Prog 1358 - 17 September 2003
Cover by Tim Jones, Drew Cope and Simon Parr

Synopsis and review by Gavin Hanly
2nd Opinion by Richmond Clements

Summaries and reviews contain spoilers for this issue.

GH: This is, put simply, an advert for the upcoming Dredd vs Death Game (and there's much more inside the prog). This would have been great timing if the game was coming out this week as originally intended but, as slippage has occurred, this is a little too early now. It's a collage of in-game images seen elsewhere, so I can't really rate it highly. Some of the DvD images on the official site have been moodier and better laid out - while this looks like a cut and paste job. The images on the inside-back and back covers of this issue are noticeably better, being high resolution renders as opposed to screengrabs. It's just not in the slightest bit innovative or particularly interesting.

RC: Mmmm. Not too sure about this one. No doubt the characters will look
good in the game, but here they look stretched, and out of proportion. I
mean, surely Dredd should topple over, with that tiny waist and thin legs
holding up those giant shoulders pads? And as for Anderson. no wonder she
can't get that zip up.

Club Sov

Synopsis: A Sov themed club, Club Sov, is the latest craze in MC1, and Dredd is paying a visit. He meets the owner, Zaminov, and tells them he wants to shut the club down before "some creep with a grudge does it for me." As he speaks, a fat russian "rogue", Anatoli Smirkov, sees Dredd and runs for safety, attempting to swing on a chandelier through the window - but as it's armoured he falls flat against it and onto the ground. Dredd tells "Zaminov" to drop the accent and just before he can order the club closed, a group called the "Sons of Orlok" burst in and start wrecking the place. They see Dredd and start gunning for him, but Dredd shoots one of the fake nukes hanging from the ceiling, crushing the perps. It turns out that they were all faking the accents too. Finally they take Smirkov into custody - "creep that irritating. He's got to be guilty of something..."

GH: Unfortunately, after Rennie's impressive, if inconsequential, Dredd tale last week this one is just unimpressive and inconsequential - with the emphasis on the last point. In last week's one off, there seemed to be a point, however slight. But this week, Dredd shows up to close a club and gets shot at. Apart from a thinly disguised Nikolai Dante piss-take - that's it. This is a shame, as the idea of club Sov was one worth pursuing and should have been ripe for satire. As such, it's just a dull Dredd tale - and even the Dante stuff's not very funny.

That said, Simon Fraser's artwork does its best to save the piece. While it's amusing to see him do a "fat Dante", it's the second page image of Club Sov that particularly impresses and the red colour tint throughout also works well (Fraser appears to have coloured his own artwork here - the first time in a while, it seems). If he was given a little more to play around with, this could have been a mini classic, but unfortunately, there's just not much of interest going on in the last 3 pages. A missed opportunity.

RC: Rennie really has got a handle on Dredd, hasn't he? He seems to know what it is that makes the character tick, like that great one liner on the first page. This story is a great, punchy little gem. Good fun, with some nice action, and it has been a long time since we, the readers, have seen any new crazes in Mega City One. Rennie should be allowed loose on a multi-parter, I think. I would like to see him exploring Dredd's character, in the way only Wagner seems to be allowed to do.

I thought Fraser an unusual choice for Dredd, until I turned to the second page, and saw Dante sitting in the corner of the page! I laughed when I saw him, because it really looks the way I could imagine Dante looking when he's an old man. It is well drawn, though his Dredd has a bit of a spare tyre.

And it has me wondering if Rennie really does hate Dante...

Part 8

Synopsis: Hastur says he can return the ship to the world if he gets his "heart's desire". He goes on to explain that he was with a race of demons that dwelled in the darkness long before Lucifer's fall, but after that event, they were all given purpose as Lucifer's followers. But he has been denied this by Sir William Ashbless, the Leviathan's architect. He used to be Sir William of Ashton, a knight who met a magi on the third crusade in the east. The magi offered eternal life and wealth if he was spared, so they trapped Hastur together, ripping out his soul, after which Ashton killed the Magi anyway. Ashston flourished for many ages until he built the Leviathan "am monstrous edifice to his ego" - and bound Hastur in the centre. But a stoker investigated the centre of the ship, despite orders not to, and Hastur was able to take him over. The army of Hastur's stoker's grew, and he hoped they would drive Ashton to bargain - but he has not risen to the bait. Hastur offers the ship freedom if Lament will kill Ashton.

