Prog 1346 - 25 June 2003
Cover by Simon Davis
Synopsis and review by Gavin Hanly
2nd Opinion by John Amans

Summaries and reviews contain spoilers for this issue.

GH: Another Sinister Dexter cover by Simon Davis, which seems far too soon after the last one, also by the same artist. Unfortunately, this isn't as successful as the last attempt, with the foremost character having a particularly bizarre expression. Plus it clearly is too soon for another Sin/Dex cover, regardless of your opinion of the pair.

JA: A nice SB Davis Cover with his definitive depiction of Sinister/Dexter aided with the white background. What I love is that the guns seems to point at you, the reader, rather than Dick Rancid!

Revenge of the Chief Judge's Man - Part 5

Synopsis: 12 days since the escape. A Texas Ranger comes across Gill by his campfire, and shows his intention to take him in for the reward. But Gill kills him easily before he can make an attempt.

Back in MC1, Dredd has come out of 10 days in speedheal. He warns Hershey that Gill's after her alone, not the remaining judges as he still believes he's on their side. Dredd thinks Gill feels betrayed by Hershey, but Hershey tells Dredd - "Always knew Chief Judges didn't last long."

Dredd calls a meeting to discuss Gill, including De Klerk, who headed the 1st investigation (and is actually the man who was previously pulling Gill's strings). De Klerk starts at seeing Bubba O Kelly's face on the monitor, but manages to cover his surprise up. Dredd has figured out that O Kelly was ready to talk, and that Gill silenced him. He chastises De Klerk for his previous work on the case regarding Gill's background, and tells him to reopen it.

Meanwhile, Gill has made it into the city dressed as the former Texas ranger...

GH: After the rain soaked action of the past few episodes, a change of pace has taken place. Dredd has been taken down a peg or two after his beating by Gill, but is clearly ready for a rematch. If past history is anything to go by, Dredd is a dangerous man to piss off, and a rematch with Gill is inevitable.

That aside, this week's episode concentrates on the judges trying to find out who Gill is. My only criticism is that this seems to be going over the same details yet again. We already know Dredd's suspicions, so do they really have to be spelt out to us again? Perhaps Wagner's intention is to show how dangerously isolated De Klerk is, but some new information would have been welcome. A particularly nice touch, however, is Hershey's admittance that Chief Judges don't last long - a very obvious fact to anyone who's reading 2000AD for any length of time. While it'd be good for Dredd to have someone antagonistic to bounce off of at the top, it'd be a great shame if Hershey had to die after achieving what seems like a record survival period at the top.

Again, Burns proves himself to be adept at action sequences as he is with talking head scenes and his cinematic art handles the Hall of Justice scenes with ease. His Gill in disguise looks totally different though - did Gill get his hands on a face change machine (those very handy plot devices) before heading into the city...?

JA: Armon Gill is, rather predictably, out of prison without too much of a struggle. But, being Judge Dredd, this is what we expect. John Burns' art is always top drawer and this episode is no exception. What John Wagner exceeds at, and this is what makes JD such a force, is that he blends action with a depth of story telling that we now take for granted. You want Gill to get into MC1; you want JD to get closer to De Klerk’s scheme. This episode does not disappoint. Nice pace, crisp dialogue and great art. Judge Dredd may sag sometimes, but this is one series that has been quality from the beginning.

I can see this being remembered as a real classic.

Otherworld - Part 1

Synopsis: Edward Kelly, Alchemist, and John Dee, Sorcerer, are getting messages from a crystal ball, when sir Francis Walsingham's agents burst in. They take them to Walsingham at Mortlake who believes they have found the Philosopher's stone and commands them to make gold for the Queen - in one week. As Walsingham leaves, it becomes clear that they don't actually have the Philosopher's Stone, as Kelly was spreading the rumour around to get investment. Kelly runs off, meeting up with Moll Cutpurse (Transvestite thief). He asks Moll to steal him some money so he can escape to France but they are caught by Walsingham's men and both brought back to Mortlake. Back inside, Dee greets them, saying he's followed the "angelic instructions" and built a machine - "A doorway to the Otherworld". He brings them to a huge portal opening up into a new world...

