2000AD Prog 1573 - 13 February 08

Cover by Dylan Teague

Joe Saxton: Not a vintage effort from Dylan Teague here.  Personally I always thought he was better at portraits.  The dubious positioning of the characters (I’m struggling to see how Groule has hit Johnny without some serious changes in the position of his wrist) and the fact that neither particularly resemble the characters in the strip are both major flaws.  In the minor flaws category, Johnny has been drawn in such a way that he looks like he’s got pupils (and yes, he looks like Sylvester Stallone) and if a character has just been punched by a huge rock man I want to see some blood/teeth coming out of his mouth.  Overall: poor. 

Robert Frazer: think I see what went wrong here. Teague saw the design for Groule, and he fastened on the character's face - the ridged split, the mismatched eyes - and felt that these were important features that needed to be clearly emphasised, as their striking and unusual nature would attract interest. However, in turning everything about this one joint, the entire image is skewed. Maybe Teague felt that just showing half of Groule's face would make him look like a bland and featureless cartoon slab, or else he's trying to evoke an atmosphere of Groule casually batting aside opposition and already fastening on the reader with a "you're next!" glare, but as it happens everything just seems clumsy, contorted, and off-balance.

Teague's vision of "Johnny", however, seems entirely natural. After all, he's already defeated every opponent that Earth can muster, so it's only natural that aliens will have to enter the ring to knock down Rocky Balboa...!

Stephen Watson: I quite like this cover with its dynamic pose and frenetic whiz lines, but it does fall short on a couple of points. The main gripe is that Groule looks nothing like he does in the strip, which begs the question why is the cover being done by someone other than the strip artist? It’s also a pity that Alpha is out of ‘uniform’ as I’m sure he’s be unrecognisable to the casual browser. On the plus side it is colourful and action packed and certainly above average.

Emphatically Evil - Part 5 Script: John Wagner Art: Colin Macneil Colours: Chris Blythe Letters: Annie Parkhouse

Stupid, stupid judges...

Synopsis: Mayor Ambrose/Maybe heads out on a reconnaissance mission, using a robotic fly to spy on Jimmy "JP" Buwick and confirm that he's the real killer. While in his hovercar, he's seen by a judge, but says he's just taking a relaxing drive around the city. Later Maybe realises that JP has the formula for SLD 88, but can't work out if he really knows Ambrose's real identity. The next day - the day of the vote on the mutant laws - Beeney and another judge are interviewing Ambrose's grandfather when Quilp - under the influence of SLD 88 - starts shooting the place up...

JS: So this rumbles on, looking like it will hopefully see some conclusion in the next couple of weeks.  Not that it isn’t an enjoyable storyline, but it hasn’t been the fastest mover.  Having said that, PJ maybe continues to be the consummate criminal, and I particularly enjoyed his visit by a patrolling judge.  I’m not sure whether I’m a fan of Wagner telling two stories at once here or not, as both Maybe and the mutant issue are still running, one definitely as an undercurrent to the other. It's good to see continuity but I feel like the mutant issue may have been a bit short-changed, protests only being mentioned occasionally. 

Still, hard to fault a very solid Dredd story. 

RF: It's almost unbearable to think that a Prog in the (hopefully far) future will have PJ Maybe finally exposed and cornered into a face-off with Dredd for keeps - heady vapours of sheer delight waft up from every page that features him. When Judge Dredd is a strip which can too frequently lurch into turgid angst (as this very story did in its earlier episodes, in fact), to have an anti-hero not belaboured with ponderous portentuousness, but rather one whose every action sings with zest and glee, is truly captivating - our own breath is caught by the breathless thrill of his deceptions and chicanery. There's a real playful character to the spy-fly buzzing about (particularly when it pokes its head through the hole it's burnt on the third page), and when the encounter with the patrolling Judge is smoothly fielded you can see just how fine a tightrope Maybe is poised above. All it would have taken is one inopportune glance from the Judge, and that keen smile would have turned to a puzzled frown, and Maybe's entire grand scheme would have gone down like the General Belgrano. That even the mundane routine can be source of threat just accentuates the excitement!

It's interesting to see that the mother of a psychotic youth takes sleeping pills - recalling the condition of Alex in A Clockwork Orange, perhaps?

