Prog 1364 - 29 October 2003
Cover by Ian Gibson

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

Summaries and reviews contain spoilers for this issue.

GH: An absolutely stunning cover by Ian Gibson that instantly reminds you of a classic Halo Jones cover. His Synnamon is 100 times sexier than the one in the actual strip, however, and you can't help think how much better it would have been with Gibson at the helm.

RC: Okay, I’ll give you two pieces of information here. 1) The cover features a picture of a woman. 2) It is drawn by Ian Gibson. Now, you should be able to put these two facts together, and reach your own conclusion about the standard of the cover. And just in case you cannot: It rocks.

Inside Job - Part 2

Jimmy makes a fast exit

Synopsis: Moab lies dead as his family grieves. But Dredd is surprised that the news hasn't broken in the press yet, and he suddenly realises it's because Granny doesn't know yet - and the killer's still on the premises. Moab's huge son starts to feel unwell, and Dredd realises where the assassin is, pointing his gun at the boy's stomach. Inside is Jimmy "the Eel" Pye, recognised by Moab's wife, who had his bones replaced with "goo". Dredd orders him out, but Jimmy's using the boy as a hostage, so Dredd calls in a specialist. The doctor arrives and prescribes a muscle relaxant. The boy starts to feel unwell as the doctor reveals that he's a vet - just as Jimmy explodes out of Moab's son's arse. Jimmy realises he's dead meat when Granny gets him - but Dredd still needs an informer. So Dredd arrests Moab's wife and sons for withholding evidence and harbouring a murderer.

GH: The artwork by Steve Pugh jumps up a notch this week. Last week it seemed uncomfortably unfinished in certain places but, perhaps as I've got used to the style, this week shows a dramatic improvement. This could be due to the perverse situation he has to illustrate nbeing more interesting, but there's some fine artwork on display here. Of particular note is the character of the vet. In many people's hands this would have been a throwaway side character, but in Pugh's hands we get yet another great caricature. Get him back on Dredd soon!

As for the story - it works very well as one of those absurd Dredd tales, and as a result is far better than the first half. Until we get to the very end. It seems that there's no possible grounds under which Dredd could make the arrest since the McGonigals were unaware of the assassin's presence. This bizarre reaction by Dredd made me re-read the strip a couple of times to check I hadn't missed anything, but unfortunately it looks like Edginton dropped the ball within yards of the touchline. Shame - as it spoils a fun tale.

RC: And so, just as soon as it has begun, this intriguing little tale has ended, and that is a shame. I would have liked to see the mystery given more room to grow. I would have liked to have seen more of the McGonigal family. And above all, I would have liked to known more about the Lynch Mob, but maybe Edginton is saving that for later..?

The assassin was ingenious for sure, and, as far as I'm aware, highly original. I can even forgive it it's fart joke, I liked it so much. Pugh's art is also lovely, from his uneven panel layout to the strange colour job, with the red on Dredd’s helmet being almost the only bright colour in the strip.

So, yes, it is a well above average strip, but, at the risk of repeating myself, it suffers from the same thing that nearly all thrills seem to of late. That is, they are too short! We are getting to the stage where a six parter is almost epic length, and that’s just wrong.

Part 3

Zygurk gets ready to die...

Synopsis: Jude's punishment for the killing was 7 days beside the zombie enclosure. She's let out and sent to join Morgan, helping him herd zombies. As they herd the zombies, Jude says she doesn't plan on sticking around too long. In the mess hall, anther inmate, Holden, shows a dislike to Jude, but Zygurk interrupts offering him something from the hydroponic farm - but Dreadnought storms in with video footage of him stealing the fruit. He's sentence to the death of a thousand cuts - slicing him into pieces so that Lazarus can't revive him. Morgan makes Jude make a promise - that she'll destroy his body when he dies so he can't be resurrected. Meanwhile Zygurk's remains are taken away to be fed to the zombies...

GH: We at least appear to be getting into the meat of the story here, and there are a couple of nice touches, with the death of a thousand cuts and the video footage of the crime. But there's still a feeling of truing to do too much too soon, and there isn't enough time for the characters to earn our sympathy. Only Morgan (Shawshank Redemption reference) seems like he's a fairly interesting character but by the sound of thing's he's pretty much sealed his fate given his dialogue with Jude this week. As ever, Boo Cook continues to be the best thing about this series which suffers greatly by being released so close to the Harry 20 reprints in the Meg.

RC: Where do I begin here..? I am a complete sucker for prison stories. I loved the first episode of this, and liked the second one. I didn’t like this one. Now, there as some cracking ideas here. The planet turning the dead into zombies, and then the prison using them as slave labour is brilliant. The warden having the cameras in everybody’s eyes is cool.

So why then, is it not working?

Because, despite these ideas, it relies too much on cliché, and some, it has to be said, terrible dialogue. "I never believed in hell until I came to this shivhole. After a week here, hell would be welcome." I mean, seriously. Mr. Bishop, you’re better than this.

And while I’m here: Romero Wing Mess Hall? Please!

