2000AD 1394 - 16 June 2004
Cover by Henry Flint

Synopsis and 1st review by Gavin Hanly
2nd opinion by Richmond Clements

Summaries and reviews contain spoilers for this issue.

GH: This is a great cover image, with some wonderful touches, like the cables over the logo (see I don't mind that...) but it has one really major flaw - it's too dark. It looks fantastic when you get up close and have a look - but there's a good deal of squinting to do to get the most out of it. A shame, because the image itself is fantastic.

RC: At first glance, I thought this was another Savage cover, much like the one from a couple of weeks ago. Closer examination reviled it to be Low Life. So, on this, most basic level, the cover fails, in that the image is so dark, the viewer cannot make out what the hell it is.

Fair enough, there is some exquisite detail to be enjoyed when you’re up close to it, but a cover should stand out on a newsagent's shelf and scream "Buy Me!" This one doesn’t.

Terror - Part 3

The only way Dredd knows to deal with terrorists...

Synopsis: Zondra Smith goes under severe interrogation by the judges to find out the link between her and the crime. They are suspicious of her democratic leanings because she teaches politics, and that she has traces of explosive on her hands. Meanwhile, the bomber returns to his job at the amusement park and removes his disguise, but is concerned that he broke cover by helping the girl simply because he liked her. He gets a call from his contact at Total War who congratulates him, but is worried that he was ID'd – but the bomber says “that face is gone for good”. Elsewhere, Dredd orders their suspect released, as he knows she’s a dead end. Three days later she returns to work at Central Tek, where the students seem to be supporting Total War and thinks she’s a hero. Outside, a men calls to her – and from the voice, she realises that it’s the bomber…

GH: There’s lots of talk about this being the best Dredd story since America, and as far as the whole democracy storyline is concerned, this could well be true. The little touches like Dredd’s rhetoric against terrorism aptly sum up his attitude to Total War, as well as highlighting his non-bending attitude in a way that is much better than has been achieved in the latest Megazine tale. And much like America, the main focus of the story is left with what would be supporting characters in another strip. The story should take a significant turn next week, and I’ll be expecting plenty more betrayal and bloodshed before this is all over.

Colin MacNeil is on fine form again, with the interrogation scenes and another montage being the most effective images this week. He’s simply made to illustrate this story given the parallels it has with America, and is turning in his best work for years. Proof that there is still room for fully painted artwork in 2000AD when it’s this good.

My only concern is one that is a recurring criticism of Dredd storylines – just how long is this going to carry on for? Lets hope it lasts until the next “assault” at least…

RC: Terror? I’ll tell you what terror is. Terror is reading a tale like this, and enjoying the build up, the subtle characterisations, the internal dialogue from Dredd, written in a way only Wagner can do.

That doesn’t sound very terrifying, does it? Yeah, but you have the terror there in the back of your head, that this strip is just going to grind to a sudden halt after only five or six weeks, like every other major story has done in the past years or so.

But for now, there is much to enjoy here, the above mentioned Dredd internal monologue is simply the best thing I’ve read in the comic this year. The story itself is progressing nicely, with the apparent love story element a neat twist.

I haven’t been a big fan of MacNeil’s work on this strip up to now, but maybe because I’m reviewing it, I’ve had a harder look at it, and it is excellent. Most of the time, I find his faces samey, but I’ve no problem telling who is who here. And he draws one hell of a Dredd head.

Book 1 - Taking Liberties Part 8

So... I guess they're funked, then?

Synopsis: In the armoury, Savage finds a “Silver shroud ballistically released polymer foil” and uses it to take out a gunship, which then collides onto the other gunship, destroying it too. The wrecks land in the fire field, so that any survivors are killed by that. Savage sends Noddy home, but asks him to keep an eye out for anything called Operation Phoenix. Savage meets up with the rest of his team, who tell him that Prime Minster “Skooty” is close to agreeing to remove the Volgan bases – and a “freedom march is planned on Westminster” for the next day.

