Judge Dredd Megazine 274 - 19 August 08

Cover by Boo Cook

Richmond Clements: A fine image by the astounding Mr Cook. I love this image, and the colouring is superb- especially the detail on Anderson’s hair and face.

Ratfink - Part 2 Script: John Wagner Art: Peter Doherty Letters:Annie Parkhouse

Ratfink's selective memory...

Synopsis: As Dredd chases after his trail, Ratfink has retreated back to his cave, taking his prisoner with him. He warns her that if she doesn't do her "wifely duties" she'll end up like his last "wife" now hanging up ready to eat. She then lets slip about the gold that was hidden on the wagon and Ratfink goes back to find it. Dredd and the others are meanwhile sheltering from a storm. One of the judges with him, Roskill, is the sister of the kipdnapped girl and wants to start the hunt again.

By now, Ratfink has returned to the wagon - guarded by judges - and can't find the gold. He thinks it must have been taken by the judges and looks towards their ship...

RC: Well, this was a surprise, wasn’t it?  The (sort of) return of the scariest Angel.

Ratfink is a really really unpleasant fellow. In the hands of a less competent writer, this sort of character is an instant cliché, but with Wagner at the helm, you know this can never be the case. Everything you need to know about Ratfink is told in the subtle horror in the phrase ‘wifely duties’ and the image that accompanies it.

Doherty’s art is always a welcome sight. Lovely colouring that invokes terrific atmosphere alongside brilliant splash images, like the Judges riding through the rain, combine in a feat of storytelling easily equal to Wagner’s strong script.

As with all good tales, I don’t know where this one is going, and it got me thinking... how long’s it been since Fink ‘died’? Off the top of my head I’d say maybe twenty years... and depending on what age ratfink is meant to be, could this be the precursor to the return of the Fink? 

War without Bloodshed - Part 4 Script: Rob Williams Art: Rufus Dayglo Letters: Ellie De Ville

Nixon gets out the heavies...

Synopsis: Bernie's latest suicide bomb went after the Hall of Justice to little effect and the judges decide to crack down on the docks hard. Nixon breaks into Bernie's room and discovers a note left for her - revealing that he knew that she was a judge and found out from McReady - whom he tortured and killed. Bernie has gone but Nixon surmises that he's taken one of the robotic freighters back to the Sovs. She and a team of judges board one and she discovers that Bernie used cryogenic tubes to get his assassins through customs. He attacks her, all the while keeping up the pretence of doing it all for the workers. Dredd shoots him, and as he lays dying, Nixon reveals that she knows that he's a Sov. But Bernie knows that she won't tell anyone...

RC: For me, this series was a bit hit and miss in the prog, especially as some of the latter stories descended too close to parody and all out comedy for me (though saying that- baby ninjas= genius).

It’s gratifying then, to see an altogether grittier tale here in the Meg. There’s a lot to like in this month's episode, such as seeing Nixon actually working alongside her Justice Dept colleagues and the downbeat, if inevitable given that’s it’s Nixon, ending.

Rufus Dayglo’s  art is yet again a notch above anything he’s done before. It’s an honour for us readers to witness an artist mature in the way Dayglo is doing right before our eyes.

The bad news is, of course, this is the last episode, and hopefully it’ll not be too long before we see Nixon back again. The good news however, is that Mr Dayglo is back again next month with Tank Girl... but does this mean he won’t be able to illustrate the next Low Life series that I'm sure Tharg is commissioning after reading this review?  If he can’t do it, well, it’s been way too long since I’ve seen any Simon Coleby in the comic... 

Wiierd - Part 3 Script: Alan Grant Art: Boo Cook Letters: Simon Bowland

Anderson out for a run...

Synopsis: Inside Hyven, Anderson is chased and eventually captured by monsters. One of her fellow prisoners tells her that they're being taken to hell.

Outside, in the real world, Rookie Aicer finds out that the man looking after Hyven is actually an undercover judge - and that the mysterious corporation in charge of hyven is the Justice Department.

Inside Hyven, Anderson manages to escape from her captors by riding away on a bizarre beast. However, she's knocked off it when she comes face to face with a huge monster blocking her path...

RC: I’m liking this. What was looking like a (beautifully illustrated) fanboy piece, has suddenly, with the revelation that the Justice Dept runs Hyven, taken a turn for the intriguing.

It’s all taken a turn for the, well, the weird now, as Anderson’s predicament seems suddenly more serious, now that we see she’s stumbled into something more Machiavellian than we first though.

I know that Grant has is critics, and that there’s been some (founded and unfounded) criticism of his Anderson stuff over the past few years, but for me he’s hit the target wonderfully with this tale.

And yet again, as if we needed further proof, Boo Cook proves himself to be one of the very best talents around. Again he treats us to a brilliant master class in drawing and colouring comics.  Add to this cameos from Slaine, Wulf, Doctor Doom and I’m sure a few others I should recognise - how could it possibly be anything other than wonderful?

Judge Dredd reprint
Jock Interview
New Books
Four Colour Classics

RC: The Dredd reprint was an interesting one. Mainly because I hadn’t read it before, and assume it’s from an old sci-fi special or something. A good enough strip that’s a bit of a retread of the original Alien Zoo tale and a chance for Greg Staples to draw some cool beasties. And I’m not sure that the relatively tiny cages, in relation to the size of the animals they’re holding, is altogether kind on the creatures inside them...

The Molcher fella does a good interview. And while this one is as well written and the rest have been, I think I’m still reeling from just how superb last month’s Doherty piece was to fully appreciate this one. Still, it’s nice to read about an artist who hasn’t been drokked over by the Big Two!

I’m not sure what the point of the Batman piece was. Yes, it was well written and all that, but I really doubt that there’s a comic fan out there who isn’t aware of the history of the Dark Knight

And as I said before, I read the reviews, but I’m not going to review them because that would be too weird.

RC: It was only in coming to write this review that I realised the line-up of artists in this issue: Doherty, Dayglo, Cook and Staples. My god- that’s a world class line up no matter which way you look at it. In all our complaining about the little stuff, I think we tend to lose sight of how damned fortunate we are as readers to be able to enjoy this level of talent every single issue. 

Best story: Close call between all three, but in the end skin creeping horror wins: Judge Dredd.