Synopsis and 1st review by Gavin Hanly
2nd opinion by John Amans

Summaries and reviews contain spoilers for this issue.

GH: Dave Gibbons returns to 2000AD for a one-off cover celebrating the return of Bill Savage's "shootah". It's a great cover, with the moody Bill Savage working particularly well. Yes it's the tried and tested "gun pointing out of the comic pose" but in the hands of Gibbons it works. Only a couple of gripes - there's something about Dredd that doesn't seem right and the image may have been more striking with Savage only. And the bloody logo's obscured again! On a relaunch issue for god's sake!

JA: Bill Savage and Judge Dredd on the same cover. That hasn’t happened for many years. It’s good to see Dave Gibbons back, even if I found this a little flat and lifeless on initial viewing. The effect of the shotgun coming out of the page really works though!

Finger of Suspicion

Ferd makes a new friend

Synopsis: Judge Hicks passes a citizen who appears to be giving him the finger. After roughing him up, he learns that the citizen, Ferd D Weisenheimer, got his finger caught in a washroom tap for days and it's now stuck that way until he has an operation - which could take months. Hicks lets Ferd go, but it's seconds before another group of judges think he's giving them the finger too, and after once again roughing him up, they learn the truth and leave him be. Ferd decides he needs to do something and covers his hand with a crisp packet. But he's seen by another huge judge who demands he reveal what's in the bag. Ferd pulls out his finger and immediately lands himself in hospital. Released later after treatment Ferd is beaten up by a gang who once again misunderstand his problem. Finally, Dredd sees him acting suspicious and chases him into an alleyway. He mistakes the shadow of Ferd's finger for a gun and shoots him. Later, recovering in hospital, Dredd says that his failure to stop makes him responsible for the shooting and lets Ferd off with a warning. The doctors also finally give Ferd a temporary fix until the operation - casting his fingers into a V sign...

GH: Every once in a while Wagner takes a completely off-the-wall idea and runs with it in a Dredd tale in a way that simply wouldn't be possible in many other strips. The idea of a man whose finger is stuck in an obscene position sounds like it could be too little for a 6 page strip, but this is a story when Wagner's comic timing really comes to the fore. From the opening images of the judge striding towards the hapless "Weisenheimer" (another name you could only get away with in a Dredd strip) this is clearly Wagner at his most ridiculous. As he stumbles form one disaster to the next, it became one of the few Dredd "funny" stories that has actually made me laugh out loud for a long time.

Part of this is because Wagner's ably matched by Cam Kennedy and Chris Blythe who provide some of the best work they've done for the comic. Blythe and Kennedy are ideal art partners, with Blythe producing colours that seem to completely match the painted colour that Kennedy himself used to provide for his own work. From the faded background of the city on the first page to the back alley chase, Blythe colours in a way that enhances Kennedy's work without overwhelming it.

A fantastic Dredd one off that should prove a great introduction for any new readers attracted to the comic this week.

JA: Not quite the type of episode I was expecting at the start of a season re-launch. This is usually the type of story you see when the editorial team need to fill a prog out. Having said that, I really enjoyed this and a lot of this was down to the script. What makes this work for me is the pacing of the story; Wagner zips this along cutting from one confrontation to the next. There are two panels which had me in stitches. One Judge rides off telling our unfortunate citizen to be discreet, then the very next second three more Judges pass resulting more judicial manhandling being dealt out! By the end of the episode I really felt for citizen Ferd.

Ok, this whole episode was rather shallow and was merely a bit of fun. But, the artwork was great mainly because Cam Kennedy never puts out a duff set of work.

This is a good example of this type of Judge Dredd story done properly; a good sharp, witty script and quality artwork.

Book 1 - Taking Liberties Part 1

Savege goes out blasting...

Synopsis: A Bill Savage double, dying of cancer, is taken to a Volgan checkpoint. Leaving his mates behind, he drives up to the checkpoint and starts shooting. The Volgans think it's Bill Savage, and kill him after reporting in the signing. But after he dies, his car explodes, wiping out the checkpoint.

Elsewhere in North London, 5 minutes earlier, Noddy is visiting Jack, trying to sell his copies of the Good News. He refers to his brother Bill, who Jack says did some things that were "a bit out of order" after his wife and kids were killed. Noddy hears a gas main explode in the distance (actually the car exploding) and muses that it seems to happen a lot these days. He asks Jack, what his work is. "I work for the Gas Board"

GH: Well, there's one thing we clearly have to get out of the way first, and it's this funking swearing. What planet was Mills on when he thought that "funk" would be an appropriate alternative for "fuck"? When I first read "the funks" I was a little apprehensive, but thought that perhaps this was slang for the Volgans to be explained later. But when we moved on to "funking Volgans" it was clearly an "oh... dear... god..." moment. I mean... "funking"? Part of me was expecting Savage to start referring to the Volgans as "jive-talking bad-ass mofos" any minute. Sinister/Dexter just about got away with "funt", Dead Man Walking's "vuckers" produced howls of derision, but this is just mind bogglingly stupid, and immediately helps to break the fourth wall. If this is ever reprinted, I can only hope they substitute "fuck" for every "funk" as that would be far less offensive. In the meantime, is it too late for the word to be pulled from every future episode?

