2000AD Prog 1575 - 27 February 08

Cover by D'israeli

Charles Ellis: D’Israeli draws Victorian circus freaks fighting tentacles, you have to love it. The two logos is still an odd idea though. 

PeteMcCosh: D’Israeli brings the madness in beautiful fashion. A lovely composition, which forces the eye to spiral in along the writhing tentacles to rest on Stickleback and his motley band. A curious decision to obscure the bottom of the image with a solid black banner while allowing the image to overlay the upper title, but still top stuff in my view. 

Emphatically Evil - Part 8 Script: John Wagner Art: Colin Macneil Colours: Chris Blythe Letters: Annie Parkhouse

Buwick caves...

Synopsis: Maybe finally comes up with a way to kill Jimmy Buwick, but the judges get to him first. In custody, Buwick is quickly broken and arrested for the murders. Meanwhile Maybe, not wanting to let a good scheme go to waste, turns his attention to Patma Rice - author of the PJ Maybe Biography. He reveals himself to be the real PJ Maybe and then kills her by encasing her inside a slab of Jello, a fate originally intended for Buwick...

CE: A great slow-burner of a story. As PJ Maybe never actually gets to do anything to JP, we’ve ended up with three separate plots and all have managed to get equal time. Due to the slow-burn nature, nothing much happens in this part but the dialogue and character touches make up for it: I especially like JP suddenly dropping his protectiveness of his mother when it suits him, and PJ’s vengeful anger getting sidetracked on doing appropriate & creative murders. I also note with interest Beeny’s brief mention of whether they should arrest Patma; has the stress of the job begun grinding her down already? And is there a wider meaning to Wagner having Dredd say his duty is to ensure the strip- er, city remains in good hands? Bet there is.  

MacNeil doesn’t fail to disappoint – PJ’s happy & enthusiastic grin and JP’s banal apathy get across their characters perfectly, and he sells the bizarre sight of a naked woman on jelly. Blythe’s colouring is another high point, especially when the mood and shadows is replaced by brighter colours and stark white backgrounds when PJ’s happily preparing to kill Patma: a disarmingly evil bit of colouring.   

PMC: My oh my. A lot going on here. The PJ Maybe romp playing out front and centre has been entertaining, but it’s what’s going on in the background that’s been important here. I assume most readers expected – as I did – that the mutant storyline would be the main focus of this tale; it’s always a pleasure to be so comprehensively wrong footed by John Wagner as he weaves his multitude of plot threads together into the fabulous tapestry of Mega City life.

Clearly, we’re all expecting some knock-on effects from the mutant vote and an eventual showdown with Mayor Maybe. The way the actual business of investigating this case has devolved to Beeny was an interesting enough development. When topped off this week with Dredd’s reflections on the future and further hints (Beeny’s comment about the Academy versus the angry tone at the end of Mandroid 2) at a major split amongst the rank and file Judges, it takes on a whole new dimension. To have this juxtaposed with the appearance of a potential successor to PJ Maybe and see the different view he takes to being replaced and have everything wrapped up in an decent mystery that uses a recap of Maybe’s career to date as a framing device is simply masterful.

Great stuff and, hopefully, even better to come.

The Talisman Script: Arthur Wyatt Art: Duane Redhead Letters: Annie Parkhouse

War, future stylee...

Synopsis: A small time hood, Luciani, is inrtoduced to and old amn and his daughter who use demons to dispose of dead bodies. She shows him the talisman that binds the monsters to him and keeps him safe. Later, Lucinai breaks into the old man's house and kills him, taking the talisman. As he dies, the man appears to turn into a demonic form. Luciani uses the demons to control the underworld until he is finally confronted by the old man's daughter. He shoots her - but not before she can take the talisman from him - which was the only thing preventing him from turning into a demon himself...