The next day, at the freedom march, Mr Head and “the Guv” are looking for Bill Savage, by Mr Head is concerned he is sticking out. Pulling out his gun the guv decides to do something about that…

GH: While this has shifted away from the quieter, moodier early episodes, the farcical nature of these later parts are making Savage very enjoyable reading indeed. Mills is turning Savage into the crazed psychopath that he always was under the surface, and his sheer enjoyment at the nasty end for the Volgans is blackly funny, as is his revelling at the choice of weapon. As for the rest of the tale, it is understatedly written in a way that contrasts with much of Mills' writing, even Black Siddha in the Megazine. It’s this ability to hold back that makes Savage far better than any of us could have hoped for, with the satire being effective as opposed to heavy handed.

Once again, Adlard accompanies Mills to collect the accolades for this episode. We’ve now reached the stage where he’s really made this strip his own, easily able to create action scenes one moment, and talking heads the next – but always making the artwork compelling.

RC: I thought the highlight of this week's Savage was going to be Bill, sorry, Jack, shooting down two helicopter gun ships with a roll of bacofoil. No, that honour must go to the conversation between Bill and Noddy as they walk to the bus stop. This is some very funny dialogue, and is it just me, or does Bill come across as showing some genuine affection for Noddy; witness his wry smile on the ‘Yeah. That would do it.’ panel.

All in all, this is marching nicely towards what will no doubt be a cliffhanger ending, with, my guess, an orchestrated riot at the march, and Bill getting captured by the Secret Police. And yes, the gratuitous use of the funk word was enough to make even me cringe here, but it wasn’t enough to stop me loving the strip!

And, all you Londoners, is that Forbidden Planet in the background a real one?

Adlard’s work is great here. I much prefer to see it in black and white than colour. He has certainly made this strip his own, and no doubt guaranteed himself work for a few books to come!

Part 8

Queequeg reveals his hand, while destroying AHAB's...

Synopsis: AHAB prepares for the final confrontation with the mother Koheynu. Queequeg asks him to let Izzie go, but AHAB refuses and Izzie reveals that she no longer trusts Queequeg.

AHAB gets in closer and gets ready to attack, noticing that the Koheynu appears to be doing something, but ignores it and orders all the ships to get their harpoon lines attached. He warns Izzie that it’s a one way trip for her, and also attacks Queequeg, as he doesn’t need him any more either. Izzie tries to stop him, but he beats her off. As she does, Queequeg grabs AHAB’s arm, shattering it, while the Koheynu starts tearing all the ships to pieces…

GH: Unfortunately, the last couple of episodes have taken some of the sheen off of AHAB for me. While overall it’s been highly entertaining tale, and a great multi-part debut from Kitching in particular, we’ve reached a point where the characters needed to be more developed in order for us to care about their fates. While Queequeg was supposed to be mysterious, and his actions not quite explained, we know so little about the character that it doesn’t seem shocking enough when we discover how easily he could defeat AHAB. Perhaps if there were more scenes between Izzie and Queequeg, there would have been an opportunity to flesh out their characters. As it is, a slightly rushed feeling has crept into these last couple of issues. However, there will be a better opportunity to assess the strip as a whole next week, and this penultimate episode is a little to early for any final comments.

RC: Another strip that is moving towards its climax, though, unlike the steady march of Savage, this one is hurtling at the break neck pace it has managed to keep up almost every week since it started.

Even at this late stage, Kitching still manages to pull out a surprise, with Queequeg and Izzy overpowering A.H.A.B. If you thought it was going to be that easy though, he throws in another surprise with their ship being smashed. I don’t know where it’s going from here, if the end will be happy or not, but I cannot wait to find out. I have already stated my preference for A.H.A.B. to be last seen strapped to the back of the creature and floating off into space.

I love Elson’s work, though here some of the panels look off somehow, like they’ve been blown up, and lost some detail in the process.

Paranoia - Part 8

Nixon takes charge...