All this consternation over a poorly used word is a shame, because Savage has real promise. This is far better than I was expecting it to be, with the emphasis appearing to be on covert action rather than all guns blazing. The Savage double and the identity of "Jack" are intriguing, and already i'm keen to know more. Meanwhile, Charlie Adlard follows up his successful run in Dredd with some moody black and white artwork that is suitably gritty and suits the mood of the series completely.

Not being able to track down the recent Extreme Edition featuring the Savage reprints, If found this to be a welcome surprise, and funk or no funk I'm looking forward to part 2.

JA: I was a little surprised and bemused when I saw the return of Bill Savage. I remembered him from good old "Invasion", back in the mists of 1977. Having reread the series via the Extreme reprint a couple of month's back a lot of good memories came flooding back, though I did blot out Disaster 1999! I did not know what to think about this series, and after reading the first episode I asked myself a basic question: what was the reason and point of this?

Ok, the art work by Charles Adlard is good. It has a style and mood which suits the content and tone of the story. But, and here is the crunch, why rehash and reinvent one of the foundation stones of the early days of 2000AD?

I found the plot a little contrived and lazy. Oh what a surprise, Bill has a brother who looks like him and probably acts just like him in most ways, how very convenient. I thought that cop-out plot line was only used in bad US soap operas! Also while I'm on my soap box, what is all of this "funking" stuff in aid of? We have "funt" in Sinister & Dexter that replaces the "fuck" word. What is the point of this?

I do not have a problem with swearing in comics. It suited a strip like Preacher, but when has 2000AD needed to use swear words (even made up ones) to make up for good dialogue? Surely Pat Mills knows better than this.

I hope this gets better, I really do. What's next? The return of Ace Garp?

Part 1

The crew of the Tartarus...

Synopsis: The Tartarus and her captain are hunting down a Kohenyu, but are wiped out.

20 years later, On Earth, there are reports of the Ebola HFV variant virus, and that quarantines are being put in force to contain the virus.

Elsewhere, a science ship finally finds the wreckage. It's taken so long because the Tartarus was hunting in a forbidden sector. Captain Hobbs decides to investigate, despite objections from the leader of the science team, who is supposed to be running the expedition. He assigns Jane Ishmael to go with the captain. Investigating the ship, the find a sealed part of the ship, crammed with bodies who must have frozen within hours. Unknown to them, they appear to be being watched by a spider like device. Getting deeper into the ship, they find the bridge. After breaking through the door, they discover a huge Alien still alive, sane, and surrounded by the bodies of the dead crew...

GH: After a promising Terror Tale from the duo, I had high hopes for this tale, and so far things are looking good. Elson's been a favourite of mine since his work in the underrated The Scrap, and he puts in another fine piece of work here, being one of the best outright science fiction artists that the comic currently has. His work gets better every time we see him, and judging by the last page, he's still more than capable of drawing one hell of an alien. The story is intriguing, although not having read Moby Dick, I feel that most of the references will be lost on me (although I did rather like the "don't call me Ishmael" line - corny, but it worked). I'll be able to judge the story more after nest week's episode clears a few things up, but so far this is a good addition to a fine issue.

JA: On first viewing of the artwork and reading the story I was rather struck by the memory of when I used to listen to Status Quo (in my very misguided youth). Where Status Quo’s songs basically sounded the same, so does Richard Elson’s artwork look exactly like what he has done in the past. Certain parts of A.H.A.B seemed to be lifted straight from the two Atavar series (particularly the last panel) and The Scrap.

This seems to be the season of blooding new writers who have cut their teeth with Tharg's Terror Tales or Future Shocks so was interested to what Nigel Kitching given more time and space. After rereading the episode I actually found that I enjoyed this. If a totally new story makes you want to read it and find out more in the next prog then it has passed the test. For me Valkyries failed this particular test, but A.H.A.B passed, and passed well. If a story cannot grab and keep your attention then it has obviously failed in its basic aim.

There is nothing radically new in the artwork, but at least you know what you are getting with it. It has a wonderfully "brown" tint, almost decaying feel to it.

A promising start.

Paranoia - Part 1

Someone doesn't belong here...

Synopsis: A gang is holed out in the lower levels of Mega City One, fearing that the judges are nearby. A gang member gives their leader, Cooze, who's waiting with his girlfriend, the latest prize: an array of tools used by sado macochistic junkies. With 75K profit in the tools, Cooze decides it's too much to share and prepares to take out the gang member who brought them. But the judges burst in and Cooze and his girlfriend escape in a hail of fire. Dispatching of the only other escaping gang member, they run until Cooze is shot down by another judge. His girlfriend knocks out the judge before going back to Cooze, and threatening to use the tools on him unless he tells her the name if his contact for the "big deal". He gives up the name of "Ragnarok" before he dies, and his girlfriend is surrounded by judges. "Fer cryin' out loud! I - am - a - judge! Aimee Nixon, Wally Squad!"