The closing scene of Guy Quilp's Buwick-conditioned rampage is a mixed bag. The art of the dawn panel and the text of the accompanying news bulletin complement each other well, giving you the impression of the world gearing and limbering up for another day and events of great moment. Parkhouse's sound-effects, however, are underwhelming, particularly for the "Skash" of the shattering glass in the final panel - for an energetic image, her choice of font is deflatingly pedestrian. There are interesting suggestions for the tying together the strands of the overarching plot, though - particularly as Roake and Beeny are tracking down the source of Maybe's errant snot (that's the sort of business they don't tell prospective detectives!), there's a possible avenue for him to come unstuck if they find Buwick just as Maybe prepares to do away with him...

SW: To my mind, this must be the first Judge Dredd strip where the great man doesn’t make a single appearance. I only noticed this on the third reading as there is so much going on in a highly enjoyable series. You could of course argue that the strip would be better suited to the Megazine and it could be presented as a ‘tales from Mega-City’ style affair as the Dredd involvement so far has been slight.

The fact that Wagner’s stable of supporting characters can hold their own in Dredd’s absence is testament to the strip’s strength and to years of painstaking plotting. Of course some of the plot strands are familiar, with new Juve murderer JP a virtual retread of PJ himself. I am hoping that their malevolent paths will diverge soon as I have no interest in a PJ mark 2.

The sub plot of the Mutie referendum has been played very low key which is surprising for such a pivotal event in the city’s history. I have faith in Wagner to pull the strands together however, and the only thing I’m sure of is that I’ve no idea where things are going next.

Colin Macneil does a fine job on the art duties and comes up with some great ‘shots’ for what on paper must seem pretty pedestrian sequences. If I was being picky I’d say the strip lacks action and of course Dredd himself but such moans would be a disservice to a wonderful creative team at the peak of their powers.

The Defiant - Part 8 Script: Robbie Morrison Art: Henry Flint Letters: Annie Parkhouse

Zengo shows off...

Synopsis: We return to Brother Zengo, who told the tale of the Shakara in episode one. He is teaching his followers in the way of Psi-phoo - when his temple is attacked by the Thornax - and elite Hierarchy death squad. Zengo easily defeats them, but is felled by another warrior - who appears to be the presumed dead leader of the Shakara - Brenneka...

JS: Eh, what, where’s this come from?  A bit of a bastard this, as an end to a series to suddenly jump into largely unrelated characters and events, though I’m sure they’ll be related in the future for now it’s a bit of a let down.  The only good point I can see is that it hopefully means a bit less of a wait between this and the next bit of shakara, to clear up this mess.  

As usual Flint’s art is superb and its nice to see expansion of Brother Zengo, I particularly like his colourful corona. 

RF: Alright, Morrison, you win! Over the last fortnight he's sought to confound my initial assessment of the script as mere frame to Flint's art, and here I have to concede that my original impression is untenable. Morrison's narrative has been important to Shakara, but it's a shame that it has to become apparent in a negative way here, when a sudden and abrupt dislocation in place and content causes a confused stumble in what should have been a running leap.

Flint as always, achieves excellence with his work, with Brother Zengo's lustrous and scintillating nimbus being an effective use of spot colour, and his general design being adjusted enough (such as how his lobes actually float rather than being part of his ears) to forgive the unimaginative Space Buddha tropes. All else maintains the superb magnitude of depth and detail that we've come to admire.

But why have we returned to Brother Zengo in the first place? When did Shakara start becoming a Hierarchy agent? Why is he blue again? What's happened to Eva? For how long has Shakara been able to speak in full sentences? All of these are thrown at your feet and into your face as you read, and the sensation is uncomfortable - you have to wonder if we've skipped and episode which slipped out of the packet when the proofs were sent back to the printers. A finale should be a grand, accomplished, complete denouement with enough bait left dangling to tempt you along to the next series, but here the curtain falls when the hooks are still only half-tied. This episode is perfect as a one-shot strip, but as part of series it's a non-sequitur which almost completely breaks the narrative. There's a faint sense of deflation and hesitation petering out from the strip, then, spoiling this last episode. Shakara has been so consistently splendid up to now - it's just such a pity that it had to sign-off with a duff note.

SW: I was a late convert to Shakara having originally seen it as a one dimensional slash ‘em up. Book 2 won me over and the framing mechanism of D’eath’s memoirs added extra scope and importantly, humour. This latest instalment has caused me to revise my opinion once again and it isn’t for the positive.

It is still a fun strip and a better artist to subject match than this and Henry Flint can’t be imagined, but I was just a bit under whelmed this time around. I think part of the problem is Shakara indefatigability - where’s the danger? All he does is shout his catch phrase and run amok through all adversaries.

