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¦ Features ¦ The review
of the year - part 3
 PAR
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29th
December 03 |
Edward Berridge-
site reviewer
2003 Overview
 Hopefully
speaking without hyperbole, 2003 appears to have been one of the best years for
2000AD in recent memory. As someone who only returned to reading the comic within
the last couple of years, I can see that my expectations are now being met. Starting
this year we had the mini-epic Dredd/Aliens: Incubus, by the combined mighty
talents of John Wagner, Andy Diggle and Henry Flint, finally allowed to shine
on a Dredd tale of his very own. At the very same time, Gordon Rennie and Dom
Reardon were introducing us to their own motley crew in Cabalistics Inc.
The controversial Sláine also made a return, with a seemingly re-energised
Pat Mills and extraordinary art by Clint Langley. The first part of the year saw
the surprise return of Atavar, courtesy of Dan Abnett and Richard Elson in Atavar
II.
 In
spring we had the triple delight of Judge Dredd in The
Trial of Orlok by Wagner and Kennedy, ABC Warriors: The Shadow Warriors
– Book I by Mills and Ezquerra, and Snow/Tiger: Pax Americana by
Diggle and Clarke. These would soon be joined by Interceptor, by Edginton
and Pugh, and the return of Caballistics Inc. Finally, we had a man so
ugly that even his mother runs screaming from the room when he enters. Yes it's
Lobster Random, by Spurrier and Critchlow. Prog 1345 also brought a particularly,
and unusually, enjoyable Sinister/Dexter: Write From Wrong, by Abnett and
Yeowell. Summer brought the delights of Strontium Dog: The Tax Dodge by
Wagner and Ezquerra, the brilliant Leviathan by the dream team of Edginton
and D’Israeli, plus the return of Celtic bruiser Sláine. Finally,
towards the end of the year we had From Grace by Spurrier and Irving, the
unexpected thrill of Durham Red by Abnett and Harrison, plus yet another
outing for the crew from Caballistics Inc.
All in all then,
a damn near perfect year, and one of probably the highest quality since the end
of Necropolis, around prog 700.
Best Strip:
Leviathan
This was probably
the one strip I had been really excited about, even more so than Strontium Dog,
and it didn't disappoint either. Ever since I read Scarlet Traces last
year, I have been watching this pair very carefully and with this tale they proved
that together they have a very special magic, depicting a hell-born community
of classist disparity in beautiful black and white D’Israeli art.
 Best
Writer: Ian Edginton
This was a close
one, as the writing in 2000AD this year has been of an extremely high quality,
with honourable mentions going to John Wagner, Gordon Rennie, Pat Mills, Dan Abnett
and Simon Spurrier. However, it was the variety of projects that won Mr. Edginton
his crown. Aside from the already mentioned Leviathan, there was also The
Red Seas with Steve Yeowell, plus Interceptor and a top quality Dredd:
Inside Job with Steve Pugh. Edginton seems one of those rare writers who
actually tailor their scripts for the artist he's writing for, and that visual
quality, combined with great storytelling has clearly shown through this year.
Best Artist:
Carlos Ezquerra
Another difficult
choice, with honourable mention going to D'Israeli. However, Ezquerra wins it
for two reasons. First, his revelatory black and white work on ABC
Warriors: The Shadow Warriors – Book I with writer Pat Mills, only
the second time he has handled the characters since his appearance as "L.J.
Silver", drawing the Golgotha section of the warriors original visit to Mars.
However, even better than this was the second reason for his win – Strontium
Dog. The Tax Dodge showed the world exactly
why we rated Johnny Alpha so highly. And foremost amongst this was Ezquerra's
art, gorgeously rendering John Wagner's great script in great computer coloured
art, possibly the best since Ezquerra moved to working on a computer, and possibly
one of the best Strontium Dog tales ever!
Best Single
Episode: The VCs: Look On The Bright Side (prog 1327)
Although the last
series of The VCs may have ultimately disappointed, this episode was still
something special. This was one time where the structure of self contained stories
worked really well, giving us an insight into the way the VCs actually fought
their war day to day. The wonderfully simple idea of having a fight on a rock
where the sun, which is enough to boil you alive, comes up every five minutes
was brilliantly realised by Anthony Williams, with his computer techniques for
once helping to raise the bar for the strip.
 Best
Cover: Prog 1353
Despite some stiff competition from Frazer Irving’s Dredd/Aliens cover for
prog 1330 and Ian Gibson's VCs cover for prog 1334, but Carlos Ezquerra pulled
out yet another iconic image of Johny Alpha, with Orville J. Paxman in tow, which
only begs the question why more Strontium Dog covers weren’t commissioned.