GH: This series came as something as a surprise, as I wasn't expecting a Wally Squad series. The Wally Squad, undercover judges who are exempt from normal judicial rules given their need to blend in, has long been one worthy of more exploration. Indeed, there have been few references to the judges in the main Dredd strip recently, so this series is very welcome. Williams does a good job of setting the scene and even though I knew the ending by mistakenly skipping ahead, he holds up the tension quite well, with the brutality of Nixon being particularly different to that of a normal street judge. Lots of nice touches like the disintegrating gang and the masochist's drug paraphernalia also help to make this series stick out from the crowd. In all a promising start to a long overdue exploration of the seedier side of Mega City 1.

But for many, the real draw of this story is the return of Henry Flint to a regular strip in the weekly comic. Flint has slowly climbed to the top of the 2000AD fanboy "most wanted" list over the last few years, and deservedly so. This marks a return to the greyscale artwork previously seen in Shakara and the ABC Warriors and the almost psychedelic effects help to emphasise the growing feeling of paranoia within the gang. This combined with a well paced "escape form the judges" scene and Cooze's torture make it another stand-out strip.

JA: The second of our MC-1 related stories. After reading this through I asked myself the same question as Savage: what is the point of this? Are we going to see anything different in this series than in any of the other Wally squad related stories?

I liked the artwork, Henry Flint in top form, and at least the script isn’t clunky and contrived. My only concern is where this is going? Is it going to be Judge Nixon battling against internal department politics and straight laced street Judges who frown on her "maverick" methods? Haven’t we seen this type of plot before in a hundred Judge Dredd stories.

I'm not saying I didn’t enjoy this, but I think we need to have stories that will go forward not treading water or just rehashing past plots. I actually liked Rob Williams' past 2000AD story, Asylum, so am hoping to be proven wrong with this story in the coming weeks.

The Big Meg - Part 1

Jug goes out in a flash...

Synopsis: Chopper is heading back to Mega City One, under the guise of his friend Jug. However, his disguise wasn't good enough, and the Oz authorities have made him. However, the Mega City Judges told their Oz counterparts to let him through, as they want to arrest Chopper in Mega City 1. Chopper muses about the last time he saw his friend Jug, emaciated and dying of cancer. They said their farewells outside Electric Canyon, after which Oz surfed in to be electrocuted by the lightning storms. Back in the present day, the shuttle has arrived at Mega City One. As the doors open, Chopper gets on his board and, grabbing a baby hostage on the way out, streaks into the sky away from the waiting judges...

GH: Another Dredd world tale? I suppose we shouldn't be too surprised. After all, if DC and Marvel can sustain countless superhero comics, all of whom live in the same worlds replete with crossovers, then perhaps it's time that 2000AD did the same with the growing amount of Dredd spin offs.

To be honest, I've never really treated Chopper with the reverence that some 2000AD fans seem to. Song of the Surfer was indeed a great piece of work, but I keep hoping that Chopper will ditch the surfboard and find another craze to latch onto. After all, part of the beauty of the first Chopper surfboard series was that he had (literally) scaled the heights as a scrawler, and was now doing the same as a surfer. I feel it's about time he moved away from the surfboard antics.

That said, this wasn't bad at all. The idea that the judges know very well that Chopper's coming to town was believable, as was the realisation that Chopper isn't so stupid as to not realise that they'd be waiting for him. The Jug death scene was a great send-off for a character that had ecome a little too much of a joke and there are lingering questions remaining as to what has brought Chopper back to Mega City 1 in the first place. Not so sure about the baby-napping bit at the end, which seemed highly out of character, but it looks like it makes for a wonderful cover from MacNeil next week.

As for Goddard, he pits in a fine piece of work here, assisted by the might of Chris Blythe. The true test will be how he handles Chopper's getaway next week.

Nice to see the judge snipers back too!

JA: Another old character has come back. Have they run out of new ones all of the sudden? I have a soft spot for Chopper. This was a character that actually got better as time went on and the stories and situations really evolved.

What I really liked about this first episode was how John Wagner packed so much into six pages as well as some complementary colour artwork. To me this is a perfect first episode and at least Chopper is given a reason for his travels. Starting with a time honoured, but at least worthy, flashback scene we get to see what has bought our hero back to MC-1. At least Wagner lets Jug McKenzie (thankfully no longer a drunken Aussie characature) go out with some dignity and style.

Where Chopper has been used as a pawn, and let off by Judge Dredd in the past in some of his previous plots I can’t see old stony face letting him off this time. So at the end of this we have Chopper hurtling out of the terminal, with a baby on board, swiftly followed by a large array of the Judges.

Personally, I can’t wait to see how this develops.