Prog 1345 - 18 June 2003
Cover by Cliff Robinson and Chris Blythe
Synopsis and review by Gavin Hanly
2nd Opinion by Paul A White

Summaries and reviews contain spoilers for this issue.

GH: While this is clearly a very good cover by Robinson, it's a little bit generic, isn't it? I would much rather have seen his take on the fight scene inside the comic, as opposed to another "Dredd points his gun at the camera" image.

PW: I'm not usually keen on the stock Robinson covers, but this seems a lot more vibrant than usual and stands out from the crowd of mags it's placed with (which is rather the point isn't it?)

Revenge of the Chief Judge's Man - Part 4

Synopsis: Gill lies injured but alive after the explosion. He leaps at Dredd who fires 2 bullets into him at point blank range – to no effect. He knocks Dredd down, but Dredd picks up a large log to defend himself. Lightening causes an aluminium roof to fall on Gill, and Dredd attacks Gill with the log, again to little effect.

Gill says that last time they met he was trying to avoid hurting Dredd, and that things are different now. Dredd tries to get some answers from Gill as Gill whips away his log with a chain whip. Gill gives Dredd a severe beating, telling him that his uniform is the only thing keeping him alive. He hangs Dredd by his arms and, taking his boot knife, removes the 2 bullets from his chest. He asks Dredd to pass on a message to the Chief Judge – “Tell her…her executioner is coming”. Later, more judges finally come across the beaten Dredd, but Gill is long gone.

GH: Another rain-soaked episode as Dredd takes one hell of a beating. It does seem rather odd that Dredd can take on a whole host of Aliens one minute and then get beaten within an inch of his life the next. And by just one man. Still, it does show that Gill is truly a force to be reckoned with and also ramps up the tension as to whether Dredd will get back to Mega City one in time to warn Hershey - and indeed will he be able to beat Gill?

Now that the action and set-up scenes are over and done with, we’ll hopefully see the character of De Klerk come back to the fore, as Dredd is clearly getting closer to the truth. Another good episode with the usual high quality input from John Burns, but it’s clearly getting ready for the real story back in MC1.

PW: It feels like the first segment of this story has been played out now and the real action can begin. Dredd's been soundly beaten, and we just know he'll take extra pleasure in ultimately showing Gill who's boss - that's if he catches up with him. This is the kind of Dredd that I've been waiting for for a while now, with a decent adversary, more than a couple of episodes long, and topped off with beautiful art by John Burns. I hope we get to see the whole story unfold in one sitting as I've been crying out for a story that I can get my teeth into and look forward to the next episode. Funny how Dredd is always spared though? But then he is the main man, and we have to suspend our belief to a certain extent. Is Gill the new Orlok? I hope so...

Ghouls - Part 2

Synopsis: In a flashback to Arkhan’s past in the Nort army, it reveals him as a brutal specialist of subjugation and population control – but his vicious methods soon got out of control and he was court martialled to appease Nordland’s allies. Arkhan is abruptly brought back to the present, as his sergeant tells him that they have reached Nu Earth.

Down on the planet, Rogue is undergoing a vicious beating from the pack leader of the group that has captured him, to a braying crowd. After the fight, the leader tells his assistant Pablo, who found Rogue last week, to prepare Rogue for surgery and that as pack leader, he is to get the lungs. Rogue is tied up and alone when Bagman and Helm make themselves known. They tell him that he’s captured by renegades – deserters from both sides who replace their diseased chem-poisoned organs with whatever body parts they can find. But Rogue says it won’t do them any good as he can feel that he’s dying.

Elsewhere on Nu Earth, Colonel Logan and Dr Kinsella find Gunnar. Gunnar recognises Logan but doesn’t know where Rogue is…

GH: After the last series of Rogue Trooper, which was very mediocre indeed, this is a welcome return to form. First and foremost, it feels like a Rogue Trooper story rather than a bad Arnie film. The fact that Rogue is getting beaten to within an inch of his life is much more preferable to the indestructible warrior we got last time around. Finally you feel that Rogue is actually in danger and that, above anything else, makes this series much better – so far. The character of Arkhan is also being set up as a much more rounded enemy and the widening of the conflict outside of Nu Earth works wonders – especially with the show trial to appease the Nordland allies. It seems as if Rennie is writing to his strengths this series, so there’s hope for this one yet.

Staz Johnson also contributes massively to this success. His art seems much improved since last time, with a Bryan Hitch style quality to many scenes. He easily combines the old style Rogue with the enhanced realism (read: more violence) of today’s comics.

PW: I've been dreading the return of the G.I., and I'm sure a lot of others have too - Rogue has been stale for as long as I can remember and (permanently) killing him off seemed to be the only sensible option. But (and there is a but) Gordon Rennie has managed to turn it around and we have the pleasure of better than average back-to-back episodes. Staz Johnson's excellent art is both detailed and easy on the eye and he appears to have shaken off the Gibbons-a-like style that I'm sure the new Rogue artists were 'encouraged' to adopt. Rogue himself only appears in seven panels, and i'm sure that this only aid the story at this early point.

Kaptian Arkhan has all the hallmarks of a decent kick-ass villain - I just hope it's not spoiled by giving him some kind of conscience in the latter stages. Overall we're treated to a lot of story crammed into 5 pages, but it's not rushed and I can honestly say that i'm looking forward to the next part. It's been a while since I've thought that...