Best Newcomer:
Dom Reardon
Despite his seeming inability, or unwillingness to draw London correctly, Dom
Reardon has proved himself to be the find of this year. It has been fascinating
watching him grow as an artist through the year on Caballistics Inc, as
he becomes more used to the characters and situations, with probably his best
work appearing in the last Downtime series and the special in prog 2004. His black
and white work has been exhilarating to say the least, reminding of past artists
without actually aping their style. All readers will be expecting big things from
him this year, and I don’t think they will be disappointed.
 Most
Underrated: Steve Moore
The originator of Future Shocks seems, to me, to have had something of a rough
ride this year. It seems that many people don’t really seem to get his style
of narrative or humour. Yet some of us out there still look back fondly on the
likes of Absalom Daak from Doctor Who Weekly or Axel Pressbutton
and Laser Eraser (to which Lobster Random owes more than just a passing
nod) in Warrior. Anyone who has read his Slashman, Kowalski & Rat (prog
223) will know just how good he is at these short, twist in the tail stories.
His Past Imperfect, Otherworld (progs 1346-1349) was one of my highlights
of the year, featuring the occult double-bill of Edward Kelly and the infamous
Dr. John Dee, with a supporting cast featuring Sir Francis Wallsingham and Queen
Elizaeth I, accompanied by great art by former Hulk artist Cam Smith. And when
you have lines in your stories like "Great is Klarvor and his transsexual
lightning!" how can you not like the man?
Most Overrated:
Rogue Trooper
Okay, so everyone loves Rogue, right? He’s one of 2000AD’s classic
characters, yeah? Well, not anymore he isn't. Rogue Trooper really is something
that should have been left in the past, a character from a now long-gone era of
British comics. I used to love the Genetic Infantryman as much as anyone, but
come on. When you’ve got a character with a load of buddies named Gunnar,
Bagman and Helm who, rather fortuitously, are a talking gun, a talking backpack,
and worst of all, a talking hat!
Gordon Rennie has tried, valiantly, to rekindle some spark in the character with
these ‘Nu-Earth Flashback’ stories, but frankly all creative impetus
in Rogue died after he killed the Traitor General. That was his reason for being,
and the strip should have ended after that, as none of the stories since (possibly
with the exception of Cinnabar) have really been able to do anything with the
character.
 Best
Thing about 2000AD in 2003: The Summer Assault
Despite my disliking for breaking stories down into seasonal jump on points, the
Summer Assault marked one of the highest points of quality we have had from 2000AD
for many, many years. We had John Wagner and Charlie Adlard on the Judge Dredd:
The Satanist which, despite a slightly rushed ending, gave an unusual glimpse
into Joe Dredd’s troubled mind and family. We also had the return of Sláine,
by Mills and Langley, Strontium Dog by Wagner and Ezquerra, Leviathan
by Ian Edginton and D’Israeli and From Grace by Simon Spurrier
and Frazer Irving. These were certainly some of the most entertaining and enjoyable
stories in the comic and as such formed the high-water mark of quality for the
year.
Worst Thing
about 2000AD in 2003: The Autumn Assault
Although I was one of its defenders, it has to be said that the stories centred
during the Autumn Assault were not quite up to the standard set earlier in the
year. The whole year was slightly lacking the presence of John Wagner, who only
contributed one Dredd story during this period (and even that was an old one),
while several new strips were on display. Dead Men Walking was a dreary,
cliché-ridden story by James Stevens (David Bishop), with some nice art
by Boo Cook. Synnamon, by writers Clayton and Dows, and artists Campbell
and Townsend showed promise, but again due to length restrictions seemed rather
rushed and would have benefited from a short, perhaps four-part introductory series,
explaining the character and her world. The line-up was saved by appearances from
Durham Red and Caballistics Inc, but this still represented the
low point of the year, but as this was a year of such high quality that it should
be seen in its proper context. They only appeared quite so insufficient compared
with what had gone before.
What I Would
Like To See In 2000AD In 2004
Personally, I would like to see the comic go in the direction that I imagine
it already going. The page size and story length changes seem to be the last pieces
in the puzzle of the rehabilitation of 2000AD. I am looking forward to some great
stories this year: Savage by Pat Mills and Charlie Adlard; Faces
(a sequel to Freaks) by John Higgins and Mindy Newell; Strontium Dog: The Headly
Foot Job by Wagner and Ezquerra; Valkyries by Steve Moore and John
(Codename Knockout) Lucas; Paper Tiger, Dragon Moon by Steve Parkhouse;
ABC Warriors: The Shadow Warriors – Book II by Mills and Henry Flint;
plus more Caballisitics Inc and Nikolai Dante. The only addition
they could make to that line-up would be if they were able to shoe-horn in another
team up by Ian Edginton and D’Israeli, or almost anything by Frazer Irving.
As it stands, it’s looking to shape up to be a great year. Roll on 2004!
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