2000AD 1375 - 4 February 2004
Cover by Clint Langley

Synopsis and review by Gavin Hanly

Summaries and reviews contain spoilers for this issue.

GH: Yet another Langley cover which is technically OK - but at the same time very unoriginal, being just another basic Slaine pose. In fact it looks very similar indeed to issue 1326. Is Langley plagiarising himself? Whatever, it's a slightly uninspiring opener to the issue.

Master of Fear - Part 1

Dredd has monkey trouble

Synopsis: Out on Patrol, Dredd gets word from Psi judge Shakta that a perp they've been scanning was a Sov sympathiser and has an image of a crystal skull in his mind, and Dredd should expect an attack. (This refers to a sorry in 1277 where Dredd was called to a murder scene only as a way of luring him into a trap by a man with a crystal skull. Dredd was bested, but the perp left him semi unconscious, promising that he was a dead man walking...)

Indeed, Dredd is suddenly set upon by some of the semi- intelligent apes that inhabit Mega City 1. He manages to force them off and questions one who reveals that they were paid to attack. And true enough, the man with the crystal skull surprises Dredd - shocking him into unconsciousness.

Later, Dredd wakes up in a wrecked church, tied to a cross, as his captor begins the interrogation...

GH: Despite the pedigree of the creators involved, this comes across as something of a misfire so far. The main problem with it is the feeling of missing something, given that the strip depends on knowledge of a one-off by the same creators back in issue 1277. This was exactly 2 years ago, and forgive me for having not the best memory, but I had to drag the old comic out of the cupboard just to remind myself what was going on. As it stands, very little happened in that issue too - as it was a primer for this series. Nevertheless, two years is too long for wait for a resolution and the story loses points for assuming the reader has prior knowledge of a fairly obscure one-off.

Otherwise, it's an OK episode, which hangs on one long wordless fight with the monkeys. Hopefully this odd crystal skull fellow will have something more original to do next week, but the jury's still out on this story.

Twilight of the Idols - Part 6

The eye of the Kraken

Synopsis: The crew arrive at Rhodes and are told that the part of the map they are looking for is hidden within the heart of Colossus of Rhodes, the bronze giant statue that used to guard the harbour. But the statue has fallen into the sea - where Dancer must go. He and Jim head down below in diving suits, while the others pump air, unaware they are being watched by Sarita. Sarita decides to use magic to fight, and throws a small creature into the water - "it won't stay small for long".

Dancer and Jim have meanwhile found a sun motif which they think is the key to finding the map. But they are suddenly attacked by Sarita's monster - now a massive Kraken...

GH: While the basic plot seems to be one of following what Neil Gaiman calls "Story Tokens" where the plot is kept moving through the search for magical items. (I may have got that slightly wrong - but you get the gist). It's a plot device which works particularly well within the confines of a weekly strip. The swift changes in scenery keep everything moving at a far quicker pace than the last series, where too much time was spent sailing at sea with very little room for action. This time around we're globetrotting, and Edginton and Yeowell get the chance to play around with a much more varied storyline.

Even the crew, although still fairly anonymous, are used to much better effect this time around. This is shaping up to become one of the best stories of 2004, and even more so marks out Dancer and his crew as worthy of many more returns to 2000 AD after this series finishes.

The Books of Invasion 3 - Scota Part 6

Scota's unfortunate end...

Synopsis: Slaine's tribe and the Atlanteans fight side by side, while Odacon realises that the only thing to do now is to kill Scota. Gael tries to warn her as Odacon approaches but too late, as Odacon throws an axe - killing her, while Gael is powerless to help. Odacon takes Gael away to enjoy his suffering, as Slaine comes upon the body. Slaine reminds himself of his promise to put Gael out of his torment.

Elsewhere, Sethor is meeting with Odacon, swearing he did not know Slaine's plans - but Slaine appears out of the water - ready to attack...

GH: The enjoyment that came from some of the earlier episodes, where the sense of humour made a welcome return, is on the wane again this issue. Although Scota's death was somewhat surprising, especially given her "moment" with Slaine last week, I still find it very difficult to care. Odacon's torture of Gael is also threatening to become rather old too, as the series finds it difficult to say something new. A thoroughly confusing final page doesn't help matters either, and it took some careful scrutiny before I could work out just what was supposed to be happening. The end looks like it's around the corner - but alas, as there are quite a few unsolved plot threads, it doesn't seem like it'll be the end for Slaine...

Krypt

Jack takes the haunting rather badly...

Synopsis: Mrs Warren is meeting with a mystic, Krypt, trying to contact her husband. She visits him as a spirit, telling him that she's stuck in purgatory, waiting for judgement day. Her sprit writhes around her husband, driving him insane, as he starts to hack himself to death with a meat cleaver.

Back in purgatory, Krypt says the session has ended and it's time to pay - he tells her that he's stuck between life and death and only taking the energy force of others seems to help - so he disintegrates Mrs Warren, as her husband appears outside. Back on Earth, Krypt awakes for a split second - stuck in his cryogenic chamber...

GH: Another fairly entertaining Terror tale, and combined with last week's proves that there's plenty of scope to have fun within these short tales. With about 3 twists within this story, Kitching does a decent job, only falling down a little with the rather predictable final twist. But the idea of an endless purgatory has scope, so he's forgiven for that last misstep. Indeed, dare I say it, this actually has series potential and with a few tweaks, might be worth inspecting further.

The art shows Richard Elson off at his best with his depiction of the spectral scenes and Jack's rather nasty end being particularly affecting. He's still in need of a killer series, though, and hopefully he'll get one soon. My only pedantic complaint comes with the final image in the newspaper of the dismembered Jack - somehow he's managed to chop both his own arms off - something of a remarkable feat...

Part 6 - Home

Jupe takes care of the Geeks

Synopsis: Jupe and the VCs take out another Geek search party and acquire their ATV. Keege intercepts signals on it and they discover that Smith is being held alive for interrogation. Kali says that they should split up - one group heads for the mining station, while the other heads out to rescue Smith. Jupe agrees, and says he'll be the one to get Smith, together with Keege in the ATV. Kali and the others head for cover as more Geek arrive, diving into a cave system. Suddenly a bright light blinds them - they look around and see Earth troopers with their own hidden ship...

GH: Once again, it's back to the dull VCs. After a much more inventive episode last week, we have to put up with these dullards again. Their dialogue hasn't improved, and I still have trouble remembering who's who. As mentioned in a previous review, there's still a feeling that we could have got to this point in the story in half the time, and Abnett really seems to be dragging things out here. While there's another cliffhanger which works to generate further interest in the strip, Abnett should spend far more time on the characterisation and the story itself rather than putting most of his efforts into the last page.

Williams is the only one to have really improved since the last series - but Abnett needs to do something soon to make this story worth reading again. Perhaps he could kill everyone off again? We liked that!