Write from Wrong - Part 1

Synopsis: Dick Rancid has hired Sinister and Dexter to show him round the seedy underbelly of Downlode to prepare for writing his new thriller. They take him to the Vircade district – miles of mob turf - and then to a strip club. Rancid leaves to make a phone call to his publicist, Anders. Reaching him, he says “You can give them the go ahead”. Back on the floor, Dexter isn’t quite sure about Rancid, but doesn’t know why. Later, as they leave the club three people come from behind and pull guns. Dexter reacts fast, as he and Sinister take them out, Rancid cowers, mumbling something about getting nearly killed, and how “that wasn’t the plan”. Sin Dex hear this and realise something’s not quite right…

GH: An OK Sinister Dexter story, which unfortunately has the feeling of being done before. Is the writer setting up his own murder, while being protected by the gunsharks, to get that added realism needed for his work? Certainly the idea of the ride-along has been done in many many comics and movies (most surreally with Warren Ellis in Powers), and you can’t but wonder what more can be offered here. While I do enjoy Sinister Dexter on a superficial basis, I’m beginning to become a little tired of them. Perhaps a change of scene is needed? Or something to shake things up a little. Not like Downlode Tales, when they split up and drained all the humour from the series, but something different enough to avoid the “been there, seen that” feeling that you get from the series these days.

Great work from Yeowell in most places, but he does go over the top in the violence stakes towards the end, making it a tad unbelievable.

PW: Finally a Sinister Dexter story I can enjoy looking at. I don't know exactly how much of my enjoyment is derived from the excellent art alone, but I don't care. This is a massive improvement on the last 2 parter and I actually read all 5 pages. Yeowell's art (which for me has always looked better in b&w) is suitable enhanced by the colouring - the dark dirty tones helping to convey the seedy side of downlode that we know exists, but often obscured by needless puns and cartoony art. The story's not bad, and I get the feeling it's all going to be a little predictable in the end, but with the 'humour' kept at a minumum, I might read all of next weeks episode also.

No Gain, No Pain - Part 4

Synopsis: Chiv and his people discuss withdrawing but before they do, Random kills one of them. He needs to use the body and wire it to the mainframe through a bi-tech junction – letting him torture the computer. And it's a plan which actually works. Random considers specific forms of torture before just letting loose on the body with a very large mallet, eventually getting the computer to give in. They get the codes and retrieve the vault. Getting inside, Random sees nothing of particular interest except for an everyday haul of jewels etc. Until he come across what they are actually there for and is aghast: “…it’s a mindsphere...”

GH: Lobster Random continues to be one of the great new finds for 2000AD. While there’s still a wish that Critchlow would widen his colour palette just a smidgen, it’s going to be hard to see any other artist take on Random after this as he’s put his mark on the character pretty indelibly. His decision (or is that Spurrier’s?) to keep most of Random’s torture sequences off-camera works wonders, as it evokes far more from the reader than simply overdoing the gore ever would.

The story still entertains, with the grouchy Random occasionally showing that he can get a bit out of his depth, essentially keeping away from the indestructible hero problem that plagues many American superhero strips. The mindsphere could prove to be interesting too..

PW: What's not to like about this story? The main character is a serious headcase (those off-panel torture moments are disturbing in an enjoyable way), and he has enough of a 'unique' background to make him stand out against the rest of the 2000AD stable. Another story that zips along at a fair pace, and is no worse for it, with enough sarcasm and attitude to make the reader like Lobster's character more than they feel comfortable with. I'll forget the convenient Bi-Tech(tm) solution that solved the unsolvable in less than 2 pages, because it suits the pace of the story and adds to the fun.

I wasn't going to mention the artwork because you'd have to be blind not to appreciate the style and subdued colouring that makes this the stand-out treat of the week.

Part 8 - Final Part

Synopsis: Lyra goes through the portal with Proteus and Marcus, She tries to deal with Proteus, offering to help him go underground if he’ll let Marcus go. But it turns out that Marcus has been working with Proteus all along, getting ready to be his envoy. Proteus gets ready to go after Lyra, but she’s able to take care of herself, kicking him in the balls and knocking him down. She rushes off into the apartment, ending at a dead end in Marcus’ room. Proteus bursts in, but separated from Marcus, he forgets that Marcus keeps a blaster in the room. Lyra blows Proteus’ brains out, and takes Marcus back to the penitentiary. She gives him to Rose and Carter to put in a stasis booth. Rose offers Lyra the opportunity to become a judiciary – and she takes them up on the offer. But the aliens sleeved in the schoolgirl and the old lady are hiding, and still at large…

GH: So that’s the end of Interceptor. The best thing by far about this series was the art by Steve Pugh. It’s been great to see him back in the comic, and hopefully we’ll get more Interceptor soon, or Tharg will get him on something else. While it’s a shame his painted artwork never showed up on the cover (like this gem) his interior work has been consistently fantastic, and while suffering a little from “less detail as the series goes on” syndrome, he’s created some truly memorable characters here.

The story, by the end, has been lighter than I was expecting – amounting to little more than an attempted prison breakout – but it’s been peppered with enough moments to raise it a few notches up above the average. Namely moments like “you accepted all of this without having a psychotic episode, which is a plus” which ensure that as readers, we realise that Edgington’s tongue is clearly in cheek. So, all-in-all, a good series, maybe not as groundbreaking as I was expecting, but damned good fun and that’s good enough for me.

EM: I really wanted to like this story, and at the end of the day I think I just about did. I'm a bit disappointed that the bad guy died at the hands of a conveniently forgotten blaster in the nightstand drawer, and the ending seemed rushed compared to the rest of the story, but I enjoyed it on the whole and that's what counts. The artwork was good, if not outstanding, but didn't seem to fit - maybe it was too Marvel for me, i'm not sure.

With the line-ups that we've had over the last few months it was always going to be hard for Interceptor to be noticed, and it unfortunately suffered by comparison. Oh, and the Men In Black comparisons that have been drawn were only compounded by closing exchanges between the characters. Shame really.