Prog 1324 - 22 January 2003
Cover by Greg Staples

Synopsis and 1st review by Gavin Hanly
2nd opinion by W.R. Logan

GH: This will apparently be the cover for the first issue of the Dark Horse version of Dredd/Aliens - so it makes sense not to waste it on these shores. A very striking Bollandesque turn from Staples here - perhaps a conscious decision, since Bolland's Dredd is perhaps the most renowned in the States. Not sure about the "Acid Reign" banner though. But at least you can easily see the logo and the layout is clean.

WRL: My faith it returns: now this is a cover! Greg Staples delivers a cover with
punch and if this doesn't make someone pick it up off the newsagents shelves, nothing will. The 2000AD logo sits proud in the corner with Dredd in a face-off with a fully grown alien. Even the tag line 'Acid Reign' looks good. This cover should be put on the 2000AD web sites wallpaper section and adorn the desktops of many a readers computer.

Dredd vs Aliens: Incubus - Part 4
Synopsis:Gomer shoots the Alien, but is sprayed by acid and comes to an very unpleasant end indeed. Heatseekers don't work, so Dredd shoots a grappling hook into the vents to take a look for himself. He confronts the alien, "Come on then - take me if you think you're hard enough", before opening fire - with the resulting acid burning the vent open. The Alien leaps at Dredd, but misses heading down to the judges below - taking out Rauss with a tail swipe on the way. Earl tries Hi Ex - with devastating effect - it destroys the alien, but the acid splash takes out Earl too.

Dredd gets word back to the Verminators to pull out and evacuate the hospital, but it's too late, as Verminator Millar is beheaded...

GH: Things start to hot up this week with some truly gruesome depictions of just what would really happen if you got sprayed in Alien acid. Poor Earl and Gomer come to quick, but very gory ends as Flint revels in the devastation. Meanwhile, Dredd does a nice line in complete hardness - and helps us get our first head on view of the alien. Flint still keeps the alien cleverly to the shadows or corners of the panels - not showing it in it's entirety - which helps to elevate the menace of the creature.

But you can see why so many judges went to the warehouse - cannon fodder - and I wouldn't hold up too much hope for the remaining verminators. I see Millar (almost certainly named after ex-2000AD writer Marc Millar) was,as expected, the first to go...

WRL: Have I sang the praises of the previous three installments enough? Well forget everything I've ever said because with this latest episode the action, script and artwork have just gone up a gear. We all know what to expect from any story that has the word 'Alien' in the title but Wagner and Diggle take everything that is familiar and just have fun with it, I've never seen the Aliens acid used in such a destructive way against the human form before and Henry Flint excels in the effect that it has. As Gavin has said in his reviews, while this story is running it's hard to see any other
story coming close to taking the best story crown away from it.

Going Underground - Part 4
Synopsis: The Caballistics try to fight off the zombies - but unfortunately they seem to be impervious to firepower - "guess we should have brought the sliver after all". Then Rayne (the guy in the bath from last prog) appears, holding a glowing "hand of power" before him. He throws it at the zombies and everyone hightails it in the opposite direction as the zombies are incinerated. Rayne is the last member to join the team (Chapter and Verse are aware of his "reputation") - and says the events are connected with "SonderKommakdo Thule and its role in Nazi warfare" - and more specifically "the hellbomb project".

GH: Things continue to improve in Caballistics Inc. from both an art and story perspective. Hopefully Rayne will be the last member of the team and we can start getting down to the nitty gritty of the story. The "zombies attacking the underground premise hasn't really been particularly thrilling or scary - so a move towards more evil occult baddies should improve matters. It's hard not to see the Hellboy influence in the art, but especially the story. Occult Nazis are all well and good, but perhaps Rennie should have avoided such a close comparison with the bestselling American series quite so soon.

Moloch - Part 4
Synopsis: Moloch fights Slaine. Slaine wins and is about to strike Moloch down - but Moloch pleads for his life, promising to keep the land free of Formorians. Slaine doesn't want to listen, but the council stops him killing Moloch, and eventually orders Slaine to let him go - despite Slaine's warnings that Moloch won't keep his word. But as Moloch sinks back into the sea, Niamh has a bad feeling about him...

GH: Still highly disappointing - and the current reprinting of Time Killer in the Megazine highlights just how far downhill Slaine has come. When Ukko had a stronger input into the series, especially as narrator, things were so much more fun. And the supporting cast all brought something individual to the pot. However, the latter stories have treated us to ongoing talky/descriptive fights (once again with the characters describing their actions - "now I'm going to pierce you") and little in the way of character development or even simple enjoyment for the reader.