GH: Past Imperfect was a hit & miss affair last time it appeared. The premise of skewing history into a parallel universe has potential but it seemed, as it often does with Future shock spin-offs, that the writers weren't quite making enough of this idea. This time, things appear to have taken a different turn with Steve Moore attempting a multi-parter approach. The first part is only so-so, however. There's some fun characterisation, but there are unfortunately only a few characters I recognise, such as Dee and Walsingham, which doesn't help me see how this fits under the Past Imperfect banner.

Steve Moore does put in some humourous touches, such as Dee's stammering at Walsingham's demands, continuing the lightness of touch he exhibited in the recent Tales of Telguuth run. But strip all that away, and it's clear that very little actually happens in this episode. Hopefully next week's continuation will shed a little more light and make the scene setting worthwhile, but so far this doesn't feel very substantial.

Cam Smith's art is pretty good, with his Kelly Jones influences clearly visible here. He seems quite at home in the Elizabethan setting, and makes much of an episode where little happens apart from conversation.

JA: The last run of the Past Imperfect series was a rather hit and miss affair. It ranged from the “not bad” to “waste of paper” episodes. Initial impressions are mixed. Cam Smith’s passable artwork is rather ruined by a jumpy, laboured one-dimensional script. The Elizabethan setting is rather intriguing, but the less than “grab you by the throat” story lets it down. You just can’t see where this is going. Though things may improve in future episodes you rather get the sense that we’ve seen this before with numerous average multi-episodes of Tales of Teleguth.

No Gain, No Pain - Part 5

Synopsis: Lobster is drugged unconscious by Chiv, and flashes back to his days in the army. Earth was fighting an alien force when Random was injured and hospitalised. While he was out of action, the aliens used mindspheres to control the human army's subconscious, and made them tear each other apart. Random is changed in hospital to one of the genetically engineered soldiers made to be immune to the affects of the mindspheres - hence no sleeping or pain. They won the war, but the feds decide to eliminate the lobster commandos at a reception for them - Random only avoided this because he was "getting zippy with the catering droid".

Random wakes up, as Klik tells him that the mindsphere's stasis field is cracked. This affects Chiv's crew who go insane and kill each other. The ship lands on automatic, the door opens and Random is greeted by a large helmeted person - "I'm Mister Copious. I want your brain."

GH: Another flashback, and another chance to see what makes Random tick. While the "not able to sleep, but perfectly able to be drugged unconscious" aspect of this week's plot rings a little untrue, this is a well paced backstory. There's just enough information to let you know everything you need to about Random and the Mindsphere, without getting too bogged down in the details. There are some clear references to Starship Troopers, but this is not a bad thing. All in all, Spurrier manages to keep us wanting more, quickly making this the must-read part of the weekly.

But the real kudos this week must go to Critchlow, especially for the splash-page flashback of Random's time in the army. I occasionally get irritated when a strip suddenly spreads across two pages, leaving the reader initially lost (what must new comic readers think when they're confronted with such a switch?) but it's carried off with such style here that all objections are over-ruled. When you stand back and take it in, it works very well indeed, especially the scene of the Lobsters in action (see excerpt above). And it's even in the real centre of the comic - a nice bit of editing there!

JA: Any Episode 1 doubts about this new strip that I may have had have now been well and truly dashed. Carl Critchlow deserves some credit as his artwork is not overly complicated, but not too simplistic as to give it a rushed look. It already has that sense that you get with a truly great 2000AD story: that no matter how many artists draw Lobster Random, only Carl Critchlow will do! The story this week takes a sort of a pause as Random fills in some more of his past for the reader. This is what really sets this story apart for me. Far from being hurried and the characters pushed into the next major scene, we catch our breath, learn a little more about our “hero” and am nicely set –up for next week. Simon Spurrier’s script remains tight and has a gem of a line concerning Random's brilliantly original preferences for droids!

This week just left me wanting more. This is simply the best new strip for quite a while.

