Prog 1348 - 9 July 2003
Cover by Dylan Teague & Chris Blythe
Synopsis and review by Gavin Hanly
2nd Opinion by Eric Moore

Summaries and reviews contain spoilers for this issue.

GH: A good enough cover, but there's always something about these generic Dredd images that leaves me cold. I much prefer something original, that's tied to the content of the comic.

EM: There's been a bit of a debate on the 2000AD site message board on the merits of this weeks cover - basically that Dredd with an unfeasibly big gun is a bit of a cliché now. I don't mind them at all and this one is passable but a bit too "cartoony" for me (what's with the eagle's head?) It's more than made up for though by the excellent angle Dylan Teague decided to use.

Revenge of the Chief Judge's Man - Part 7

Synopsis: The Judges reach Gill's apartment, but there's no sign of him, just a copy of Justice News with the "Chief Judge's engagements" section torn out. Gill knows they're onto him. He considers changing his face - which he's changed so many times before - but instead robs a biker of his red flightsuit and helmet - taking his hover bike.

De Klerk gets back home, realising his time is up. He sits down to write his confession.

The Chief Judge is visiting a tunnel building project - Dredd knows that Gill will hit tonight. Meanwhile - the tied up biker is found and the description relayed to Dredd. Back at the tunnel, Gill makes his presence known and makes a suicide dash for the Chief Judge, through a hail of gunfire...

GH: My concern with this story is beginning to grow. The earlier scenes in the prison camp promised something different, and the beating of Dredd was brutal and unexpected. However, since retuning to the city things have become a little predictable. Dredd's been doing little more than taking part in discussions with a number of Judge Nobodies and generally playing catch up on what the readers knew all along about De Klerk. Gill, meanwhile, still seems bent on revenge and little else. Admittedly he's effectively a loaded gun pointed in a particular direction, but you certainly hoped for something a little more ingenious than this week's headlong rush for the Chief Judge (if indeed that is the Chief Judge...there's been a lot of talk about face changes in the last couple of episodes). De Klerk's character also seems slightly wasted, taking the predictable exit of suicide by the looks of this week's episode.

The whole thing's not bad - an average Wagner Dredd story is still streets ahead of most strips in the comic - and Burns' art helps to make the strip a worthy read. But as the conclusion rapidly approaches, I can't help but feel slightly disappointed . Hopefully there's a twist to come...

EM: I started off with high hopes for this tale but have to say that my interest is waning. Although everything is set up now for the finale, it really feels like it's dragging and I'll feel kind of relieved when its over. Bit disappointed by "Jaws" as well. It didn't’t seem too 22nd century did it?

Otherworld - Part 3

Synopsis: A human approaches the group asking who Edward Kelly is - saying they'll talk to him later. Then they are all taken in a flying machine, piloted by demon soldiers, to Queen Titania (as Moll watches them to see how the ships work). Upon meeting the scantily clad Queen Titania, Raleigh and Drake argue about who is the leader of the expedition, and are entertained by the queen as the others are led away. They are brought to a room with more scantily clad women, and given a feast. However, they aren't allowed to leave, guarded by the demons, and Moll thinks the food is poisoned. They manage to disarm one guard, and Moll uses the guard's gun to take out another two. Kelly takes the other gun and they fight their way out, eventually running into Oberon, another of the "angels" , who tells them that the queen is going to invade Earth with her demon army.

GH: Perhaps the most disappointing thing about this Past Imperfect is that it feels very unlike how you think a Past Imperfect tale should feel. Remove the Elizabethan characters, and this could just have easily been a Tales of Telguuth story, or a standalone strip. As such, it continues to be unsatisfying, despite good art from Cam Smith and the occasional flourish of humour from Steve Moore. I'd like Moore to go for a full-on comedy, since his light touch works well. But that's enough fantasy for the moment, if possible...

EM: This is one I'd really like to see the back of. I can take Steve Moore and his Tales Of Telguuth as they’re one prog long and a nice break before moving on to the next continuing story. But this has failed to interest me on any level and seems to be dragging on, and on, and on. Surely a better tale could have been chosen for the first multi parter?

Oh Kal Kutter

Synopsis: A taxi picks up a passenger recently arrived from Bombay. His name is Vejay Chander, but he's looking for something more "street" - Johnny Sitar or Kal Cutter. The cabbie asks if he's a singer, and taking bookings. He agrees with the "bookings" part. Vejay notices the cabbie's name - Charon - like the ferryman across the Styx. They get to the destination and he asks the cabbie to wait outside.

Vejay goes in, asking for Mr Alpha. He's searched, and found to be clean. After Alpha's bodyguard leaves, he tells Alpha he's there about the contract on his head. His hand morphs into a gun, and then adds a silencer - he says it's an O-tek skinplant - snd Vejay executes Alpha. He leaves quietly, telling the bodyguard that Alpha wants time alone.

