2000AD 1401 - 4 August 2004
Cover by Henry Flint

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

Summaries and reviews contain spoilers for this issue.

GH: Another brilliant cover from Henry Flint who, like always , knows how to frame a 2000AD cover, remembering where the logo sits and using it to his advantage. Yes, I know I sound like an anally retentive broken record, but a well formatted cover shows that there's more to this that just a pretty picture. And anything with soldier gorillas is always going to be a winner, isn't it?

EB: Nice to see some full colour artwork from Henry Flint, although it’s a pity we only ever see it on covers and those little one page shorts. His colours are always so unusual, and the backgrounds always seem to really bring out the characters in the foreground, in a kind of psychedelic ink pattern kind of way. In this case, the figures are of Hammerstein and a load of itinerant Cyboons. It’s a nice action shot, with Hammerstein looking suitably grim ‘n gritty, and the Cyboons looking more menacing (and gorilla-like) than I can remember seeing them before.

It’s also a nice touch that we have a couple in the background appearing, Morlock-like, in silhouette with just their eyes gleaming in the darkness. All this and, as I’m sure Gavin will be relieved to tell you, the logo remains comfortably free of obscurity!

Big Deal at Drekk City - Part 2

Wheelers open fire...

Synopsis: The poker players arrive: Jimmy the Weasel and playboy billionaire VW Ecks from Mega City 1, Speed O Flynn from Luna City, Sov Ivan Katzenjammer, Hieronymus Bush III from Texas City and Dead-eye Tommy Ho. Dredd decides that the odds are against them, but that he can even them up. He moves behind the Clantons and lets off a shot at the Wheelers. The Wheelers think that the Clantons are firing at them and a battle erupts. Dredd orders Vance to take the cadets to the ships and commandeer one. They’ll go for back up while Dredd stays on the scene. Finally the Clantons and Wheelers stop firing and call for a truce, but the Shamazons are going for the money alone…

GH: Another fine episode, although rather a lot of time has been taken up explaining who the players are. They'd better all have a significant role to play if that is going to be worth it. Dredd starting the firefight between the Clantons and the Wheelers is enjoyably handled, although he easy dismissing of the cadets seems a little disappointing. However, given that these seem to be a wilful bunch of cadets, I get the feeling that we won't be seeing the back of them that easily.Other moments worth pointing out - it seems that this is "Cursed Earth Familiarisation" and not a "hotdog run" or are they the same? - I'm easily confused.

Overall, this seems like an entertaining throwaway Dredd tale livened up but spectacular art, and some choice Dredd lines from Wagner:

"You can't stay on your own!"
"There's lawbreaking going on out there - someone's got to!"

EB: Ostensibly this is a light tale to relieve the tension of the previous saga, Terror. However, with Cam Kennedy on artistic duties this rises above the average Dredd. It’s always a pleasure to have Kennedy back on the strip, and as one of key Dredd artists, he very rarely disappoints. His character designs for the card players and the criminals out to rob them are excellent, and the setting of Drekk City is nicely decrepit and filthy looking, suitably aided as always by the colouring of Chris Blythe.

Story wise, this is more of a functional episode, as we establish the rest of the players and continue with the set up. However, Wagner is still capable of pulling a few nuggets out of the bag, such as Dredd’s starting of the gunfight between the rival gangs. It was also surprising (although perhaps less so in retrospect) with Dredd’s decision to send all the Rookies back to the city for reinforcement, leaving him to deal with the bandits all by himself. However, looking at the fifth panel on the last page, I get the feeling that some of the cadets may have stuck around…?

Creepshow - Part 1

Slater lets curiosity get the better of him...

Synopsis: The Caballistics arrive at the now defunct Ludgate Film studios, where a number of sub Hammer films were made. It was closed in 1979, when the owner disappeared and after years of legal wrangling, the land is now owned by Kostabi. However, people have been going missing from the site and the Caballistics are to investigate, along with new recruit Ness.

