Prog 1307
Cover by: Colin MacNeil

A fairly good cover by the underused Colin Macneil this issue. A lot better than the confused art on the strip itself, but we'll get to that...

Little else going on in the comic bar the stories. We're promised a deep space Sinister Dexter series in the near future, and there's an ad for The Red Seas - which looks like a horror series from Ian Edgington and Steve Yeowell. No more info is given on this, though. Simon Spurrier returns with Richard Elson next prog with Scrap. Let's hope it's better than Bec & Cawl, which I'm finding hard to forgive Spurrier for...

Rotten Manners -Part 2

Review: The final part of the "Judge Goes Bad" story. Manners exhibits more psychotic tendencies, but is quickly caught by Dredd - and goes willingly to his fate. Bit of an odd one this. It's a perfectly fine story, with good art, but it almost seems a bit rushed. I would have thought that a bit more mileage could have been gotten from the Manners character, instead of the preachy ending we get here. Still, as mentioned before, Wagner can start mega epics off small, so maybe this'll leave a mark on Dredd yet.

Deaky Poobar, We Hardly Knew Ye - Part 1

Review: Sinister Dexter has been a favourite of mine for a while. After all, it's one of the few latter 2000AD series to really show legs. A piss take of Britain, and particularly Guy Richie style gangster flicks, starts this prog. Light, quite funny and undemanding - which is how Sinister Dexter should be. It's helped by some great art from seasoned professional Steve Parkhouse. Although it has to be said, Parkhouse appears to be moving towards a "cleaner" approach than his sketchier work before, and I didn't recognise his work immediately. But it's a relatively action free episode, so needs further study next prog.

Part 7.

Review: Well, this issue there was a ray of hope for Bison, with the introduction of Nathan Softley and the Yacht Club. Was there a chance of bringing in some quirkiness to liven up the series? Alas, no. Any pretense of character building is quickly dispensed of with a pointless shootout. Bison seems to be settling a little too easily into his new body and life, and chances for drama or humour appear to be sacrificed too easily. The art's still promising - but there is a feeling that the colour pages would have been better spent on Rogue Trooper or Strontium Dog.

Roadhouse - Part 8

Review: Final part of Roadhouse as the Stronts finally break out of the Labyrinth. Fun use of the teleporters - which seem to be much more reliable than they used to be. This has been a great series - and a good counterpoint to the more serious earlier series. Unlike Rogue Trooper, this series has captured the spirit of the earlier series, while still telling a fresh story. Hopefully, Wagner and Ezquerra will be happy to keep on writing Strontium Dog stories and totally forget the idea that he ever died...

Overkill - Part 2

Review: Quick sum up - Norts tried to blow away Rogue with a Nuclear weapon. And now he wants payback. And in this prog he gets it with the help of a big gun. Clever use of Gunnar - but little else besides. Surely more can be made of the Rogue Trooper character? So far, this series has been little besides a rehash of past glories, with no sign that comic writing has evolved in the past few years. We need more than this to warrant bringing the character back. The art, as mentioned above, fares poorly too. It goes for detail over clarity, and makes for a confusing read. When you have to look hard at a panel to figure what's going on - there's a problem.