CE: Hmm, well. As a twist, “the amulet drokks you up” isn’t exactly unexpected. The plot itself is nothing unexpected but it’s serviceable, I was entertained when reading it; not as good as last prog’s though. The art is quite good, with the drippy-faced Eaters looking very cool; slight glitch on the second page though, where Lucani’s balaclava seems to turn into a hat… 

PMC: An alright effort. The art is competent but too often looks like a series of pictures rather than a story and the backgrounds are severely lacking. 

The Promised Land - Part 10 Script: Dan Abnett Art: Richard Elson Letters: Simon Bowland

Gene takes the lead...

Synopsis: Gene fights back as many monsters as he can, protecting Leezee from Them. She asks for her daddy, but Gene says that her daddy would want him to protect Leezee. They head to the meat farm - followed by Them. Gene does the only thing he can do - destroy the meat and the ticks...

CE: Basically a big running fight-scene, driven by Richard Elson’s art. And with art like that, it can afford it! Not much to say beyond that, though I’ll be interested to see what happens with Leezee. Having her travel with Gene would be the most obvious route, but how would Gene get the tick off? This could go down a route I’m not expecting quite easily - after all, the story has wrong-footed me twice now, first with the tick revelation and second with them being the Urgings. Kingdom really is a deceptive strip, seeming to be simplistic and basic only to catch the reader off-guard every time. This could go on and on. 

PMC: To borrow from someone on the forum recently, I’m afraid that one man’s iconic catchphrase is another’s tedious repetition. I don’t dislike Kingdom, I just find it tremendously average and am rather bemused by its popularity. I wasn’t anxious to see it back but I wasn’t upset either. Abnett has managed to expand the setting enough in this story to open up several avenues for the future, but one series a year is quite enough for now unless we can have a more loquacious narrator.

The series is considerably lifted by Elson’s art. Probably the best I’ve seen him do.

England's Glory - Part 10 Script: Ian Edginton Art: D'israeli Letters: Ellie De Ville

Annie comes to a brutal end...

Synopsis: Tonga is sent up to remove the gem from the top of the huge demon. Stickleback reveals that he's already seen such a demon when fighting alongside Dick Sharpe - paid by general Gordon to steal a demonic book. Tonga throws down the gem when Annie arrives, shooting at Sticklebacks back. However, he seems unharmed - thanking his horsehair waitscoat - and shoots her with a resurrection bullet so that a zombie erupts out of her. As they leave, Gay John reveals to Fiery Jack that - as he caught Stickleback once he was shot - he felt a harness and doesn't think that the deformity is real - just strapped to him...

CE: I’m continuing to love this strip more than the rest of the 2000AD Reviewers seem to. As with Edginton’s Red Seas, this is a strip where it seems anything can happen – we have steam-powered robots, spies, Bill Cody’s Wild West Show with zombie cowboys and Chinese vampires, Lovecraftian horror, and a brief cameo from Leviathan’s Hastur dropped into a Victorian supernatural crime thriller story – but with the added bonus of Stickleback himself. He’s one of my favourite new characters and villains in the comic, both for his distinctive look (all sunken eyes and sharp points), his cheery and earthy patter, and his total amorality and savagery. He simply has no redeeming factors. There is no one safe from him, and he quite visibly cares nothing for his henchmen – note the bit in Prog 2008 where right after ranting angrily about how a man is getting away with hurting “my girls”, he goes on to berate and hurt one of said girls.  

I can see why this would turn some readers off but it does allow for a truly unpredictable strip, as well as creatively nasty scenes with Annie Oakley’s death-by-emerging-zombie (a brilliant panel). And that’s how we get an intriguing twist in that Stickleback isn’t actually deformed at all, and we know even less than we thought. What’s he up to?  

I also enjoy the other villains – while still amoral and brutal pieces of work, they’re a diverse and engaging bunch and they seem to care for each other. Black Bob helps Tonga not to be scared, Fiery Jack was worried about Miss Scarlett a few progs ago, and there was the earlier hint that Jack & Gay John were involved. It fleshes them out, gives characters we can easily root for, and helps build Stickleback up as a truly nasty bastard with his total disregard for them.