This series is well past its sell-by date, and needs a dramatic change in course - and frankly a new writer - if the character is to be saved (although recent events elsewhere have made this highly unlikely). Mills was pretty good in the last ABC Warriors strip, and with Black Siddah in the Megazine, so why is this such a lazy disappointment? At least Langley's art is getting brighter with each issue, but I'm still disappointed in the clarity of some of his panels. Interestingly, when I scan an image for each story, Slaine is the only picture that I have to touch-up, occasionally producing better results than appear in the mag. So perhaps Langley's art is suffering in the printing process...

WRL: Well my hope for Sláine has finally withered and returned to the earth, and I now do think it's too many. Clint Langley's art has some nice touches but at times its hard to make out what is happening and the detail is lost on the small panels. Pat Mills, once the mightiest of script writers, seems to be treading water. Hopefully what we've seen so far is allowing new readers of Sláine to get into the character and in future episodes we'll see some resurgence in his writing.

Relode - Part 3
Synopsis: Sinister and Dexter meet their younger selves - proving to them who they are. John Croak visits young Sinister (as the older S/D Billi, and young Dexter hide in the cupboard) and tells them he's looking for two gunsharks "one's Irish and the other's Hispanic" obviously bringing him to Sinister. He eventually leaves, and they head to see Professor Rampton at the research institute. When they get there, Rampton tells them that, unfortunately, he hasn't built Djump technology yet. Meanwhile, Holy Moses, John Croak (who tailed them) and some heavies arrive outside.

GH: Things move on ever so slightly - but I must be missing something, as I can't remember who this "Professor Rampton" is. Sometimes the S/D cast is a little too unwieldy, needing almost photographic recall of events from many many series away. Abnett could improve matters by reminding new readers just who people like John Croak and Holy Moses are supposed to be - and old readers like myself could often do with a gentle reminder too. It's still fun, but very little happens this week, and it's in danger of retreating back to the same-old same-old approach that Anbett tends to take to some SD stories - i.e. the impending big gunfight. I still think there's been far worse in the mag, though. And it's certainly better than Slaine.

WRL: "If the naysayers could put down their preconceptions" was in my co-reviewer's comment last week, and that comment may have been aimed at me 8-) Yes I'm a naysayer, but that's due to the fact that I fail to see how Sin/Dex keeps coming back week after week after week. As for preconceptions, I don't have any, I may not like Sin/Dex but I don't wish to be so negative about a story within the Galaxies Greatest Comic, I hope that when I turn the cover of any Prog I'm going to enjoy and be thrilled by each and every story, but as yet Sin/Dex have to put even the slightest charge through my thrill circuits.

One day I hope they do, I'd love to give them a positive review, to say that after all these years I get it, and every week I read it and every week any hope I have vanishes - but there's always next week. It doesn't help that I feel Ben Willsher's artwork doesn't deserve a place within the pages of Tharg's mighty publication, not on Sin/Dex and not on anything else. 7 days to wait for the next Prog, 7 days of renewed hope, 7 days to rediscover that I still don't get it or understand anyone who does.

Hell and High Water - Part 4
Synopsis: The Kraken and his ship bears down on Dante and the children. Boarding craft are launched, but Dante takes most of them down with his rifle. More pirates attempt to board, and Dante holds them off - but the Kraken manages to board the yacht and grabs Mina. He tries to get Dante to join his crew in vain - Dante refuses, announcing his name. "The prodigal bastard return" cries the Kraken, chucking a throwing star at him - which Dante easily deflects back into the Kraken's face.

Karl and Mina dive behind Dante - as, out of nowhere, another group "the Black Dragons" start to attack the Reivers...

GH: John Burns continues to excel, with Dante becoming more and more disheveled as he takes on an army of pirates. Sometime Dante seems just a little too impervious and unbeatable - and this is one of those times. After the rigours of the war, he does seem to be taking out the army of pirates with a little too much ease. Still, the yarn rattles along at a fair old pace - and is back closing the comic, where it belongs.

WRL: What a coincidence, last week I said the prog should end on a high and you
should put the Prog down after reading Dante, well this week that's exactly what happens. As with other stories in this weeks prog, Dante picks up the pace and we have action a-plenty. There's still plenty of questions left to answer, like who is the Kraken and how he seems to know of Dante, which only makes you want the next prog to arrive even more than normal. End the prog on a high and leave them wanting more, well Dante and Prog 1324 certainly achieve that aim.