Synopsis by David Knight
Review by Gavin Hanly

Summaries and reviews contain spoilers for this issue.

GH: Higgins and O Grady herald the start of Higgins' long-in- the-making "Faces". It's one of those covers which depicts the series inside in a more abstract way, and successful primarily for that reason. We may never get to see this scene in the comic, but it does it's job of hinting at the themes behind the series. And it's by John Higgins, which should be enough on its own...

Total War - Part 5

Total War strikes again...

Synopsis: The news media reports the detonation of the nuclear bomb found in Ezra Pound Block in Sector 276. It is estimated the bomb was ten times more powerful than the first one, and casualties are believed to be in the hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions.

Dredd reviews the tape of Oddie Radley’s interrogation. Judge Stuyvesant is sent to interview his widow, while Roffman at the Public Surveillance Unit traces Radley’s recent movements recorded on camera. Road routes north out of the city to Canadia have become gridlocked and closed to new traffic; and the price of radwagons is soaring as thousands flee into the Cursed Earth. Vienna Dredd dismisses the idea of leaving the city, even though her family connection to Judge Dredd might secure her a flight out. She intends to visit Nimrod the next day, having been asked to sign his termination order.

The discovery of a communicator outside Oddie Radley’s apartment enables PSU to pinpoint when Radley may have gone to meet his contact, an important lead in the judges’ investigation.

GH: Much of the initial impact of thins week's episode is down to Henry Flint, backed up by the considerable might of Blythe's colouring. This week's art provides a stark counterpoint to the scenes from last week of the crowds being calmly led away from the impending disaster. Flint managed to get across the almost impossible task of getting everyone out in time last week - something which is emphasised this time around by the 2nd and 3rd shots of the same scene, eventually leaving devastation and the charred remains of the unfortunate citizens behind. Will there be another explosion after this? I'm rather hoping not, as the point has been well and truly made by the first two, and the story needs to move onto a more personal level now.

And that personal touch is helpfully being provided by Vienna, who's being drawn into Justice HQ. Now does that mean that the next bomb is going to be there, and Dredd will finally have a personal interest in saving his city? If so, it'll be worth watching to see if the po-faced judge manages to keep himself as bottled up as he did on the vid phone. All-in-all, a masterful epic is building up. At 12 episodes, it might not reach the length of earlier epics, but Wagner is fitting so much into what we've seen so far into a densely plotted tale, that might lose its pacing if spread over a longer run. So we should be thankful for what we've got.

Part 1

Kilquo has plenty of eyes, but apparently not in the back of her head...

Synopsis: Earth-bound alien actress Kilquo of Kakkak tells a television interviewer of her relationship with dot.com millionaire Carl Woolf. Woolf was abducted by aliens aboard a spaceship disguised as a bus, and subsequently blamed for the death of Kilquo’s father. Framed for murder by the Kakkakian General Stunal, Woolf fled back to Earth accompanied by Kilquo, who found work in the film industry. Woolf has apparently become a drunkard, and is in a pub pitching a business proposal to a potential investor, that involves Kilquo exploiting her shape-changing abilities on the Internet. The ‘investor’ claims not to know Woolf, who is thrown out for making a nuisance of himself and owing the landlord money. Kilquo, meanwhile, is acting the part of a hostile alien in a sci-fi film when her agent telephones. Following Kilquo’s appearance in a cosmetics ad, a disgruntled customer is suing the manufacturer, the ad agency, the star of the ad and her agent, who fires Kilquo and proposes to sue her too. On her way home, Kilquo is followed by mysterious men in black.

GH: As a follow up to a (frankly) long-forgotten tale from Milligan and Higgins, this is something of a curiosity. Thankfully, we get an update in the Nerve Centre (although I can't help feel that this should have been given better prominence - after all, who reads the Editor's letter first?).

But the tale itself is promising enough at this early stage, with a pleasant grounding in ugly reality contrasted with the obvious strangeness of Kilquo's appearance and the apparent indifference among her peers and indeed the general public. It's somewhat difficult to tell where the series is going at this early stage, but the early signs indicate that it's worth sticking with. Certainly the art from Higgins is as impressive as you'd expect from a 2000AD veteran, with the grey tones particularly suiting an artist whose most recent work has generally appeared in colour.

Tooth & Claw - part 2

Random remembers...