This time around there has been some character development with a softer side to the planet killer being seen. Unfortunately that rang as true as those e-mails I get telling me I’ve won the Nigerian lottery!

The final episode came as something of a surprise and I had to check that I hadn’t missed an episode out. My understanding is that the badly injured woman has been ‘healed’ by the masters into a new and blue Shakara replete with the same catchphrase. This was a logical solution to the previous events and offers plenty of possibilities for future epics.

All in all it was a fun throwaway adventure with stunning visuals and a few laughs thrown in for good measure. I‘m sorry to damn it with feint praise but it would be hard to argue that this outing was not a step back from the excellent Book 2.

The Promised Land - Part 8 Script: Dan Abnett Art: Richard Elson Letters: Simon Bowland

Gene wrestles with his "conscience"...

Synopsis: Gene - shocked by the discovery that the ticks control the people - argues with the "urgings" in his mind. He is visited by Leezee who tells him that she has a tick too - as does he. Indeed, there is a tick embedded in Gene's shoulder which he was unaware of - undoubtedly picked up while he was in the swamp and the source of his urgings. He rips it out and collapses with the resulting blood loss...

JS: And so it’s revealed that the urgings weren’t quite what we thought.  I went back and read this story from the start recently and I have to say it’s quite poignant, the timing of the urgings return actually made it quite obvious in hindsight but in episodic installments Abnett still managed to make it a bit of a surprise.  As there’s no clear direction this can take next week I’m left with baited breath, though it's fairly obvious Gene will survive.  But if the series had ended there, that would have been one hell of a cliff-hanger...

RF: Well, anyone expecting Leezee and the Hackman to escape the Promised Land and form a comedy double-act in Kingdom III ("Ginger Girl and the G.M. Meathead Death Machine" - sell it to ITV, we'll be able to take baths in crisp, clean fifty-pound notes) will be confounded - Abnett effectively turns the tables on our expectations firmly - and unapologetically - placing the one closest to Gene into the camp of his enemies (it's also interesting to note how her language has become colder - "a dog has to eat" is a world away from her giddy giggles over him slurping up a plateful).

It's welcome to finally find an explanation for the changed nature of the Urgings. I was puzzled when they suddenly started speaking to Gene, when previously they had previously only been subconscious impulses - this week's revelation neatly ties everything together.

Elson's art has a couple of noteworthy aspects - the folding flesh as he drags off the tick in the penultimate page is impressively thorough, and it's interesting to see the chains spooled around his neck, which recalls the design of Shakara - is Elson attempting to insinuate the same sense of (severely strained) servility in Gene?

An enthralling cliffhanger is presented to us, which suggests quite a conundrum - what will the Ticks do with Gene? Presumably he'll need time to recover from being poisoned by the tick's purulent innards (which may be awkward if Them stage an attack in the meantime), but seeing as the Ticks evidently control their hosts through suggestion rather than direct mind-control, they can't just clamp another one to his bulging muscles now that Gene is wise to them - and the Ticks may not want to risk another of their own being burst like a pimple anyway. How do they keep him loyal, then, when they need him more than ever with Them battering down the fence...?

SW: Kingdom is one of the new thrills that I really rate and I have been impressed how the story has advanced over the two series. To have the main character constantly progressing along so many plot turns is admirable, especially when you consider his limited dialogue.

Things do slow down somewhat this week though with Gene beginning and ending the episode chained up. There is a not wholly unexpected revelation about the ticks but there are many unanswered questions and hopefully surprises to come.

Gene fell into the classic trap of trusting the towns people and I’m intrigued to see what they, or at least the ticks, have in store for him. I have come unstuck on all previous predictions regarding this strip so I’m not going to speculate further. The blue lines on his face do make him look a bit like the blue Shakara on the facing page - I wonder if they are related?!

As good as the concept and script are the strip would be far poorer if it weren’t for Richard Elson’s stunning visuals. His colour palette is excellent, especially on the blood soaked final page.

England's Glory - Part 8 Script: Ian Edginton Art: D'israeli Letters: Ellie De Ville

Indeed, no...

Synopsis: Stickleback and Cody's crew fight and there appears to be no obvious winner when the police storm in...

JS: And here we have an extended, beautifully presented fight scene and little else.  I must say that I think I preferred Stickleback as a supporting character in the last series, he had far more mystery and menace then.  But still, he’s a strong lead in a cast of likeable characters.  Particularly impressive is Edginton’s subtle inference of the relationship between Fiery Jack and Gay John. 

