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¦ Features ¦ The review
of the year - part 2
 PAR
1 |
29th
December 03 |
Eric Moore
- site reviewer
 2003
overview
2003 has been
kind of like a time machine. Read Caballistics, Dredd Vs Aliens,
Lobster Random or Leviathan and you’re transported back to
the Thrill Power Overload of the early 80’s when you’d think "fantastic!
How long is Saturday taking to come?" Read
Sinister Dexter, Bec & Kawl, Interceptor or Synnamon
and you’re back in the early 90’s thinking "I should stop buying
it, Dredd's the only reason for reading. But then I wouldn’t have a full
run of progs".
A real mixed bag
of a year for this Earthlet. Far and away the best thing was Caballistics Inc.
which just goes from strength to strength, closely followed by Lobster Random,
Strontium Dog's return and Dredd Vs Aliens in that order. “Hmm,
it was alright” goes to Durham Red's return, Dead Men Walking,
Snow/Tiger and From Grace. And the "Gawd, Tharg commissioned
this?" would go to the above 90’s throwbacks, Atavar,
plus some dodgy Future Shocks/Tales Of Telguuth.
Nicest surprise
was to see Gordon Rennie getting ready to take over the baton from John Wagner
with some of his tales and Clint Langley's superlative work on Sláine.
Most shocking
disappointments were From Grace and finding John Wagner can write some
duff Dredd’s – The Satanist being the worst offender.
Best Strip:
Caballistics Inc
Best Writer:
Gordon Rennie
Best Artist:
Henry Flint – Dredd Vs Aliens
Best Single
Episode: Sturm Und Dang part
two (Meg 212)
 Best
Cover: 1322 – Kevin Walker
Best Newcomer:
Rufus Dayglo
Most Underrated:
Lobster Random
Most Overrated:
Carlos Ezquerra’s return to the
ABC Warriors
Best Thing in
2003: Trying to work out what the hell’s going to happen in Caballistics
Inc
Worst Thing
in 2003: The wasted opportunity of "Monkey
On My Back"
What would I
like from 2000 AD in 2004
Develop the core
characters (with particular attention spent on Johnny Alpha), bring back the successful
new strips from the last year, a sequel to Scarlet Traces and please
dump Sinister Dexter!
Richmond
Clements: Site reviewer and interviewer
 Well,
the year certainly started with a bang: Incubus by Wagner and Diggle was
a corker, helped along by spectacular Flint art. Then, during the Summer Assault,
Mr. Diggle spoiled us again with that Hollywood-blockbuster-waiting-to-be-made:
Snow/Tiger. We had the best Sláine art since Fabry (pity
about the script), The VCs shooting from the hip, Dante meeting his mum,
and Carlos back on the ABC Warriors. And, as if this was not enough for
our poor thrill circuits, in the middle of all this, Orlok, with little fuss,
is executed.
Yes, the year started
with a bang, but seems to have ended with a whimper. With the disappointment of
From Grace, to the nearly great Synnamon, by way of the empty let
downs that were Durham Red and Dead Men Walking.
John Wagner, I
think, needs to break this cycle of six part Dredd tales, which build brilliantly,
but fizzle out in the last episode, yes The Satanist and Revenge of
the Chief Judge's Man, I'm looking at you.
Best Strip:
This is really difficult. Dredd/Aliens… SD… but for sheer originality,
in both story and art, Leviathan.
Best Writer:
With Some great Dredd strips, and Caballistics to his name, I’ll give this
one to Gordon Rennie.
Best Artist:
This isn’t really fair, in a year that had Carlos Ezquerra drawing
Strontium Dog in full colour,
I really have to go for him.
Best Single
Episode: Prog 1359, Meet the Flooks.
Brilliant Dredd tale from Gordon Rennie, funny with that special twist that shows
how cruel the Mega City system really is. Also, I should declare an interest,
in that I own one of the pages from this strip.
 Best Cover:
Looking back at these, there is very little there that is spectacular, and that's
in a year with a Bolland Dredd cover. But, I have to say, Clint Langley's Slaine
cover for prog 1351 is jaw dropping.
Best Newcomer:
In real life Ian Edginton. In the comic, Vejay from the Sin/Dex in prog 1348.
Whatever happened to him?
Most Underrated:
Atavar II. Yeah, I liked it.
So sue me! Or maybe I should pick Siku’s Dredd..?
Most Overrated:
Durham Red.
The best thing about 2000AD in 2003: The willingness to allow writers and
artists to stretch themselves, which gave us such bizarre delights as Lobster
Random and Leviathan.
The worst thing
about 2000AD in 2003: I hate the current policy of short strip runs and the
obsession with jumping in progs. Give us longer tales: we're not stupid, we can
handle it!
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