Prog 1309 - 18 September 2002
Cover by Jim Baikie

A cover that certainly makes an impact and heralds the return of Jim Baikie to Dredd. But don't celebrate too soon - check out the Dredd review below for the reason...

The input page makes a full page return this issue, with two notable complaints about the new (or more correctly, old) direction that Rogue Trooper is taking. Hopefully, they'll start to listen and kick start the character some more. Not much else apart from some mobile phone Dredd games - if we find any further info about these, we'll post a link.

AN EVERYDAY DISASTER
Synopsis: A group of juves launch a rocket at a floating bus - causing it to crash into Nicole Kidman Block. Dredd, arresting perps nearby, is on the scene, as the building quickly dissolves into chaos. Dress helps with evacuation as the holocaust squad moves in - but is soon lost in the heat. Dredd narrowly escapes, saving an orphaned baby, as the block tumbles down.

The juves are arrested, with an estimated body count of 14,782 - as everything quickly returns to normal, with judges at the scene asking people to "Move along now! Nothing to see here!"

Review: Well...where to start? Not quite sure what Wagner's trying to do here, but this is quite clearly aimed and timed at the anniversary of September 11th. Is it just a simple: "in the future, large death counts won't mean a thing"? Or does this represent his backlash to the incessant media coverage of 911? Frankly neither comes off well - and the story just seems a bit cheap and tasteless. A shame, as we've come to expect better satire from Wagner.

Now for the art. First it's great to see Jim Baikie back on art chores, but then you take a look at the art. Was this drawn in a tea break? The art looks rushed and unfinished, and drawn with cheap marker pens. Take a look at the crashing "bus" on page 1. It looks like an unfinished pencil layout! And while it's nice to see some watercolour art back in 2000 AD, again, this looks garish and splashed on. Baikie's panel layouts are certainly clear and well composed, but it really looks like he didn't have time, or wasn't inclined to give much care to this job. Very disappointing, especially when compared with his recent Tomorrow Stories work.

Part 2 - Before Your Eyes
Synopsis: Maliss and Gir confront a big and nasty alien, which escapes after killing an arachniim and knocking Gir down - leaving no traces behind except for the body. Later, back at base, an avatar manifests suggestting further unrest in the "deviant£ population. Later, back on patrol, Maliis and two other enforcers are surrounded by knife-weilding "deviants."

Review: The story shows promise with a couple of intriguing ideas (such as the avatar and Malliss' baby held in stasis. The art is also on top form, clearly rendering the future world, with some nice panel layout. I'm finding the story curiously unengaging though - but will persevere a few more issues before handing down judgement. However, I will say that I'm finding the use of the word "shiv" instead of "shit" and "vuck" instead of "fuck" to be extraordinarily irritating. The use of the word "vuck" in particular calls attention to itself, and detracts from the story. It just seems like lazy writing.

Deaky Poobar. We Hardly Knew Ye. Part 3.
Synopsis: Still in England, Sinister and Dexter are caught between the police and the mob - both considerably tooled up. The "go off road" as the two groups meet and carnage ensues. Finally they reach "Crater Manchester" and get Deaky Poobar to his final rest. Upon which they discover that Deaky's other name is that of gunshark "Genghis Carnage" and that the Poobar clan are waiting outside to take revenge...

Review: Brilliant artwork and a suitably insane storyline have made this Sinister Dexter series a joy. Hopefully Steve Parkhouse will draw more Sinister Dexter strips from now on, as he's settled into a decent portrayal of the duo.

Part 9
Synopsis: Last Episode. Bison (as Charisma) launches after Esposito, but is stopped by Charisma (as Bison). Who then kills Esposito. Charisma is about to kill Swagger, but Bison threatens to shoot her. Charisma says Bison won't pull the trigger, as he needs his body back. Bison shoots Charisma anyway, leaving a VERY big hole in him, and him in Charisma's body. Last line: "You're right. I AM a good cop. No matter HOW I look".

Review: So the series comes to an end - and despite pretty good artwork has added little to the 2000 AD canon. The decision to go for gritty violence was unfortunate, as the length of the story (about 45 pages in total) did not allow for enough character development to make you care about who was getting shot/beaten up next. There was a considerable opportunity for satire from this bodyswap premise - but none of it was taken up on. So in summary, a wasted opportunity, and one that does not deserve a second series without a major overhaul.

Lions: Part 2
Synopsis: Conclusion. A few Souther survivors go up against a horde of invading Nagan Nort Troopers. We are given a potted history on some of them - before they die. Eventually everyone - Norts and Southers are wiped out - and Rouge et al believe they were all bait to bring out the Nagan Brigade.

Review: An improvement this issue, as the last moments of each of the southers is handled well, as you understand what brought them to Nu Earth in the first place. It's only when Rennie tries to explain Rogue's motivation, that you see the problem - "He fights because it's the only thing he knows". This emphasises the problem with the current Rogue Trooper stories. We know Rogue catches up with the Traitor General, so what else can he be used for? He doesn't work as a catalyst in the same way that Dredd does, and even Dredd has gained a more rounded character these days. Perhaps longer stories would enable a new plot thread to be laid out, and build on the "Rogue dying" device that was introduced and dropped a few issues back. Until then, this character's a waste of space.