Inside, elements from the sets still exist, such as skeletons and a working guillotine. They find a pool of stage blood, but it appears to be coming from mid air, as well as a portrait of the original owner, Victor Drako who was believed to have contacts with Nazi occult ops.

Back at headquarters, Slater investigates the cellar, where Ravne’s body is being kept by his assistants. He opens the chamber carrying his body as a hand bursts out and grabs him.

GH: After last week's re-introduction to the crew, we move on to a fully fledged Caballistics Inc. tale. It's as highly enjoyable as ever, with highlights being Brand's descent into alcoholism, the new personality of Jenny and whatever's going on in the basement. I'm no entirely sure what role Ness will play in the group dynamic, however, although perhaps this will be made clearer in the coming weeks.

However, little can disguise that this week's episode is exposition central, with both Jenny and Chapter there to tell us all everything about the backstory. It is handled relatively seamlessly and the device of having Chapter as a fan of Ludgate films helps to disguise some of her exposition. However, the "let's look at a picture of Victor Drako" does rather scream that he's going to be an important character sometime soon. Hopefully things will move past this phase next week.

Reardon, meanwhile is on top form this week, although the last panel (when Slater opens the chamber) is somewhat confusing as it's not entirely clear which order you are supposed to read it.

EB: So after the repercussions of Krystalnacht, we are back to the nuts and bolts of the series: yet another job for the intrepid chaps and chapess’ of Caballistics Incorporated. Of course, the idea for this story (haunted film studio) seems to have been an obvious one for the series to cover, and I’m positive that probably a great number of people are grinding their teeth at not having had the idea before or not getting it made in time!

Story wise, the plot is progressing nicely, with the growing realisation that the team is never going to be the same again. Likewise, the growing story of the living death of Solomon Ravne is moving on apace. At the same time, we have a number of new elements: the addition of Mikey Ness is a welcome bit of comic relief and yet again the subject of the investigation is linked to both Ethan Kostabi, Sonderkommando Thule and the Nazis Occult Warfare Division, the body to which Ravne once belonged. You know there’s a story behind the story, but by being constantly drip-fed like this, it’ll probably be years before we ever have an inkling of what it is.

Still, there are some nice touches: the invented back story for the fictional Ludgate Films for example, which is purported to have been written by Marcus Hearn and Alan Barnes, who of course actually written an almost incalculably vast number of books on British horror films (although mentions of Tyburn and Tigon film companies are surprisingly missing). The location for Ludgate Films, I presume based upon either Bray or Elstree studios – the homes of Hammer Films, and Dom Reardon does a smashing job depicting it. He seems to be improving every time I see his work, and his development on the series has been truly exciting to see. Case in point would be his drawing of Victor Drako, the Milton Subotsky of Ludgate, making him appear to be the point where Peter Cushing and Vincent Price meet (although this won’t be a new experience to anyone who’s seen the 1974 film Madhouse before).

Picking up the Pieces

Kawl gets a probing from his new friend...

Synopsis: Bec & Kawl are at a “charity slave auction”. After Bec buys the exchange student that she has been after, Kawl goes on stage to be bought by a beautiful woman “Get your crucifix, fat boy, you’ve pulled”.

At his home she starts examining him and his blood and asks about a guest he had earlier that day. Kawl tells her that it was his uncle Nick, his only surviving relative. Kawl started making him something to eat after he arrived, while his uncle said he wanted to talk to him about a spot of bother he was in, and what would happen if anything happened to him. But as Kawl was in the kitchen, his uncle smoked on a spliff left in the room and was carried away by some demons.

After he tells this, the machine testing Kawl’s blood proves to the woman that he is the sole descendant, and that he stands to inherit his estate. Horns appear from her head and she summons him to what appears to be hell – “welcome home, master”.

GH: In last week's review of 1400, in which Bec & Kawl did not appear, I made one of the cardinal errors of reviewing. Namely, I criticised this series before I had read it. Now that's not to say that I didn't have some ammunition on my side, having been underwhelmed by the duo's previous exploits. But I should have known better.

Because this isn't bad at all...

