound first, showing a great deal of concern towards the nonchalance. However, it’s less “nonchalance” and more of a nuisance for Shion. She explains to her partner that the inability to register pain is more of a detriment to her, as there’s no way of knowing when one is “bleeding out to their death” on one extreme, to the other extreme of “burning your hand on a hot stove.”

While the reader doesn’t know Shion’s full story as of yet, the introductory chapter tells us this important detail about the protagonist. We don’t know why Shion is unable to feel pain yet. Perhaps it’s an extraordinary pain tolerance level? Or it could be the line of blow she does on the barrel of her gun moments before entering a drug deal. Either way, she acknowledges that “pain is a tool,” meaning if one knows their threshold, they don’t have to go in throwing caution to the wind. 

Although the comic centered more on Shion than Leon, their relationship contains traces of Revy and Rock with a tinge of V and Jackie, again referring to Black Lagoon and Cyberpunk 2077. The chapter’s antagonist, a womanizer who uses his muscle to attempt to overpower and obtain what he wants via force, sounds just like another chromed-out lunatic who terrorized Night City for years. (Good old Adam Smasher…) 

Gunsmoke Icarus’s first chapter is a quick read filled with action scenes, witty yet meaningful jokes relative to the characters and context, as well as the introduction of minor characters that are as important to the protagonists. With a brief glimpse of the underworld that Shion dwells in, I find myself invested in the world itself. I can’t wait to see more of Shion’s adventures, the dynamic between her and her partner (hopefully nothing tragic, knock on wood), as well as those with whom she interacts within the city. 

A special thanks once more to Ms Lynch for reaching out to us and giving me the chance to cover her work! It’s always great to see a fellow transwoman penning her stories with visual art that brings said concept to life. Art is “life,” whether it’s moving animations or comic stills. Gunsmoke Icarus is full of said life. With new issues on the way, currently being worked on as we speak, Lynch and Rutledge manage to use their inspirations to create an original world that utilizes what it learned from the source and goes beyond. 

If any of this sounds like a good read, and it should sound like a great read, check out the first issue over on GlobalComix. Readers who want to support the comic directly can purchase the PDF on ComixOne for the price of a large Cold Brew in this wretched City of New York. (Semi-affectionate). At least one will leave a lasting impression on you than the barista who served you slop as you’re reading amazing comics on the train. The Shooting Star Galaxy recommends.