Prog 1311 - 25 September 2002
Cover by Dylan Teague and Chris Blythe

Fantastic cover by Dylan Teague, helped Chris Blythe, who is possibly the best asset 2000AD has at the moment. I almost confused it for a Dave Gibbons cover - high praise indeed. Shame the story inside doesn't match up - but I'll get to that later.

A fairly good all-round issue, with the exception of Rogue, and given that we're waiting for the new wave of Autumn strips, the comic is still holding up well. Tharg is dropping more hints about the new line up, with more on Asylum, and we should have much more details in the coming weeks.

Zoom Time
Synopsis: All judges are ordered to spend at least 2 hours patrolling the Zoom Trains (read London Tube) per month, and it's Dredd's turn. In the zoom he rapidly gets given the finger (1 arrest), thrown up on (2), sees a stink bomb thrown in (almost certainly 3 & 4), subdues a futsie (5), and catches a bag snatcher (6). The latter pulls the "getting off the train and on again" move, leaving Dredd hanging on the side of the zoom, eventually catching him (after being trampled by people getting off at the next stop). All in 18 minutes, after which Dredd goes back to HQ for a rest and a change of clothes...

Review: Any artwork from Simon Fraser is a treat, and like his previous Dredd work, he proves himself more than capable of a job which involves a large amount of rendering crowds, never an interesting or easy job. Fraser's knack of character drawing comes out particularly well in depicting the citizens of Mega City 1, and his Dredd is a suitably imposing figure. The story itself is also pretty good, showing that even Dredd is no match for rush hour, and probably indicates that John Wagner isn't a fan of the tube (or crowded commuter trains) either...

Part 4- Fell on Black Days
Synopsis: 2 months have passed since last issue's events. Maliss lost her baby in the attack, and has become a much more ruthless enforcer as a result (as well as sporting an almost bald haircut). She gets offered a job on the surface, but turns it down, a clear indication that her priorities have changed. Outside, a crowd gathers and discontent is brewing. The avatar kills one of the protesters as a message to the rest. However, at that point they see a man carrying a "jobdisc" and a riot breaks out...

Review: This series is progressing much faster than I had initially expected, and the loss of Maliss' baby so quickly has sent it down a totally different track. The hopeful Maliss of previous issues has been replaced by one who now accepts the creed of the enforcers: "Duty, Determination, Detachment". The story's still being told on a fairly small scale, which makes it easier to sympathise with the main character, but Spurrier has proved himself more than capable here, and I'm looking forward to seeing how this all turns out. Almost makes me forgive him for Bec and Cawl. But not quite...

Wising Off.
Synopsis: Sinister appears on a television gameshow, where his specialist subject is "contract executions". However, the gameshow is a front for a police operation designed to extract confessions. Sinister eventually fingers himself and Dexter for the murder of "Holy Moses Tanenbaum", and is arrested by the waiting police - but soon rescued by Dexter. They are now top of the most wanted list...

Review: A simple storyline this week, and a little weaker for it, backing up my point last week that Sinister Dexter works much better as multi-part storylines. But the idea of them at the top of the most wanted list could be a good opener for next issue - so not all is wasted. Good art by Mike Collins, whose work looks very different from the David Roach inked art on Rogue Trooper.

Murdermind
Synopsis: A number of seemingly motiveless murders are occurring in an American town. Detective Joe Payne is investigating the latest, and the murderer is denying all knowledge. Under hypnosis, he insists that a "filament thin" space worm made him do it. The worm hops from each host after a murder into the first person it comes into contact with. Soon, another murder occurs, and the perpetrator bumps into a policeman. Sure enough, the cop kills someone later and almost bumps into Payne, who quickly shoves him into a manacled prisoner. Unfortunately for the worm, the prisoner is later fried on the electric chair.

Review: Very nice "Terror Tale" from Steve Moore here. He manages to have a truly surprising ending and keeps it right until the end, where any good twist should be in such a short story. However there is at least one frame with someone being hung in a cell which I just didn't understand at all. How does this fit into the story? If anyone knows, please tell me! The art is only OK, and veers between good to very amateur, but as I haven't seen this guy's work before, I'll wait to see a few more strips before I can really give judgement on his work.

A Visit to the Boneyard: Part 2
Synopsis: Rogue gets attacked by Nort Dust Devil Commandos. Right in the middle of the fight, he collapses for no reason, and starts to pass out. Helm issues a "reboot" command which jump starts his system again and he finishes off the fight. He doesn't know what happened, but puts it down to a side effect of the virus in the air. He leaves a marker to let passers know it's "safe turf".

Review: Finally we're picking up on the point that Rogue may be dying (from 6 issues ago, in case you'd forgotten), but apart from him collapsing - and being easily revived - we don't learn much more. The rest of the strip is the dull "Rogue fights. Rogue wins!!" that we've had for a while now. Please change the record soon? Oh and what was with that "marker" at the end? How are skulls with images of biochips in them going to let passers know the area is safe?