2000AD 1393 - 9 June 2004
Cover by Andy Clarke and Chris Blythe

Synopsis and 1st review by Gavin Hanly
2nd opinion by Ed Berridge

Summaries and reviews contain spoilers for this issue.

GH: Andy Clarke produces a fine cover linking into the Terror storyline inside. Clearly influenced by MacNeil's work (or perhaps working from the same script) this works well in giving a flavour of the episode. Clarke has proved to be very capable of handling Dredd in the daily Metro strips and deserves a crack at the lawman in the weekly too.

EB: A great little cover by Andy Clarke, although quite similar to one of his previous efforts, for prog 1211. However, this is infinitely superior, as even though it contains the standard ‘Dredd shooting in direction of reader’, it has a great background that immediately ties in with the story, and Clarke’s style really matches Colin MacNeil’s Dredd style perfectly, even down to the almost perfect lettering on the ‘Total War’ note that first appeared in ‘America’. And Gavin shouldn’t be too unhappy, as the logo is only very lightly obscured.

Terror - Part 2

The aftermath..

Synopsis: Dredd tries to clear the area, but its too late as a secondary device, hidden in a waste bin, explodes, decimating the judges in the area. The perp who left the device watches, and warns the woman he dragged out of the bar not to say anything, before running off. Later, judges are still clearing up the scene and question an eldster who says he saw a woman in the bar – who was not among the dead. Dredd gets a message from control telling him that Total War, the Democratic fringe movement known for their violent tendencies, have claimed responsibility. Later, at Sector house 12, the woman who was in the bar, Zondra Smith, has come in voluntarily to tell the judges what she knows. She gives the judges a description, which Dredd follows up, but until they capture the bomber, she’s a suspect.

GH: The undoubted star of this issue is without doubt Colin MacNeil. His work on Terror sees him harking back to his best days on America, something that is perhaps helped by the similarity in the subject matter. From the devastation caused by the second bomb, far more visceral than the device last week, to the montage depicting Total War’s background, this art overreaches much of the recent Dredd artwork, even Ezquerra’s recent work. Indeed there’s a care taken about the work here that was slightly missing in some episodes of the recent Waugh story, and indeed MacNeil’s last big Dredd story, the second “America”. MacNeil is rightly seen as one of the great Dredd artists and it’s a pleasure to see him working for 2000AD with more regularity.

As for the story itself? While I’m sure WR Logan is very happy with another cameo, I do hope this is going to develop into something more than another “hunt the terrorist” story. The democratic movement was always a fascinating Dredd subplot, so I’m hoping that this story is instead a harbinger of more to come.

EB: Hard to tell where this tale is going to go at the moment. I’m not sure if this is going to focus on Dredd’s efforts against Total War, or whether he’ll be more of an incidental character in this one. However, it’s been a strong couple of opening episodes and has certainly hooked me so far, and I can hardly wait to find out more.
MacNeil’s art, however, has been outstanding, and all those nay sayers who said he’d lost it can recant now. This looks certainly set to reach, if not the giddy heights of America, then at least Song of the Surfer. It's top rate stuff, and funny to note how much gravitas a strip can be lent simply through the addition of a black background instead of a white one.

All in all then, I am pretty optimistic for this story. Although I don’t want to jinx it by claiming it to be as great as America when it’s only two episodes in, I have high hopes, and look forward to seeing them fulfilled..

I also note with interest that this episode sees the return of the inimitable Judge Logan. Let us hope that he doesn’t fall victim to the ‘War on Terror’.

Book 1 - Taking Liberties Part 7

The rebels come under fire

Synopsis: Volgan security members Mr Head and his boss discuss methods of torture while surmising that Bill Savage will be involved in the uprising – and that a personal trademark will give him away. Back in Centre Point, Savage and his crew continue their way through the building, finding shredded documents on the way, as well as remnants of blackmail material. The phone rings, and Noddy comes up from under his desk to answer it. Savage doesn’t want to give away the fact that Noddy is a source for him to any of the other rebel groups, so he roughs him up in front of the men. Once they have privacy, Savage reads his dossier and discovers that they think Bill Savage is dead. He burns the file as helicopter gunships start attacking the building. He asks Noddy where they keep the counter insurgency weapons – “I’m looking for an equaliser!”

GH: Moving away from the quiet intrigue of the earlier episodes, this is starting to get a little silly now. However, in a bizarre fashion, it’s actually no less enjoyable. Indeed, Mills seems to be revelling in his anti-hero who loves uttering phrases like “I’m gong to do something very naughty, Noddy!” that wouldn’t seem out of place on an episode of the Sweeney. But it’s this tongue in cheek, hard bastard approach that is making this series stick out from the norm. If this wasn’t played for some laughs, the story would become too hard to take seriously in this day and age. Instead, it works as a satire and much more so than any of Mills’ recent work. Indeed, Mills seems to be able to merge action set pieces with pithy dialogue in a way that was missing from a series such as Snow/Tiger (although Diggle has been far more successful with the Losers). All the signs seem to point towards the idea that Mills should be ordered to stay away from science fiction and (definitely) fantasy and continue developing in areas such as this.