Synopsis: Lobster Random is one of an elite fighting force created thirty years ago by Professor Cadmium Redd. Five years later, Redd died in a thermonuclear explosion. Now, his widow, whose disembodied brain lives on in a feminine robot combat chassis Lobster Random finds irresistible, has come into possession of her husband’s incinerated remains and his last will and testament. The Professor’s wish was to be buried on the planet N-19, known as ‘Nixx’, where he conducted his military experiments. The Professor’s widow needs Lobster Random, as the only survivor of his platoon, because Redd entrusted his company of military experiments with an abort code to disable a grid of hungermissiles protecting Nixx from visitors and thus keeping his unethical experiments secret. Lobster Random is reluctant to return to N-19, and flees to a backwater planet, where he is tracked and cornered by the bounty hunters Hogg and Pinn.

GH: Ah, flashback time again (and great to see the "bang goes the colour" introduction). Spurrier is really finding his feet at the moment with Random and the Simping Detective and should certainly concentrate on his fiction as opposed to the rather lacklustre articles in the Megazine. He manages to weave in yet more Random backstory, while keeping the plot moving forward in the present. Indeed, any writer who could make a "torturer for hire" a sympathetic character deserves much praise. Even the contrivance of the huge character who happens to be the intelligent one (and vice versa) shows promise in Spurrier's hands.

And all this is backed up with the ever excellent work of Critchlow. Having just re-read the Batman/Dredd collection featuring his painted artwork, it's easy to see how his style has evolved in the right direction, with his artwork being far more fluid and expressive than the painted style allowed. Truly an excellent artist who deserves as much work as Tharg is able to force him to draw.

Part 5

The aliens attack...

Synopsis: In Sydney, the alien known as Run is flagging under a hail of gunfire, but is nevertheless surrounded by the dead bodies and mangled vehicles of an entire battalion of soldiers. With the alien known as Spore on his back, Run heads for Sydney Harbour Bridge to gain height for Spore to release a toxic cloud to its most devastating effect.

Holt and Buchanan pursue the rogue aliens by air, and Holt takes aim to shoot them before they can cause more carnage.

Back on the aliens’ island, a burrowing alien distracts the soldiers for a surprise attack led by winged aliens, organized by Skunk, who takes twenty-six hostages and proposes to kill one soldier every half hour until the humans bring help and supplies for the alien refugees.

GH: While Boo Cook's art continues to be the main attraction of this story, I'm still unsure of the direction of the plot. That said, things are improving this week with the events on the island coming to something of a head and the face off between Holt and the two renegade Aliens also reaching a climax.

One of the main drawbacks to the series seems to be the character of Holt, and his continuing manipulation by Buchanan. Holt's character is becoming less sympathetic the more he "ums" and "ahs" about just where his allegiances should lie. Hopefully he'll actually make a decision soon (as Skunk has back on the island) and this series will have a little more balls.

Traitor to his Kind - Part 5

Alpha takes shotgun..

Synopsis: In a souped-up aircar, Johnny, Wulf and Spider are pursued by police. Johnny and Wulf deter their pursuers with gunfire while Spider shakes them off by maneuvering under a flyover and following the road from underneath. Spider leaves the bounty hunters outside Shrewsbury and returns later with their next contact, a travelling salesman, who will take them to King Clarkie. The King is at ease with his captors and makes himself at home. Dai the Death’s men have no qualms about trusting Johnny Alpha. Meanwhile, in London, Walton Fuzz is thrown in a cell with Billy Glum. At Upminster, the Home Secretary tells Police Superintendent Nelson Culliver that Lord Negus has made allegations against him in relation to his interference in Alpha’s mission. Home Secretary Hay tells Culliver they can’t afford for Johnny Alpha to save the King. It would be more to their advantage if the King was killed in a rescue attempt and his death could be blamed on mutants.

GH: While there is the odd bit of action in this Strontium Dog tale, it's the low key character work that is the attraction of the series. As with Judge Dredd, Wagner is showing his skills at weaving large amounts of characters without ever leading the reader to wonder "now who was that again?" Now a great deal of the reason for this clarity lies with Ezquerra and the fact that every mutant is going to look particularly distinct help too.

But it's a refreshingly slow paced tale, especially for 2000AD these days, and feels like one to be savoured than rushed,with the political machinations being particularly fascinating. As mentioned elsewhere, the fact that you know Alpha's eventual end doesn't seem to matter any more, when Wagner's proving that there are huge possibilities for the character that will hopefully continue to be mined over the coming years.