Now, this will seem like a huge about-face if you've read some of my previous reviews, but I'll remind readers that I quite disliked Caballistics Inc. when it first appeared in the comic, before I could see its hidden intricacies. Now, while it's taken significantly longer to change my mind about Bec and Kawl (and I'm still being a little cautious), this week is clearly a step in the right direction.

To start with, it drops the pop culture (or more accurately geek culture) references that peppered the earlier stories, which were never Spurrier's strong point. His satirical pops at Sandman, The Matrix and Harry Potter seemed tired, and always helped to turn me off the series. However, this seems absent, so far, and the tale is all the more better for it, as Spurrier's imagination is clearly more than capable of coming up with a tale without resorting to borrowed characters.

We also actually manage to see some character development in this week's tale and although several boarders and reviewers have said this is not necessary for the series, it's certainly helped here. Finally, we've managed to get rid of the highly irritating Bec for one week. Sure, she'll be back, but can she be a little less one dimensional next time around?

All in all, a much improved episode. This may well "do a Pat Mills" and go completely the other way next week, but for the moment, I'm cautiously optimistic. And the much improved storyline also helped my finally to appreciate Steve Roberts' artwork, who's going from strength to strength every week.

EB: “GET YOUR CRUCIFX, FAT BOY. YOU’VE PULLED.”

I don’t know what it is about Steve Roberts female characters, but I find them really scary. I can’t really say why, but they really intimidate me. Panda eyed Beccy intimidates me. That bird who mumbled all the time and got burned alive in that giant wicker slug intimidated me (in a quiet sort of way). And the mysterious, voluptuous, strapless dress wearing lady in this issue intimidates me especially. Which, I sort of suppose, must be the point.

Spurrier and Roberts' cartoon twosome return for yet another set of merry hi-jinks, in which it appears that Kawl is some kind of underlord of one of the realms of hell or something. This still doesn’t explain to me why Kawl dresses like John Entwistle circa 1970.

But I have to say this is quite a promising opening episode and the Spurrier and Roberts druids have certainly matured together as a team (in artistic ability, if not in juvenile humour). Nice techniques are used as well, such as the introduction of Kawl’s uncle through first person flashbacks. I'm still not sure what’s going on here and I feel about as clued up as Kawl's uncle looks when he’s dragged off by the mysterious floating purple horned lumpy sexless midgets. Still, it does it for me.

Thing was, when I first read Bec & Kawl, I hated it. “Urrggghh! Horrible student humour!” I would declaim, before watching an episode of Spaced or Adam & Joe. However, over time I’ve grown accustomed to it; inoculated it if you like. I no longer dread it’s presence in the comic. If I could employ a metaphor, it’s like when you’re being violently sick from a heavy nights drinking. At first you desperately try to be strong and resist, but after a while you decide you can’t swim against the tide, and spill you’re guts into the nearest sink or toilet bowl, and later feel relief from having got all the nastiness out of your system. Well, for me, Bec & Kawl is at worst now a dry heave.

The Shadow Warriors Book 2 - Part 2

Mongrol leads with his head

Synopsis: The Warriors take B Boy and the others to the city, where a riot is taking place. They encounter Cyboons on Trisaurs who begin attacking the humans. The ABC Warriors fright to protect the humans as their programming dictates, but they can’t harm the Trisaurs in case they incur Medusa’s wrath again. Mongrol headbutts one, sending its Cyboon flying, while Deadlock simply cuts another Trisaurs head off. But one of the Cyboons gets through, taking Mesa, one of the humans.

Elsewhere, the doctor at the hospital, who appears to be a robot of some sort, goes on a rampage, killing everyone in the ward and feeding on their pain…

GH: While this story brings along with it the best artwork in the comic (not easy considering the competition) it doesn't really seem to be getting anywhere yet. The Warriors are merely blundering their way from one fight to another, with the more interesting part of the tale clearly waiting in the hospital. While I would have enjoyed them picking up yet another wounded human on the way just to piss off Blackblood, there is a growing desire to get to the point.

