What appears initially to be a setup for gratuitous violence became more complex. A battle royale is introduced at the onset, as well as some of the major players in a hierarchy that parallels how much money they earn.

But the story actually centers on a new Wrecker called Shinji who is trying to earn enough money to pay for his sisters’ medication while hiding this secret life from her. The meds prices keep going up, making Shinji desperate.  Things get complicated when he comes upon a rogue mech he’s supposed to scrap but can’t bring himself to do so when it’s revealed to be sentient.

Further complicating his life, he puts himself on the line to save the mech being targeted by another hunter and ends up befriending it while other hunters are put onto the scent of the robot and his indiscretion, killing another Wrecker.

This is just the first volume of Killtopia and it seems promising. The color palette and line work are great. The paper seems a bit weird, seemingly washing it out a bit. But it’s a good bargain for an independent comic at $15. I’ll be following subsequent issues. It ends with a cliffhanger and I appreciated that what seemed like an excuse for violence ended up to be much more interesting, exploring themes I didn’t expect in the setup.