Nigerian spirit heroes loooove their spandex.
Anyhow, whoop, whoop! I knew it! Remember that purpled character from the cover page I had hopes for? Turns out I wasn’t off the mark. He has come to the aid of our depressed, recently separated hero, Strikey. What’s more, he’s a fun and persistent cat.
While just a high schooler, he knows his stuff and seems to have been in the hero business from birth. Strikey, who’s literally half the man he used to be, remains the lead character in part two of the “Get Your Ass Handed to You” saga and deserves an AMA and an Oscar for his stellar performance.
Purple cat guy goes by Dayo Akinleye Pedro and Ekun in hero circles, which, unless Google’s lying, translates into tiger. He’s a very likable character. He’s fun, has a sense of duty and like every human being, demons. He also waxes poetic with his corny sage quotes and his okro tongue reminds me of beloved Spiderman from the Captain America: Civil War flick.
He unfortunately has a very disturbing fashion game. Go Ekun, with your purple tights, golden knee high boots, golden elbow long gloves, and funky backward fur mane. Eww! Cool helmet by the way.
Then there’s Chichi, SG’s girlfriend. She’s landed in a bit of a mess with an old flame that might’ve reignited passions if he wasn’t so impatient. His forceful and hurried display of love earns him a resounding slap that echoes off the pages beyond Pluto. Chichi backs her dragon palm of fury with some solid advice, don’t push a woman to the wall. Then there’s also the chance that he needs her for some occult sacrifice.
I couldn’t help but juxtapose this with rape culture especially among friends and couples. The lesson? No is no, even if it seems like it. Don’t force little Dickens through the door even when the door’s unlocked, so long as the voice behind says no.
This issue felt less Strike Guardy and more like the grand entrance of a fun spirit hero which is admirable because, it is the catalyst to unifying the Vortex universe and a setup to Ekun’s own comic. Imagine the scolding SG’s gonna get from June XII when they meet.
While I wanted more Strike, Ekun brought sunshine to the prevailing gloom. Ekun #0 continued from where SG ended and saw Ekun toy with rock man Eki and claim his heart pumped lion’s blood. Ekun must mean lion then. Someone is proud chale.
I like what Vortex is doing, creating something African kids can hold on to. While considerable effort goes into getting each comic together, I beg that the team check their spelling and grammar. It might seem like nothing, but it takes points from the quality they’re pushing. Anyhow Vortex, can we have some chicken soup after the fowls are done playing?
I also dunno what it is, but the art felt off for me. I also wonder why it’s titled Spiritual Ebb. It felt more like a surgebecause of the new spirit players in the game: Ekun, Eki and that not so honorable boyfriend guy. But, considering SG is the main character, it’s excusable. His spirits are after all, drained and he just might hang up his costume which brings up teamwork chale. I bet Coker’s having Naruto worthy flashbacks of what it means to work in a team. I am still bitter about Ajagz departure and he better return quick.
This issue was exciting thanks to Ayodeji Afolabi’s Ekun. Check out Strike Guard 8 here and Ekun #0 here while we anticipate SG 9: Fire and Smoke.
And while we’re at it, let’s look forward to Jagun Jagun, a mashup of Ekun and Strike that comes out next year. Strike’s costume looks good, although too similar to Black Panther’s.
Peace!
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