My Indie Comics Month continues, but for this new guide for all Patrons of CK I’m skipping ahead from my sequential march through Image’s launch titles. Even though this comic launched in 1994, it’s the sibling title of yesterday’s brand new Guide to Cyberforce. It didn’t make sense to have one without the other or to cram them into a single guide. That’s why this new Top Cow Production guide got to skip ahead in line to reach you today: its my Guide to Codename Strykeforce.
Codename: Strykeforce proved the maxim that for every 90s team there had to be an even more extreme version. Even though Cyberforce was full of big guns and cybernetic limbs, we still needed a version of it who were mercenaries for money… right?
Strykeforce was the side hustle of multi-armed Cyberforce member Stryker, who ran this team between his Cyberforce missions. While Cyberforce’s cast had a somewhat uniform steely look and a plot centered on playing defense (at least to start), Strykeforce was a chance to write a more colorful “away team” who didn’t all have to be good guys.
Ultimately, there’s wasn’t much to separate Stryke Force’s identity – visually or biographically – from other early Image titles like Brigade and Stormwatch. Still, it ran for 15 issues before the team was decommissioned in a two-issue mini-event, “Opposing Forces.” Afterward, Stryker continued in Cyberforce full time for the remainder of its run. The title was later revived for a single arc in 2004 during an extended Cyberforce hiatus, though Black Anvil was the only returning member other than Stryker himself.
Want instant access to this Guide to Codename Strykeforce as well to my guides to all of the other Image Comics launch titles in my Crushing Comics Guide to Indie & Licensed Comics? Become a Patron of CK for as little as $1 a month or $10.20 a year to gain access to this exclusive guide and over 70 other guides months before the general public gains access!
Exclusives for Crushing Cadets ($1/month): 42 Guides!
DC Guides (6): Batman – Index of Ongoing Titles, Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight, Green Lantern Corps, Green Lantern: Hal Jordan, Green Lantern: Kyle Rayner, Omega Men
Marvel Guides (27): Adam Warlock, Alpha Flight, Angela, Beta Ray Bill, Black Cat, Blade, Captain Britain, Dazzler, Domino, Dracula, Drax the Destroyer, Elsa Bloodstone, Emma Frost – White Queen, Gamora, Heroes For Hire, Legion, Marvel Era: Marvel Legacy, Mister Sinister, Sabretooth, Spider-Ham, Star-Lord, Thunderstrike, Valkyrie, Vision, Weapon X, Werewolf by Night, X-Man – Nate Grey
Indie & Licensed Comics (9): Brigade, Lumberjanes, Codename Strykeforce, Cyberforce, Princeless & Raven The Pirate Princess, Savage Dragon, ShadowHawk, WildCATs, WildStorm Events
Exclusives For Pledgeonauts ($1.99+/month): 73 Guides!
All of the 42 guides above, plus 31 more…
DC Guides (16): Animal Man, Aquaman, Books of Magic, Catwoman, Doctor Fate, Flash, Harley Quinn, Houses & Horrors, Infinity Inc., Justice League, Justice Society of America, Mister Miracle, Nightwing, Outsiders, Suicide Squad, Swamp Thing
Marvel Guides (13): Darkhawk, Falcon, Gwenpool, Hellcat – Patsy Walker, Kang the Conqueror, Loki, Power Pack, Red She-Hulk, Sentry, Silk, Spider-Gwen, Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Venom
Indie & Licensed Comics (2): Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – IDW Continuity, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – Mirage Studios Continuity
Leave a Reply