Judge Dredd Megazine 272 - 24 June 08

Cover by Brendan McCarthy

Stephen Watson: I like this lively and colourful cover from Brendan McCarthy. The strap like ‘Thinking about crime…’ is a bit well worn and I’d have preferred a less generic image and something more relevant to the strip inside but it is eye-catching and a job well done.

Robert Cornell: There’s not a lot going on but I quite like this. It’s a colourful and oddly cheery image. The “thinking about crime? Don’t!” is a bit of a cliché, though.

Mindripper Script: Robbie Morrison Art: Neil Googe Colours: Len O Grady Letters:Annie Parkhouse

Dredd wishes he's remembered the paracetamol...

Synopsis: A number of registered psionics have been killed by having their brains removed, starting with Dr Vincent Valenti, psionic surgeon. Dredd investigates with Psi Judge Nova and they manage to get to the next crime in progress, witnessing surgeon robots removing the brain. They trace the robots to Valenti who's not dead after all - but used his brain and the others he's killed to create a body of psionic energy. He prepares to kill Dredd when Nova turns the brains against Valenti, giving Dredd the opportunity to stop him with a well placed boot knife...

SW: This Dredd outing was pretty standard fare and instantly forgettable. It’s not a particularly bad strip, just one that lacks any real invention or spark. The detection is lazy stuff with a psi basically calling in to crack the case and the villain has more than a bit of the mutant Judge Child about him. The dialogue was very poor with that last sound bite about the villain having more sense was more Stallone than Dredd.

On a more positive note I did like Neil Googe’s energetic art which told the story well and Len O’Grady’s colours helped to bring it alive. I wasn’t too sure about the lawmasters, though, as they were a bit removed from the standard design and look to be a nightmare when cornering!

All in all this was a decent workman like effort that went through the motions, filled a few minutes reading time but will quickly be lost into the annals of mediocrity.

RC: Mutant/Alien with mind powers threatens the city. Lots of judges get killed. Dredd finds his/hers/its one weakness then stabs/shoots/cannons it. The end. This is pretty much the default plot for filler Dredds. (Seen as recently as Meg 269.) It’s not bad; in fact, it’s better than average, but just seems a bit lazy to me. On the other hand, if there’s a bad penile-enhancement joke, I haven’t heard it.

Dredd looks like he’s in constant pain throughout but the artwork is otherwise competent enough.

War without Bloodshed - Part 2 Script: Rob Williams Art: Rufus Dayglo Letters: Ellie De Ville

Nixon spreads the wealth...

Synopsis: Nixon defeats Naz and throws his money to the crowd to win their respect. Later, Bernie the foreman offers to give her some work down at the docks. After helping to recue someone from a nasty accident, Bernie gives her a job taking a juve to pick up a package. However, she realises that it's a trap only too late when the juve runs into a packed store and blows himself up...

SW: Pretentious title apart, I’m quite enjoying this dockside offering. Aimee Nixon has succeeded where many have failed in being a likable female judge who can kick ass and stay believable. This episode saw her infiltrate the union and get blown up so you can’t say things aren’t moving along. That said we’ve get to see any real villainy afoot only the results of it, so I’ll be interested to see how the who’s and whys of this develop.

Strip artist Rufus Dayglo has been on the boards apologising for the poor reproduction of the art and it is fair to say that in places it is patchy at best. At least nothing is lost in terms of communication but I hope for a few sharper lines next time out. No doubt the ‘House of Frazer’ department store (a play on Glasgow’s House of Fraser’) is a nod to his friend Mr Irving and I just hope more attention is given to the grey scale that to in-jokes next time around!

The story ends on a real cliff-hanger and I’m interested to see how things develop from here which is a new experience for me on a ‘Low Life ‘ strip. 

RC: In his introduction in Mega-City Undercover, Williams says he intended Low Life to be as hard and dark as the extremely dark and ultra-hard TV cop series The Shield and that he got distracted by Dirty Frank’s comedic potential.

If the move to the more “grown up” Megazine was to get back to the original vision then it has paid off big time. Actually, much as I love Dirty Frank’s adventures, I enjoy the gritty stuff even more. Aimee is a terrific character, one of the most interesting to emerge from 2000AD this century. She’s judge-like yet sympathetic and smart and funny. It’s easy to feel sympathy as she’s lured into being a terrorist patsy. Nice punch at the end of the story. Democracy activists who speak Russian? I don’t think so.

Dayglo’s heavily shaded artwork looks the business. I like his Aimee, no oil painting but not a freak either. Nice explosion, too.

Wiierd - Part 1 Script: Alan Grant Art: Boo Cook Letters: Simon Bowland

Anderson plays teacher...