Meanwhile, Adlard is continuing to be one of the biggest surprises in 2000AD this year. While his work in the Satanist was pretty good, the double-whammy of Gulag and Savage has propelled him to the top of the league. Clearly able to handle the quieter early episodes as the later action filled ones (the helicopter attack being a highlight his week), let’s not lose him to the American market again…

EB: Well, at least this episode disproves the theory that Pat Mills is some sort of closet homophobe, or at least that he had a few issues to work out. Obviously his villains are just sexual deviants of all sexualities; straight, gay and ‘other’.

I’ve been enjoying this new version of Bill Savage, and is certainly at the forefront of Mills’ apparent rejuvenation as a writer. He gives Bill enough of a sense that he is actually a real character, that he makes mistakes and has stupid little prejudices the way that everyday people do. However, he now needs to start moving on with the plot, otherwise he’s in danger of loosing all the goodwill he’s managed to regain. Mentions of a mysterious ‘Operation Phoenix’, as well as careful building details about the enigmatic policemen and Bill’s brother Tom seem like they’ll provide the answer.
Adlard’s art, whilst almost always great, is particularly nice in black and white, and really aids the story a lot. Also, the range of the man, be it from the quite moodiness of two men drinking their coffee to a military attack helicopter blowing chunks out of CentrePoint, has made him a real asset to the series, and it’ll be hard to imagine the series without him.

Part 7

AHAB loses his cool...

Synopsis: Queequeg meets with AHAB to show him a device that can lead them to the Koheynu queen – but Queequeg will not reveal his reasons for helping. Elsewhere in the ship, Tashtego has been hung out, as a warning to the rest of the crew. Izzie is watching the tapes left by the science officer, trying to work out something about the cure he seems to have synthesized. AHAB arrives, and tells her that she cannot leave the shop as he needs her to “keep Queeueg sweet” .Izzie palms a vial as AHAB destroys what’s left of the virus cure, ordering the crew to burn everything – including the vial she tries to hide. She runs off, looking outside and realising that they have found tracked down the mother Koheynu.

GH: AHAB seems to be shifting towards the cackling madman approach early in this week’s episode which is an unwelcome departure from the cold, calculating madman we’ve had up until now. Kitching redeems himself with the tried and tested “appearing out of nowhere” trick later on though, and also nicely subverts the cliché of the heroine managing to save just one sample of the cure, so that things to look very bad indeed for the human race. There is a feeling of just a little to much needing to be wrapped up in two more episodes, though, especially with Queequeg’s maguffin that appears out of nowhere. Will there be time to credibly set up this sub-plot, or is Kitching carefully setting threads that might be picked up in further series? With the art – the new style AHAB seems to work better than he did last week, although I still think the fact that he’s now overtly menacing was slightly unnecessary, and my reference remains with version one.

EB: This series continues apace, and in a way I’m feeling sad that it has to end so soon. A.H.A.B has proven himself to be probably the best new character of the year so far, and I certainly hope that Kitching and Elson decide to follow up with the mooted sequel that has been suggested. Having said that, there is still the odd narrative leap, like the Krihn which allows Queequeg to tell that the queen Kohenyu is near, the concept of which has only just been introduced, and it feels slightly rushed, as though it might have been a bit less jarring if mentioned a few episodes before.
Also, Elson’s art can, as some people have mentioned, have a tendency to look a bit like some of his work on Avatar, and his new, improved A.H.A.B is not quite as scary as the last one. Unless he’s standing with a red light underneath him, in which case he looks like something that just crawled out of Lucifer’s pit titled ‘Big Scary Bastards’. Certainly his art featuring Tastego’s ultimate end and the appearance of the queen Kohenyu is pretty damn impressive.

However, the star of the show here is always going to be A.H.A.B. And his bastardry has perhaps never been so to the forefront of the story than when he destroys the Ebola vaccine, thus condemning an entire race to death. Roll on series two, I say.

Paranoia - Part 7

Nixon makes a fateful move...

Synopsis: Dirty Frank lies on the floor, badly injured, with Nixon bent over him as a judge arrives on the scene. She tells him that she’s Wally Squad and gives him her code. The judge orders a Med Wagon, and is told that Nixon is wanted for the murder of Gattuso.

Elsewhere, Cracker is meeting up with his boss, who’s watching over the Low Live. Cracker gives him an update on Nixon and says that the Low Life’s a hellhole, but his boss replies “not for long”.

Back with Nixon, Dirty Frank forces himself to talk, speaking Link’s name. Nixon punches the judge and runs to find Link, afraid that he may well have been the one who could set her up. But once she gets to his apartment, he’s dead too..