Of course Cyboons on Trisaurs are always going to look cool, and this does allow Flint to shine in some wonderful action set pieces, with Mongrol and Deadlock in the spotlight this week. Having said that, the psychopathic robotic doctor looks like being entertaining, but let's have more story and less foreshadowing?

EB: Nice to see a return for the Warriors after more than a year, and they (and Pat Mills) are still hitting top form. Mills has been employing his knack for thinking up all kinds of bizarre future ideas, like chap with the speaker in his stomach (a Belly Blaster), or the Trivia Boxes. This is what Mills does best – parodying current popular culture and social trends by exaggerating things to the point of the ridiculous. It’s also nice to see the return of elements from the original ABC Warriors series, like the Cyboons or the Soya Bean cows. Also, it’s good to see that the Warriors bicker and argue just as much as they did before.

However, the real star of the show has to be the artwork of Henry Flint. He’s removed from his obvious Ezquerra influences doing a tale outside of the Judge Dredd universe, and can really go to town here. Although there are obvious inspirations from previous ABC artist like Simon Bisley and Kevin Walker, and particularly the original work by Mike McMahon, his work here really reveals itself as being a Flint original. He has an almost Kevin O’Neilish knack for drawing both fearsome fight scenes, as well as a great eye for architecture: his Cyboons are feral and viscous, whilst his Martian city, and the people who populate it, is both believable and suitably futuristic. Also, his use of bizarre backgrounds brings to mind the often nasty, viscous work of Bill Sienkiewicz, which is appropriate for the Doctor’s eye view we get at the end. Can’t wait to see this next Shadow Warrior: whatever he looks like, I’m sure he’s going to be nasty!

The Headly Foot Job - Part 2

Foot's friends arrive...

Synopsis: Alpha and Sternhammer break into the cell and free Bootsy, telling him that they happened to be in the neighbourhood and couldn’t see him hang for no reason. He starts attacking the guard, but they pull him away, telling them that there will be no killing. Sternhammer badly wants to hit the annoying Bootsy with the“happy stick” but Alpha holds him back.

Outside, a vehicle bursts through the walls of the prison – it’s Bootsy’s gang who have come to break him out. Alpha tells Bootsy that they are the diversion, and they should stick to the plan and take him out the back way. He makes Bootsy wave to his boys as a sign that he’s in good hands, but his boys don’t appear to be expecting to see Alpha and Sternhammer…

GH: A much improved episode, as the true storyline becomes clearer. The latter part of this episode shows that this clearly isn't a normal prison break, and that Alpha and Sternhammer are up to something elise entirely. Indeed, it's that "what's actually going on here?" feeling that makes this week's tale so enjoyable. Any writer who can drop just enough hints so that you see where the tale is going only moments before it's announced is indeed a wonderful writer, and Wagner's clearly got his timing down well here. Whether Headly Foot has a particularly large bounty on his head will no doubt be revealed next week, but if this is all about pretending to rescue him when really they're taking him into custody, this will prove to be a highly enjoyable tale.

EB: This is a nice finish to the comic and the story picks up this week. Wagner really seems to be enjoying himself writing the series at the moment, and the mix of action and humour is pitch perfect, it’s almost as if these were tales from fifteen years ago, encased in amber and preserved until now. There are nice touches, like the fact that ‘Bootsy’ is the cousin of Kid Knee. Of course, knowing Alpha and Sternhammer, there mission is likely top more than just one of mercy, although we will no doubt find out in due course.

On the artistic side, Ezquerra excels himself yet again: his computer colouring has come on leaps and bounds over the last few years, and he must now be one of the best in the business. Even after all this time, he can still pull out iconic poses of characters like Johnny Alpha, or draw great action scenes like Foot’s colleagues breaking into the prison to get him out.

On the other hand, his creation of the Feefers is yet another one to match the Knobians of last years story. This is why he and Wagner are such a great match, bringing together both their innate dark and more gentle humour alongside slam bang action. This looks set to be yet another ripping yarn amongst their vast joint catalogue.