Synopsis: Nixon spends the next few days avoiding Mega City patrols, closing in on Cracker. But after a week, she can wait no more, and attacks him. She gets ready to throw him off the side of a building, asking him who framed her, when her supervisor, Judge Farnsworth appears, telling her it was him. She threatens to kill him, but he holds a gun on her while he fills her in on the story. He says that Link doctored the footage to make it look like she killed Gattusso, but he was in love with Nixon and decided to tell Dirty Frank what he had done. Frank wanted to turn Link and the operation in, so Link beat Frank, and through he’s killed him. Cracker was sent to deal with Link before he could talk and ruin the plan – to take the money back from organised crime and give it back to the citizens…

GH: There is a slight disappointment that comes from learning that Farnsworth is the man behind it all since he was so clearly the most likely candidate from day one. After all – as mentioned on the board – anyone with glasses that cool has to be the bad guy. However, his motivations for carrying out the killings could turn out to be ingenious – as long as he actually gets away with it. This is an enjoyable episode, as we learn what’s really been happening behind the scenes. True. it does take the James Bond cliché approach (“now, before you die, I shall tell you the entire plan”). However, sometimes this actually works well and so far, this is one of those cases. The whole story does seem to hold together without any clear plot holes – at least to me – but the full verdict will have to wait for next week…

RC: This strip has seemed to grab the imagination of everybody, with its depiction of the little seen gritty underbelly of the Big Meg. It’s good, but it’s not great, and reading it through again, I think I have figured out why.

This isn’t really a story at all, but merely the introduction to the world of Aimee Nixon and the Low Life. As such, it works perfectly. And I think come the second series, when the characters are more familiar, and there isn’t the need for introductions, it will rock. As it is, this is a diverting read, with the identity of the villain coming as not much of a surprise at all, though his apparent motives are.

Flint seems to be able to pull some jaw dropping scene out of the hat every week. This week, it’s the final page, with a sense of scale that we see too rarely in MC-1 stories, just check out the city blocks all but invisible through the smog in the background.

The Big Meg - Part 8

Chopper makes his mark...

Synopsis: Chopper calls Calista, who sends a car for him. Getting home, he shows them that he got the prize, but that he didn’t open it as it was sealed with a combination lock. They have a drink to celebrate – but it’s drugged, and Chopper collapses. He wakes up, handcuffed to the bed, while Calista and her daughter tell him that it was a simple heist, and that they already have a buyer for the formula lined up. Jug’s daughter was also in on it from the beginning. They leave, telling him where the key to the handcuffs and to a small radcruiser is with enough fuel to get him to Oz. Later, Chopper finally manages to get himself free, while Calista and her daughter are on a cruiser out of Mega City 1. They open the case only to find that Chopper had indeed opened it - as he had worked out the combination. By that point, Chopper is over the wall on his way to Oz, finding it easy to avoid the judges when not on a board. From Oz, he sends an apology letter to Popp, returning the formula, and goes back to relaxing on the beach…

GH: Oh dear. After expecting big things from this series – at least in the development of Chopper, I leave slightly disappointed. It’s been an enjoyable tale, there can be no doubt about that, and it has allowed Goddard to really show what he can do when given the opportunity. He’ll be a fine asset to the comic, with the quality of his work well able stand up to an extended series like this.

But it’s the slightly inconsequential storyline that seems to have been a missed opportunity. At the end of it, we get an effective reboot – Chopper lying on the beach having learned nothing. In my earlier reviews I suggested that we might see a return to form for Chopper, taking up the mantle of top nuisance to the Mega City 1 judges – or at least finding a purpose in life. But no. Perhaps this is a more honest story at the end of it all, with nothing much changing because in life we really don’t change that much – but hell, I expect more from my comics! Perhaps the next time we bring a character like Chopper back (and the same goes for Mean Machine in the Megazine) someone will take the time to ask – “what are we actually bringing him back for?” If the answer is just because he’s popular – maybe they should start thinking of better reasons, or just leave him on the beach…

RC: So, she was setting him up after all. Chopper had suspected this was the case. Fair enough, but if that’s the case, then why didn’t he figure at something as obvious as a drugged drink? And don’t you think he made it over the wall just a tad too easy, just by waiting until it was dark!? Oh, I don’t know. Maybe this just sits badly in comparison to Wagner’s other script in this week’s prog.

It really does seem that Chopper was brought back for no other reason that because they could. This tale has moved Chopper’s character on exactly no further; in fact, he ends up in exactly the same place he started. It looks like Wagner might be setting Merci up as a returning character, but on the strength of this, ultimately pointless tale, I for one am not fussed if I see Chopper again or not.

There’s not much here art wise to get excited about, but then, the script is devoid of any excitement for Goddard and Teague to get their teeth into.

But we got a smiley in the end, so that must count for something...