Back in 1st class, Lament finds Ashton/Ashbless and holds a gun to his head - "Sir William Ashton, I presume"

GH: It's the expository episode this week, as we find out just what's up with the Leviathan. However, why is it that I get the feeling that Lament is being puppeteered here? I'm afraid I can't see a happy end for the put-upon detective. After a huge amount off tension and set-up, Edginton had a lot riding on this episode, but happily he comes up trumps. The backstory for the Leviathan is convoluted enough to be satisfying, and the explanation for the stokers is also a nice touch. But it's this feeling that Lament hasn't been told everything that makes me particularly keen as to what happens next - after all, who can trust a deal with the devil..?

As ever, D'israeli puts on a wonderful show here, especially with the run-down appearance of Lament at the end. You really get the feeling that the man's being through a lot, and clutching at straws before considering what he's getting himself into. He also gets another chance to show off the size of the Leviathan with another great image of it alongside the statue of Liberty, as well as putting together some clever woodcut style illustrations for the fall of Lucifer.

All round, another classy effort.

RC: Now I find myself about to contradict something I wrote in a previous review. I was highly critical of Sláine for dragging down the pace of the tale with lengthy passages of exposition. Well, this episode of Leviathan finds us on the same boat (ho ho), but this strip still manages to be terrific. Why? Because despite the large slice of back story dropped into the strip, we still manage to feel concern for Lament in his position.

If I have a negative criticism, it would be this: at the moment, the story is treading a fine line. With the introduction of a demon, and the villain selling his soul, it is in danger of sliding into horror cliché land. But time will tell.

There is hope that it will not follow this path, with Lament taking the demon up on its offer at the end of the episode, and a dramatic closing panel.

The art? Yeah, it's getting boring to say it, but it is superb, atmospheric, dramatic, all that kind of thing.

Junk Bond - Part 3

Synopsis: Sinister, Dexter and Tracy arrive in Mangapore, and meet Sinister's wife, the head of the Yakuza, on her yacht. They cannot enter the city, as they are supposed to be dead (killed so Sinister's wife could take their place). They fill her in on Wendy's disappearance, and add that they discovered she used to be owned by an underboss named Shinzen - who must have found her through the DNA ring that Rhodes purchased. Shinzen is apparently a powerful underboss, and although the queen cannot give them permission to enter - she agrees to turn a blind eye.They head out to the boat, met by a female host. They ask to see her boss, flashing their guns after she refuses. She takes them into a back room where two of the Samurai robots await. "...surrender now."

GH: As mentioned in many previous reviews, I do often enjoy Sinister Dexter for the throwaway nature of it. It's fun while it lasts, but it doesn't really stick in the memory. Which is why episodes like this become something of a problem. I can sort of remember Sinister's wife with her robot girl accomplice, but it took a good deal of head scratching before I got there. I also still can't quite remember who Tracy is (is she a cop?). Frankly, Billi is the only female character in this strip who really sticks out - and she's unfortunately relegated to the sidelines with Vijay.

Therefore I find episodes like this, where a good degree of character knowledge in necessary, highly confusing even though I've read all the previous stories. That doesn't say much for the memorable nature of Sin/Dex. Apart for that confusion, this is another run-of-the mill Sin/Dex story livened up by some impressive Simon Davis Artwork. Just don't expect me to remember much of it in a few week's time.

RC: This is not a bad story. It's just that it is not very good either. No, as you may have picked up there, I am not a big fan of the duo. But neither do I have the rabid hate displayed toward then by some earthlets. There are some good moments here, the promise of intrigue to come and Mangapore seems like an interesting setting but I just don't seem to care.

This might be due to the continuity heavy story (I didn't realise that the woman was Finnigan's wife. I can't remember her from her previous appearance), or maybe because it reads like the scenario for an RPG. I don't thinks it's the fault of the Abnett droid, as I consider him a good writer. I think it is just that I don't care about the characters.

I am not a big fan of the art style of Davis, but he does some good work here, with nicely flowing pages and easily understood panels.

Part 2

Synopsis: At the age of 21, Kaith envies his brother Aib, while Aib fears Kaith. They set up a challenge to clear the air - collecting trophies from a human village. Aib sweeps down and grabs a hat from a villager. Kaith heads down saying he's bring back a scalp - but the villagers are now prepared, and shoot fire arrows into his wings, making him fall to the ground. Aib is too scared to help, as well as thinking his brother is a monster, and flies away. Aib lurks in the desert, too scared to go back to the tribe and guilty for what he'd done. But he wakes the next morning and finds Kaith standing over him, with new wings made from the skin of dozens of killed villagers. He raises his axe and butchers Aib - leaving him to die in the desert.