And yet, it’s Stickleback who keeps turning up as my favourite of the bunch, even after what he did to the heroic & engaging Detective Valentine in the last story! What does that say about me?! 

PMC: It’s easy to waste superlatives, so I’ll just say that D’Israeli’s Stickleback is the most extraordinary and fascinating art I’ve seen in a comic in the past five years. Unfortunately, while the first story was a match for this invention, the current one really hasn’t gripped me in the same way and I’m hard pressed to say why. Stickleback and his crew are all outwardly interesting characters who all have the potential to be fleshed out in greater detail. Maybe it’s the slightly incongruous attempts to fit this story into the same world as previous ones (Stickleback fleeing from Hastur this week) but, whatever it is, I hope this disappointment doesn’t prevent Tharg from commissioning another instalment or two forthwith.

To, briefly, mention the actual episode that appeared this week: it seemed to exist solely to get us to the slightly baffling cliff-hanger. Still looking forward to the grand finale. 

The Glum Affair - Part 10 Script: John Wagner Art: Carlos Ezquerra Letters: Annie Parkhouse

Picking a lock, Alpha style...

Synopsis: While asleep - Faceache ambushes Johnny and the rest - and puts them in a holding cell. He plans to take the reward for all those Johnny and Wulf captured and the bounty on their heads too. However, Johnny uses his alpha rays to trip the lock of the cell and break out. They still need Faceache to turn in the criminals - but Johnny warns his what will happen if he betrays them again. They get the money and Billy Glum says they have to give it to Azalea Goodbody themselves...

CE: I'm going to have to go with the majority consensus here – it’s a good story, entertaining enough, but nothing new; standard Strontium Dog.

This week’s part also seems slightly pointless, with Faceache’s betrayal ending quickly and causing no real problem or setback for Johnny (and the new power to trip electrical locks is too convenient). That said, there’s a very nice character bit when Faceache, having betrayed Johnny and had to be threatened with death, is annoyed that Johnny would think he was a cheat. 

PMC: I suppose there should be a place in everyone’s life for a bit of simple fun, but this story is very disappointing when compared to Wagner’s current output with Dredd. A 5 or 6 parter at best which – from the title alone – seemed designed solely to clear up the continuity problem of Billy Glum hating Johnny, this has now been stretched well beyond breaking point. The utterly predictable treachery of Faceache was one thing, but the sudden metamorphosis of Johnny’s powers to include telekinesis seems a bit daft. Fair enough, he’s done new things before, but that’s always seemed to stem from a manipulation of people’s fears or desires: more Derren Brown than Uri Geller. What’s next? Dispensing with the trusty Westinghouse and shooting lasers from his eyes?

Having just overdosed on all 4 SD Case Files books, I feel I have to end with a plea for a proper, old-fashioned black & white Stronty tale next time. Carlos’s art can still be pretty fine, but the colouring often takes it down a notch or two. 

CE: Three strong strips and two averages make this a good issue. The diversity on display is quite impressive as well; you couldn’t confuse any of the four ongoing strips with each other, and diversity is the name of the game for an anthology title. It’s almost a shame the line-up’s changing in Prog 1577! May Stickleback and Kingdom return again for long runs beginning with this year’s Christmas prog… (Also, where the drokk is Ten-Seconders?!) 

Best Story: Stickleback

PMC: I may have sounded pretty down on a lot of the individual stories, but I do agree with the view that the comic’s in the middle of another very strong run at the moment. Even the stories I’m not massively keen on are pretty decent. After all, substandard Wagner is still better than 90% of other writers out there, my problems with Kingdom are more to do with not being able to see what everyone else is so excited about and Future Shocks are always hit and miss but nice to see. So, good work Tharg and let’s hope Savage doesn’t let the side down too much. 

Best Story: Judge Dredd