RF: I can't really speak much of the plot in this instalment, on account of the fact that there is none - it is, without pretensions, a great grand dust-up. I'm not too enamoured with its direction (there's little sense of movement, it's all just one messy melee, although Stickleback literally booting the mesmerised Jack back into the fray was a stylish piece of lateral thinking, and "heinous heathen hide!" is a lovely piece of alliteration), it falls upon Disraeli to carry the baton for this leg of the race, and he does so with the same panache seen up to now - detonating a zombie strumpet's head with just the right blend of grotesque gristle and weird artful patterning.

...good grief, this isn't the sort of stuff you'd find in the TLS, is it?

SW: I was enjoying this madcap tale of Victorian villainy but this episode was a bit weak and had more than a whiff of padding. Essentially we have a big fight over six pages and precious little plot advancement. That’s not to say there weren’t a few enjoyable moments with Jack’s new face my highlight.

The earthy dialogue is one of the strip’s main selling points and we weren’t let down on that front with “arseholes t’you an’ all ugly!” a personal favourite.

D’Israeli’s artwork which I find a bit murky at times is crisp and clear and the action was handled well.

Given the scant plot on offer this week I don’t have much more to say except that I’m hoping for more meat of my story bones next Prog.

The Glum Affair - Part 8 Script: John Wagner Art: Carlos Ezquerra Letters: Annie Parkhouse

Alpha gets ready for a pounding...

Synopsis: Johnny and Wulf decide that Groule is their next target and they lure him and his gang to their ship for a rematch. As the fight begins, it looks as if Johnny has the upper hand - but Groule's brute force soon puts him out ahead...

JS: Another strip with 2 solid pages of fighting.  This is a bit of an odd episode as its mainly the set up and occurrence of a fight that Johnny seems to have little chance of winning without help, so we can only presume some intervention next episode, making this all a bit defunct.  Anyway, its all well written and presented so there’s nothing to complain about. 

RF: There's an interesting variety of elements being set up here for the final climatic confrontation. Alpha strikes a well-posed ballsy stance when first calling out Groule, and their posturings both before and after the challenge are quite biting. Billy Glum wins the Wooden Spoon for the Most Unhelpful/Obvious Advice Given To A Combatant, and I'm curious to see whether or not Faceache was just a device to fill in a potential plot hole or if he might be moved to intervene for the sake of Johnny, his old friend - or, if he listens to a bounty-bulletin, new mark?

SW: Wagner and Ezquerra working together on anything should be a treat so I feel somewhat ungrateful in slagging off the current Johnny Alpha adventure. It’s not that the strip is in any way bad, it’s just that we’ve seen it all before in previous, better, adventures.

I’m not buying into the helping Billy Glum even though he hates them angle and the cash to save the orphanage bit is a tad tired too. Previous episodes have borrowed wholesale from ‘The Rammy’ and ‘The Killing’ and I spend the whole time reading the strip noticing other familiar stuff.

I think part of my concern is that despite a whole universe of villains and exotic locations we’ve spent weeks on a dull ship playing cards and setting tired old traps. This week’s offering is a lazy affair with two full pages dedicated to a fist fight. It’s not offensive stuff just uninspiring to the extreme.

I don’t know if Alan Grant has any input any more to Strontium Dog but I suspect not as his trademark wit and invention are sadly missing. At least it’s aptly titled - The Glum Affair indeed!

JS: Lots of fighting, lots of great art.  The prog's still on a high as overall these 5 stories are great, even if they all went to fighting this week. 

Best Story: Kingdom

RF: Gene was a Hackman, tougher and tough, and when he got whet many of Them became all bitted and chunked to say so. But now his heart was low, and his arms lower - the metal-stuff tails holding him, tighter and tight, harder and hard. No pack around him, no road before him, what was there to scrap? Then Gene saw the paint-leaves fall before him, and mourning Old Man Gary and remembering the books in the Schoolhouse he wondered what was Learning. So Gene took the paint-leaves and read. Then the Hackman felt a true Urging, deep in the head - the Master with the face-hair was smart. Smart. A Master, righter and right, bigger and big, tougher and tough, with many, many Death Toys. Then Gene no longer felt sad, for now he knew where to go and what the tick-things couldn't steal and bite.

Best Story: Judge Dredd

SW: A good but uninspiring issue. Most of the strips are suffering from their mid-run sag and filler material is hanging out like the stuffing on a burst sofa. The only consolation is that the no doubt fantastic and revelatory finale episodes are just around the corner.

Best Story: Judge Dredd