Synopsis: Anderson is training a new rookie, Psi Judge Aicer, when they are called to investigate a murder at Hyven. Hyven is a virtual reality community, where people are often plugged in for years, but it's not supposed to be possible to die in the virtual world and for that to be replicated in the real world. Aicer investigates and realises that the victim was killed by Bill Savage while playing Tharg in an imaginary world (citizens often choose scenarios from old comic books or cartoons). Anderson decides to plug in and check it out for herself...

SW: Well you can’t say that the title doesn’t give fair warning on this one! The first three pages were a genuine ‘What the hell?’ experience for me with Tharg, Bill Savage and editor Matt Smith all making third wall breaking appearances. It does beg the question of whether Tharg exists in the Dredd universe - we have seen Progs before - or whether he’s merely a character in “ancient comic books”. I won’t lose sleep over the answer but it’d be nice to know!

Another Mega-City plot device building joins the ranks of the Aggro Dome, Smokatorium and Palais de Boing amongst many others to offer the setting of this tale. That in itself isn’t a criticism as I’m sure we’ve only explored a fraction of the city, I’m just hoping we get something a bit different for our trouble.

The ending that sees Anderson “going in” makes me worried that next month we’ll get her view of the 2000AD universe in a situation that could be too far up its own backside for comfort. Still I won’t prejudge, I’ll only say that the setting up to now is a bit too familiar and I’m hoping for some tangents that veer it far from ‘Red Dwarf’ territory.

The episode also introduced us to Judge Aicer (no Browns or Smiths in the academy?!) who I’m guessing will die heroically in a later instalment.

Boo Cook‘s art has never been a favourite of mine as I find it too busy and cartoony but with that said, he looks a good choice for this strip that looks headed towards worlds of fantasy and imagination. His work here, especially the ‘Hyven’ splash page, is good stuff although Anderson must be on the stookie as she doesn’t look anything like her 50 years!

RC: You’ve gotta love those first three pages. If not, are you sure you’ve got the right website? On the other hand, there’s a fine line between sharing an in-joke with readers and self-indulgence. That’s a problem for future episodes; this opener is an enjoyable romp.

Good to see Anderson drop the Dredd in a (metaphorical) dress act and get back to being a touchy-feely psychic. You know, her character hook?

Do I like Boo Cook? I like his Mega City One, chunky. I like his justice department hardware. I like his Tharg and Bill Savage. Big problem. I hate his Anderson, especially with her stupid haircut. And what’s with the “at my age” crap? She doesn’t look a day over thirty. (Plus, it’s getting a bit tired if Grant’s not going anywhere with it.)

Bob The Galactic Bum
Frazer Irving Interview
Four-Colour Classics
New Books
New Movies

SW: I’m shamed to say I gave up on Bob the Galactic Bum a couple of issues ago. The talent working on it is top notch but I think all would agree it wasn’t their finest hour. Non-2000AD work done by the Droids is what this section should feature and I just hope the next offering is more to my tastes.

The Frazer Irving interview was top notch and Michael Molcher really made me feel I knew the guy by the end. His interview pieces do follow a pretty rigid format but for detail and interesting quotes he can’t be faulted. Frazer isn’t one of my favourites, especially after Button Man 4, but this insight into his life and working practices gave me a real interest in seeking out some of his other stuff.

The pieces of ‘Studio Space’ and ‘Starblazer’ were little more than expanded press releases, puffing up some new product. At least they were relevant to the Megazine readership, but a bit too light weight for my tastes.

The movie reviews were a bit annoying with nothing getting more that 3 stars. The guy is entitled to his opinion but when he doesn’t back up his 3 star review for Iron Man with anything approaching justification he loses my respect. One star better than ‘Superhero Movie’ come on! It’s all well and good setting yourself up as a hard to please critic, but when it’s just being done for effect my interest wanes. 

RC: The interview, as they generally do, stands out by a mile. Interesting, informative and funny. There are a limited number of subjects but this is the one feature that belongs in the Megazine.

The interminable Bill the Galactic Bum resembles Strontium Dog without the violence and a really annoying prat instead of Johnny A. This week Wagner takes a swipe at broccoli. Oo, take that brassica oleracea!

SW: A good Megazine with plenty of on-topic reading and three Mega-City strips all with something different on offer. None of the strips were particularly strong but there were no real duffers either. 

Best story:Low Life

RC: At this point I usually lament being a subscriber but I enjoyed this month’s offerings. The best Megazine for quite some time and streets ahead of any from last year. The back page suggests that the ‘zine will have badly needed fourth story from next month, which will be a relief. One excellent, one promising, one OK. We could do a lot worse.

Best story: Low Life