The art is not as good as it has been in the previous installments, though it was nice to see a couple of X-Men, and old 2000AD favourites incarcerated along with Jude!

Downtime 2 - Verse

Verse prepares to kick some zombie arse...

Synopsis: Verse flashes bach to his days of taking down zombies in Martinique in 1995, as he pays a visit to a council estate in Tower Hamlets in 2003. He's confronted by a gang, which gives him no trouble, and goes into a flat to see Marie. He asks about Amelie and if she remembers the Palo Mayombe at the mission school (as Amelie pretends to be asleep in the adjoining room). She's blocked out much of it, but remembers Verse as a priest taking out the zombies and destroying the school. Verse gives a reluctant Marie some money, telling her "it can never be enough".

Outside, Verse is being followed by the mysterious force who wonder if he could be a problem - but they do not worry as they appear to have a Golem on their side...

GH: Rennie continues to exhibit here how to make a lasting impact on 2000AD - i.e. by not being afraid to take your time in telling a story. Maybe he's given a longer leash than other writers, but the slow way the events are unfolding in Caballistics makes it a far more rewarding read than some of the quick and dirty series we've seen in the comic. Not a great deal happens here, but it suits the mysterious character of verse down to the ground that we find out only a little more about him.

And Dom Reardon's getting much better at drawing scary zombies too...

RC: Nice. Understated. Subtle. Everything good gothic horror should be. God, I love this strip. Sure, nothing much happened, and we just scratched the surface of his character, and whatever guilt he obviously carries around, but isn’t that all part of the fun?

These guys in the van look interesting, too. Them and their big friend…

Roll on the next episode.

Rarely have I seen an artist so suited to a strip. Reardon’s rough edges, and not quite straight edged building add well to the atmosphere. He also shows a good eye for the cool pose beloved of fans: witness Verse posing with his shotgun in one hand, and a chainsaw in the other, while dressed as a priest! Delicious!

Facing Mecha - Part 3

Synnamon's acrobatics

Synopsis: Synnamon arrives in the glass desert and finds a huge Macauly industries sign. She descends into an underground laboratory and finds a large number of dead bodies. Ascheta tells her that something's blocking its scan and an explosion rips open a wall. Macauly is inside battling a huge creature which appears to be multiplying with each shot. She gets to Macauly who says he was tricked into creating the virus as the creature keeps growing...

GH: Part of the problem with this series, and one that can affect other 2000AD series too, is that you can find out more about the character in the "inside this prog" section at the front of the comic. Now, like many longtine readers I skip this because, hey, I've been reading for quite a while now and shouldn't have missed anything. But no - here we find out that Synnamon is "enhanced with photo-epiderman tattoos" and that Ascheta, her ship is developed by Macauly industries and can "transfer itself from combat unit to starship." After reading this, I feel I can get to grips with the story a little more, but the question remains - why the hell isn't all this stuff made a little more obvious in the strip itself?

As for this week's episode - not enough happens for me to make a judgement call. Some OK artwork, but a let down after the cover.

RC: Episode three and I’m still pretty much none the wiser as to what is going on. She may look a bit like The Black Widow, and work for an organisation similar to Special Circumstances, from the Culture novels of Iain M. Banks, but she’s still a lot of fun.

Between them Campbell, Townsend and Caldwell show some nice flourishes art wise. The glass surface of the planet looked magnificent, and Synnamon in mid tumble on page four is nearly as cool as Verse dressed as a priest.

What this story really needs, above anything, is the odd box, telling us what is going on.

Or maybe I’m just stupid.

The Empty Suns - Book 1 - Part 3

Durham Red feasts.

Synopsis: Red's son and the old man, Father Syte, are listening to Goldokin's men hunting Red. Inside, they have left Nelius to die as bait for Red. Red takes the bait and approaches Nelius, and then begins eviscerating him. Haema fires a stun net at Red, but she escapes heading for Goldokin. The robotic guards try to fight her off, but they are sent flying. Goldokin tries to appeal to her memory of him, and she appears to remember, as Heama finally stuns her into unconsciousness. They call the ship in, as Syte is aghast at what has taken place. Goldokin stuns both him and Red's son - "I have a feeling both of them might be useful...wher we're going."

GH: Once again, I'm surprised at how much I'm enjoying this, since I really didn't care for the last Red stories. It's a combination of Harrison's evolving style and a story that's far more involving that Abnett's last outing with Red. Not much else to say this week, though. Enjoyable - but it looks like the next few episodes should prove more interesting.

RC: Again: what the hell is this all about? Nice idea here, with Red being mad and living in a cave. But the humans deciding to bring her son and the old man along..? I’m not sure the reason for that was anything other than Abnett wanting the characters there, rather than any internal story logic.

I was not a big fan of Harrison’s work on the previous Red tales. I found it hard to follow, this, on the other hand, is much better. With its clearly lined characters, it is a lot easier to follow what’s going on.

This is what I think, for what it is worth. Durham Red was a great supporting character. She was popular with the fans, so naturally she got her own series.

Sometimes this idea will work, and you’ll get ‘Angel’. Other times it becomes ‘The Lone Gunmen’. Guess what one I think Red is?