Write from Wrong - Part 2

Synopsis: Sin & Dex escort Rancid away, as an autograph hunter accosts them. The hunter is immediately gunned down by another gunshark as Sin, Dex and Rancid escape, guns blazing. Rancid tells them that he paid for some "trouble" but the contract specifically said he was off limits. Sinister says the contract has been ballsed up, and they need to take cover while they get the job cancelled. Lying low at Bar None, They find the contract and see that it lists all three of them - in very certain terms. Rancid calls his assistant Anders, who says he put the contract on him on purpose, as he stands to make millions more when Rancid dies. More gunsharks come into Bar None after the three of them, but they grab a hovercar and speed off.

GH: Well, as expected last week, this is a real run-of-the-mill plot, with no surprises so far. So why am I suddenly really quite enjoying this? The artwork by Yeowell and O'Grady certainly helps, and is a good improvement on last week's. There's always been something about Yeowell's artwork that has appealed to me, whether it's been from the early days of Zenith, working at DC or here. He puts such a stamp on his work that it's instantly recognisable, adding down-to-earth realism to otherwise fantastical scenarios. Even his Sinister looks a lot harder than he has in ages - these two really look like tough bastards!

But it's mainly the well paced story that has won me round. Sure, it's an incredibly clichéd plot, but it's a damned fun read too. I still think the two gunsharks need an overhaul or a long vacation, but in the meantime I'd prefer this to a sub-standard Future Shock any day.

JA: I’ve sort of gone off the Gun Shark duo. Too many flat, treading water episodes have begun to let the characters down over the past year. The first episode of "Write From Wrong"” had some promise. Steve Yeowell (one of my favourite 2000AD artists) is up to usual high standard. However, as episode 2 has unravelled you get the horrid feeling that this is going to be another "business partner" double cross stories. Sinister & Dexter will be dragging around their client as they bump into a variety of the Downlode characters (Rocky, Billy etc etc) with the “bad guys” hot on their trail. Sound familiar? The premise is better than some past episodes; I just hope that part 3 goes down some new roads. Rather like Dick Rancid’s next book, this series is also stalled! Please freshen it up before it gets terminally stale

Ghouls - Part 3

Synopsis: Arkhan lies listening to intelligence summaries until he hears one listing Milli-Com deserters. Getting their files he sees that they are a Gene Scientist and the commander of the genetic infantry men - Arkhan decides to start his hunt with them.

Down on Nu Earth, Logan and Kinsella lure Pablo into a trap. Gunnar identifies him as one of those that took Rogue, and they order him to take them to his base. As they get closer, they track the biochip signals. The surgeons are about to prep Rogue for surgery, but Gunnar takes them all out. Pablo escapes in the confusion and they free Rogue, who can barely stand. But more of the diseased renegades appear from the shadows,.

Meanwhile, Arkhan has tracked down the renegades' caverns and is preparing his strike force...

GH: While I'm still remaining very cautious about Rogue Trooper, this is an entertaining read. Arkhan is still being set up as a formidable bad guy, and my only hope is that he doesn't get into a confrontation with Rogue too early. A more prolonged game of cat & mouse would be much more preferable. Increased use of the bio-chips is also welcome, although I still feel Rennie could do more with them, and maybe play down the roles of Logan and Kinsella later on. Despite knowing the outcome (this effectively being flashback, so Rogue must be OK) Rennie still manages to work up the tension over his condition pretty well. Just make him less of a superhero when he finally recovers, please?

The art's still good, but there is a drop in quality from last week that has unfortunately coincided with Roach taking on ink duties. While still great in most places, there are a couple of jarring moments, such as Arkhan relaxing on page 1, that don't appear to be quite as polished as the previous two episodes.

EM: This umpteenth revamp of Rogue Trooper is trying hard to justify its space in 2000AD. I desperately want to like it. The art is good and it has that 1980’s feel to it. It’s not bad, but then it's not great: it's just rather average. But then, every new Rogue Trooper story is weighed down by the mistakes of the past. Gordon Rennie tries to make it interesting and entertaining. But it has the usual array: nasty Norts, honourable Southers and Nu-Earth freaks. Arkhan is good, but what’s new in this character? At least the next episode will have some action, but I just feel it is rather too mediocre and staid to keep the attention. Id love to be proved wrong though……