Prog 1334 - 2 April 2003
Cover by Ian Gibson

Synopsis and review by Gavin Hanly

Summaries and reviews contain spoilers.

GH: An absolutely fantastic cover by Ian Gibson this week. It's been one of those covers that just stops me every time I pick up the comic, clearly a good sign. Everything from the clear layout to the exquisite colouring make this one of the standout covers of 2003 so far. The framing of the image and the positioning of the logo only help this - other artists wishing to obscure the logo should take note.

There is one other thing this image highlights - clearly Gibson is the artist of choice for the VCs and perhaps should be considered for the next series?

Dredd vs Aliens: Incubus - Part 14

Synopsis: Dredd tears free of the Alien resin, and takes out the two mutant guards. Sanchez squeezes out of her uniform to join him. They take two pheromone tags to protect themselves and head out. Giant and the tanks descend on the ruins of Grand Central Station and start taking out Bones' mutants after which they collect the pheromone tags from the dead mutants. The Verminators volunteer to take in the mini nuke (attached to one of the Mechanismo robots) by foot with Giant's team, with a mutant guide to lead them. The Aliens hive is clustered around the geothermal source of the power towers above.

Meanwhile Dredd and Sanchez continue onwards. Sanchez starts to feel the Alien within her. They turn a corner and meet the Alien Queen..

GH: The artwork is still amazing as ever, but the script is does appear to be treading water until the final episode, next week. It seems that Wagner and Diggle are also intent of getting every cliché from the film in this series, with Sanchez having to wriggle out of her uniform clearly being a homage to Weaver in the first film (although it might have been funnier if Dredd was forced to do the same). Sanchez is still highly annoying, and I don't hold up much hope for her surviving next week's episode (along with the remaining Verminators). We finally get our first look at the Alien Queen this week, which is a tad underwhelming, unfortunately - but the promised action of next week should more than make up for that.

Head

Synopsis: Crispin Farquahr, art critic, is attending the opening of first exhibition of Lavina Compress Volcano. Crispin can make or break art shows, and he decides to break this one - "it's abhorrent! Truly abhorrent!" He accuses Volcano of making "cheap copies of old masters" - after which the art gallery decides to remove her exhibit from the show. As she is escorted out, Farquahr helps himself to a canapé and promptly chokes to death. Back on her day job at Cryotech industries, Volcano starts work again, and her first client is Crispin Farquahr. Later, Farquahr awakes, as a revived severed head at the center of Volcano's next exhibition - Art for Art's Sake...

GH: I'm also left very underwhelmed by this week's Future Shock. The art gallery twist has been used a little too much (only recently in a Terror Tale) and the critic becoming art is made out to be a lot clever than it actually is. Much time here is spent being scathing about art critics in general, at the expense of a coherent plot. Future Shocks should be simple at heart, and ideally provoke an even better read the second time around through the use of subtly dropped clues. This, unfortunately, does neither of these things, and is a little dull because of it.

The art also doesn't appeal to me, with the overly complicated first page instantly making the story hard to get into.

E & E

Synopsis: The V.C.s head in to get Jupe, with cover from Laker's ship - but not from Veto. Ryx questions why they're going in for an E&E, given the "You're hit, You're dead" rule, but Smith says there must be a lot more at stake for Jupe to request help. The ship powers in and drops off the VC tactical team, who head down into the mining platform, wiping out all the Geeks in their way. Ryx is hit, but not bad, as they finally get to the wounded Jupe. Jupe hands Smith a data log - the Geeks are building a Mass Driver weapon, with the power to spit out meteors: "Spit 'em out...straight at mother Earth!"

GH: I'm still not enjoying this, which is becoming a real shame. The prologue episode in Prog 2003 promised great things from this series of the VCs, but this hasn't been followed through with. It doesn't help that there's a real war going on at the moment, so all this gung-ho nonsense is significantly beginning to grate. Wouldn't The VCs have been a great opportunity to look at the war from the soldiers point of view, where those in battle are slightly disjointed from the overall reasons for the war - given orders which they have to follow regardless of their own attitudes? There's a huge scope for a far more interesting story here - like a future set Darkie's Mob - but instead we're treated to the captain barking orders while they shoot at faceless Geeks, and no-one really gets hurt. A missed opportunity.

The Iniquities of Snedron - Part 2

Synopsis: Sylvana escapes through the secret vaults below the house, and comes across the "Strumpet and Trumpet" tavern. Inside Skarl of Rak, a mercenary is boasting about how he rescues helpless young women. Hearing this, Sylvana begs for his help, asking him to murder her father. Skarl asks Sylvana to steal the Talisman of Belqwith first, before he can deal with Snedron.

Sylvana creeps back in, and takes the talisman from her father's neck. She gives it to Skarl: "there's my father's bedroom, Skarl! Make him suffer!" Skarl goes in and hangs Penba. Sylvana is pleased, so Skarl asks "So do I assume you're going to give yourself to me willingly?" She agrees, and then discovers that it's a trick - Skarl is Snedron in disguise. He had got a better offer tan Penba's, and needed the talisman so he could kill Penba. And now he can take Sylvana too...

GH: Tales of Telguuth returns to its "surprise" ending formula, which as ever, is always a little disappointing. But the journey there is still fun, and the story is still set firmly in tongue in cheek mode, as Sylvana has to be one of the most stupid "damsels in distress" to grace the series. An entertaining read, which works well in contrast with the rest of the comic.

Part 6

Synopsis: The Atavar meets a creature, who shrieks and hides from his gun - The creature is a Wosk The Wosk distracts him and manages to escape, but is picked up by Worldbreaker when he gets outside. Once released, Atavar questions the Wosk about his people, leaning they have "gone to meet God". When questioned about where they've gone, the Wosk points to the stars - and that he was told to remain and look after the city - a janitor.

The Wosk takes them to a tracking station and indicates, according to Atavar, "some kind of anomalous object tracking in through the far rim of the galaxy. Christ, it's huge..." The Wosk indicates that his people were aware of the UOs, but would not fight as they do not know how - instead, they "pray for God to come and help us". Atavar and Worldbreaker leave orbit - and head off "to see God too!"

GH: Atavar continues to improve, just as the V.C.s continues to decline. There's certainly a real feeling of a larger story at work here, as the Atavar enters detective mode on the Wosk's planet. Elson's ability to produce some amazing alien artwork continues with the introduction of the Wosk, whose look combines a forlorn downtroddeness and the chance for some humour to be injected into the proceedings, especially with the "you are loud and scary and big" response to Worldbreaker's usual greeting. Hopefully this isn't the last we've seen of the creature, as Atavar and Worldbreaker's conversations need a little spicing up.