The cabbie takes him to Lonely Donnegan's and, as he walks away, the cabbie lowers his glasses, revealing skulls instead of eyes. Inside, Vejay introduces himself to Sin & Dex - they're seeing him as a favour to his brother Sanjeev. They start to tell him about the job on Alpha when Vejay tells them it's already done. They agree to take him on...

GH: Finally, something is introduced into the Sinister Dexter world which should help to shake things up a little. This is a surprisingly good tale, and has Abnett flexing his writing muscles a bit more than he has on recent Sin/Dex tales. Good characterisation, and some nice touches of foreshadowing make this a very entertaining read indeed. Can we trust Vijay or not? It remains to be seen, and I doubt that's the last we've seen of Charon. Hopefully we'll get a short break from Sin/Dex now, as this is a great way to leave us wanting more. Let's just hope Abnett can keep this level of quality up in future installments.

As for the art - this is possibly the best yet I've seen from Andy Clarke. I've been particularly critical of certain aspects of Clarke's work in the past, but it's clear that he's a very talented artist. It's mainly the lines ont he faces that I have issue with - but with the characters steeped in darkness and shadows for this episode, it all seems to work wonderfully. He helps to make the episode as atmospheric as it should be, and I'd like to see him continue to work on future Sin Dex tales. I also feel mention should be made of Caldwell's colours, which also add to the "noir" feel of the episode.

All round, the best Sin/Dex tale in ages...

EM: These guys have never been ones to float my boat and the only reason I read it is because I want to get my money's worth when I buy my prog. Andy Clarke's artwork is nice and makes for easier reading but does the appearance of gunhand guy and "just the start" mean Abnett has finally run out of steam and is going in a new direction with them? Personally, I’d rather he'd just put them out to pasture.

No Gain, No Pain Part 7

Synopsis: The Tran-scend drug is used to "remove its user from dimensionality" and should let Random go through walls. As the drug kicks in, Random has another flashback, thinking of a war buddy Lobster Keyhole, who's motto was "aloha", "hello and goodbye" as every moment marks an ending and a beginning. Random continues to hallucinate, thinking back to his run-ins with his sergeant during the war, but he forces his way through the wall. But the drug has finally made him experience pain. He struggles to make himself solid again, shaking off the pain, and manges to come through. "Copious - I'm coming for you!"

GH: Once again, Spurrier takes us back to Random's past and continues to play around with the narrative. Yes, it's another of those "turn the comic around to read it" episodes, but pretty well done. We're still being drip-fed enough of Random's past to make it worth revisiting in future series, and all this backstory does help to make Random a far more rounded character then the initial pitch of the "half-man, half-lobster, all homicidal maniac" idea could ever have led us to expect. This week also gives Critchlow another chance to mess around with his style, using much more colour to illustrate the trip than usual.

EM: Still the best thing in the prog at the moment with some nice insights in to the guy's background. Once again some excellent art from Carl Critchlow with sumptuous Day-Glo colours especially on the trippy page 2. Messing around with conventional panel layout is always good to see and this instance is a lot of fun. Can’t wait for the showdown.

Ghouls - Part 5

Synopsis: The Norts storm the base, led by Arkhan. They hear the sound of Rogue's gun and head for the source. As some Norts head round a corner, they are taken out by the weapon, but Arkhan throws a couple of grenades ahead. Soon, all that is left is the body of Colonel Logan, who had fitted his GI's pistol with a sound synthesizer. Back above, Rogue takes control of one of the flying atomcrafts, hauling Kinsella in. He tells her to fly (even though she's never been in one before) as Rogue defends them from attacking Norts. Together, they blow up a couple of atomcraft, but as they prepare to get away, Arkhan takes out his sniper rifle and shoots Rogue through the chest...

GH: The beginning of this story highlights one of the many flaws in the Rogue Trooper story - that it's very difficult to tell who's who, when most of the cast are wearing chemsuits that obscure their features. We assume Arkhan's leading the assualt from his slightly different suit, but perhaps a nametag or a clearer look at his face would have helped? And on another point - why did Logan disguise the sound of the gun? Unless I missed something - which is possible - how could he have known they were after Rogue, and would even know what his rifle sounded like.

Anyway, it was something of a shock to see him die so quickly and I'm intrigued enough to learn of Rogue's fate too. The art's still good solid black and white art, especially with Logan's end (see above) but it's a shame that Johnson couldn't stick around for the whole run.

EM: Nice to see Rogue doing what he does best this issue. Gordon's script, along with Mike Collins' art, have a real retro 80's feel to them - which I guess is the point – and would have no trouble fitting in with the original run. Nice work chaps.