This issue of Bullet Gal is another sidetrack from the main story. Previously, series creator Andrez Bergen did this in Issue #5 to give us the origin of Brigit, the murderous French femme fatale. This time, it’s to give us the origin of Heropa, the city where they all live—or are programmed into.

Yes, Heropa is a computer simulation, existing in the world of Bergen’s first novel, Tobacco-Stained Mountain Goat. And, the creator of this simulation? None other than Lee, the duplicating superhero who is both Bullet Gal’s former mentor and current mentor.

The story of Heropa unfolds as the story of Lee, a man living in a dystopian Melbourne, but who has a love of Japan, as well as of Silver Age comic books. One can only speculate as to how Andrez Bergen came up with a character like that.

The story is great. Much as I love the ongoing Bullet Gal story, I think that the two tangent issues are my favorites so far. Of course, while they deviate from the ongoing sequence of events, they’re still very much a part of the story. They shed more light on the characters and the world that we’ve come to know, and they do it in an interesting way.

The visuals are also particularly good in this issue. It’s done in the same digital photo montage style as the previous issues that gives it a gritty, noirish feel. This issue depicts a completely different world, though. As such, it adds the dystopian future element, including a use of color similar to Bergen’s Tobacco-Stained Mountain Goat graphic novel.

Those who have read Bergen’s novel, Who Is Killing the Great Capes of Heropa?, will be particularly interested to get the city’s backstory in this issue. Those who haven’t read it will still enjoy the dystopian story of love and tragedy that’s presented in Bullet Gal #7.

Bullet Gal #7 is available in both digital and print forms from IF? Commix.