GH: No – not Dirty Frank!! Well, at least he’s not terminal yet. Once again, this week, the overall plot doesn’t evolve much, but the noose tightens around Nixon all the while. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as the character will almost certainly work much better if slightly detached from the Justice Department. As the series progresses, it does seem to be becoming one big “origin” episode, which will certainly pay dividends if the series (deservedly) returns. There may be some concerns that not much is happening, and these concerns are valid in some respects, but Williams manages to convey a Noir atmosphere that makes such problems negligible. The tightness of the plotting is a vast improvement over the good but flawed Family, and although the character of Nixon isn’t exactly one to warm to yet, there is the hint of a fractured character appearing though the flashbacks that could give her more depth that might appear at first. I still think I know who the baddie is though…

As for the art, Flint continues to impress and even surprise. The first page illustration of Dirty Frank is a brilliant opener to this week’s episode, and the “big boss” overlooking the Low Life is another showstopper. Hopefully this will be a series that Flint sticks to, as it seems unlikely that anyone else would be able to match the high quality on show here.

EB: So, it doesn’t look like Dirty Frank was the mastermind behind whatever it is the plot is about. And Link, now crucified to his terminal, doesn’t look like he was pulling some kind of incredibly subtle double bluff. So, by the process of elimination, the last man standing is Farnsworth, the judge with weird glasses from part 2. At least, that is unless Dredd makes his traditional brief guest appearance as the man behind it all – well, no-one would be expecting that, now would they? At least we didn’t see Dirty Frank die, which in the world of comics means that he can be resurrected for another series at any time.

Of course, the writings been quite fun for this tale in a kind of gangster-noirish way, but the thing that has really elevated it above and beyond has been the artwork of Henry Flint. Whether it’s the half page close up on Dirty Frank’s face or Judge Batty virtually getting his jaw knocked off, he can still pull out the goods in the action stakes. But he’s also made significant changes to his art style: be it the large use of grey or the druggy, almost psychedelic backgrounds, for example, that both connect the story to it’s noir routes, as well as mark it out as being something special to savour and enjoy.

The Big Meg - Part 7

Chopper shows off his new trick...

Synopsis: Chopper heads straight for the judges at speed, dodging their fire. His board is hit, but Chopper makes it into the mall. He heads into Juve City and finds the Sports department, exchanging his damaged board for a brand new one, whose owner gladly gives it to him. On the new board, he looks for a way out, knocking out one judge in the process – and escape onto the Van Damme skedway. He narrowly avoids the traffic, and hides in a moving dumpster, once again managing to evade the judges, discovering that the stolen container has managed to stop a bullet too.

Back at Popp’s, we learn that Popp is ill, but not dying. Dredd doesn’t suspect Calista, but he thinks something isn’t quite right about Chopper suddenly turning thief.

GH: Dredd doesn’t suspect Calista? He must be getting old. Normally Dredd would assume everybody is guilty, and his agreeing to let Calista go as opposed to taking her in for questioning is one of the small irritants about this episode. The other is the fact that Chopper is so taken by Calista, that he’s willing to risk his life for her after having just met her. It doesn’t quite ring true, but next week’s episode should reveal whether he has a hidden agenda or is just a lovesick fool. As for the rest, it’s another “Chopper on the run” episode which, although appearing a little too similar to his last “on the run” episode, still provides a great deal of entertainment. From the exchange of boards in the Mall to the escape on the skedway Wagner and especially Goddard produce a high octane chase that is great to read even despite its less than original basis. Goddard gets better with each issue, and his work on Chopper seems to be his best yet, easily outshining his recent Middenface art in the Megazine.

Perhaps the one thing missing from this series is the reaction from the media. There seem to be a lot of people who recognise Chopper, despite the fact that he’s been out of sight for really quite some time. Given the way fads come and go in Mega City, it seems unlikely that anyone would really remember who Chopper was so readily. However, combined with the blanket media coverage that his return would generate (and the Justice Department overkill response) it would seem much more believable. Obviously we’re supposed to take this media coverage as given – but I feel it could have helped to elevate the story above the ever so slightly pedestrian effort that it’s become.

EB: At least we’ve moved back to a bit of racing now. This tale started so promisingly, and the first couple of episodes were spot on. But for some reason, this tale hasn’t really clicked with me from that point on. Both the art and writing are of an acceptable standard, it’s just that it pales in comparison with the rest of the prog. You get the feeling that this might have worked better as a short multi-part Dredd story, rather than Chopper – after all, he should be about surfing, not stealing recipes for fizzy drinks!

The art by Goddard and Teague has been really nice, and they certainly do a nice rendition of old Chopper. But for me, the last time I saw him was in the MacNeil painted Song of the Surfer, and it’s a bit like Slaine after The Horned God: can you really go back to line work after painted art? Remember that sequel to America that wasn’t painted?

All in all, you get the feeling that this story was just there to get Chopper back into Mega City One, and that it is actually the set up for some later tale. I can’t imagine, with only one episode let to go, that we’ll see Chopper biting the bullet. I just hope that next time the story has a little bit more meat to it, and that it’s drawn by Cam Kennedy or Colin MacNeil (or at least Jim Baikie).