GH: Another very promising episode indeed, leaving us to expect that From Grace will be another classic 2000AD series to add to 2003's already impressive line up. Spurrier effectively sets Kaith up as a very nasty piece of work and while he hints at a possible redemption (a caption says that Kaith is 30 when he wonders what Aib must have been thinking after he left him to die), we can only assume there's going to be a good deal of blood spilled on the way.

This is easier to follow than the last issue - although I did enjoy the jumping around to different time zones, so I hope this will make a return in future episodes. Certainly the non-linear method of storytelling will be a considerable test for Spurrier, but he already looks like he's well able to pull it off. Again, Irving is a great asset to the series, with this week's episode set in the "green" time period and the mixture of what appears to be pencil and colour artwork provides some extremely moody artwork. The reveal of Kaith's new wings alone is particularly shocking, as is the brutal murder of his brother. This is definitely the series to watch over the coming weeks.

RC: I wasn't sure about this one last week. I was interested, but not enough to be excited about reading this weeks episode. But I really enjoyed this one. The tale is building very nicely, and getting darker all the time. I know this is not going to have a happy ending, but as he has murdered his own brother and it is only episode two, I think we can be assured of something awesomely grim at the end.

Mention must be made of the main panel on the final page: what an image! Frazer's work here is astounding. I was never too eager to see his art in colour, but this has changed my mind. I just love the colouring here!

The Tax Dodge - Part 7

Synopsis: The Stronts and Paxman are locked in the tower, along with the bird while they await their fate. Paxman says he's going to make Alpha pay once he's released with horrendous fines.

The Gnobbians arrive and take Johnny, putting him in front of a huge catapult to make him tell them where the kabob is. He says he doesn't know, so they fire - but the huge bolt stops inches from his chest - it's just a test to see if he was telling the truth. They actually believe his story, but just wanted to make sure and now see him as the only hope for getting the 5th Brother and the kabob. They say they'll keep Wulf until he succeeds. Alpha agrees, as long as he gets to take "Harley Penman", terrorist worth 5 million creds. He shows them the bounty on him (having switched the picture for Paxman) and the Gnobbians decide to keep him instead of Wulf - Alpha's bluff works - they escape (with the bird) and Paxman stays.

On the way out Alpha reveals that he has the kabob all along (he took it from Midas) - and plans to keep it a while to get Paxman out of their hair ("Sod him."). However, when they reach the doghouse, it's moved out of Earth's orbit, and range of its taxes - so they decide to send the kabob back - "...he's somebody else's problem now!"

GH: This has been, without doubt, a classic Strontium Dog tale, and one of the best things that Wagner's produced in a while. Unlike the previous tale, "Roadhouse" from last year which was great fun - but lacking something indefinable - this has been enjoyable from start to finish, with a strong plot thread and great characters the whole way through to hold our attention. Indeed, the ordeal of Paxman quickly became less important that the highly enjoyable Gnobbians - an absolutely wonderful creation that reminds me of classic Strontium Dog and indeed Judge Dredd stories. The bird is also pretty good, and would make a worthy addition to Johnny and Wulf's group.

Rumours are growing about the return of Robohunter next year - and as long as they follow the lessons learned here, then we could be in for a treat. Namely, remember what made the characters so enjoyable in the first place, be prepared to effectively ignore some of the continuity set up (arguably continuity can be one of the most harmful things in longstanding comic books) and get some of the original creators back on board.

It's also easy to forget that this is in many ways an improvement from those early SD tales. Certainly the art has come a huge distance, with Ezquerra being better than ever and, to my eyes, one of the best computer colourists on the scene today. But this storyline is also more inventive as Wagner appears to enjoy a great creative freedom that just lets him really enjoy himself on one of 2000AD's top characters.

If there's a criticism, it's a small one. The last page, being the final wrap-up, doesn't really have a classic last line. The previous page's "sod him" was far funnier, and might have worked better as a darker ending.

But when retro comics are done as well as this, we can only be left clamouring for more...

RC: Is there anything left to say about this tale? A triumphant return for Johnny and Wulf reaches its climax this week, and leaves us wanting more. Wagner manages a couple of surprises: Johnny leaving Paxman in jail, and the remaining Brother making his escape were both nice twists to the tale, even if he softened just a little in the end, by posting back the pants. And who else would like to see the Rude Bird joining the team?

Hurry back Johnny!

Carlos is the greatest comic artist in the world. But then, you already knew that didn't you?