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Review - Part 4
David Knight
- reviewer and synopsis writer
2004 Overview
I was ecstatic
to see 2000AD go from strength to strength in 2004, after the disappointment of
last year’s Autumn Offensive. Frequent appearances of art by Dom Reardon,
Carlos Ezquerra, Henry Flint, Carl Critchlow and Charlie Adlard were something
to look forward to every week. A good line-up of stories was kept up all year
long, with a good variety of stories most of the time.
Best Strip –
Strontium
Dog, Traitor To His Kind
Ezquerra’s
artwork was a full-colour masterpiece on every page, and the story, while completely
linear in its plotting, conveyed a sense that something momentous was building
all the way. The ending was profoundly moving, with every mutant hating Johnny
Alpha, and he not being able to tell them he did the right thing.
Best writer
- John Wagner
For Total War and
Traitor To His Kind. These were the strips of the year.
Best artist
– Henry Flint
For Total War,
ABC Warriors and Low Life. However muddled the story, ABC Warriors shone for its
artwork alone. Low Life wasn’t my cup of tea, but at least it gave us another
opportunity to enjoy Henry Flint’s inks. Total War was just magnificent,
with glorious crowd scenes, explosions and scenes of nuclear devastation.
Best Cover –
Megazine 221
Carlos Ezquerra’s
cover image of Cursed Earth Koburn lit up the shelves.
Best Judge
Dredd story – Total
War
Utterly gripping,
and every episode was more eagerly awaited than the one before.
Best Non-Dredd
story – Strontium Dog, Traitor To His Kind
Best Single
episode – Judge
Dredd Total War Episode 4
The evacuation
of Ezra Pound block in Total War. It showed what a Herculean task Emptying out
an entire sector of its citizens really would be, followed by the biggest sense
of ‘uh-oh’ when it became apparent they’d never pull it off
in the time available.
Metro Dredd
This strip is not
a bad intro for non-devotees: all that good old-fashioned stuff of taking themes
from classic stories and boiling them down into short bursts. The bite-fight episode
printed in Megazine 227 was the most flaccid yet, however, and said very little
about Dredd or his world.
Most Under-rated
– The
Red Seas
Maybe because its
influences show very close to the surface, or maybe because it’s a gentler
sort of story than most of what we see in 2000AD, some readers haven’t taken
to it, which is a pity.
Whatever Happened
To..? deserves better press than it got. Maria, and John ‘Giant’ Clay
stood out as good episodes for me. The Conrad Conn one didn’t go down too
well with a lot of people, but he was a good character that probably not much
would have happened to, so I think the story was handled honestly even if it wasn’t
an explosive action-fest.
Most Over-rated
– Synnamon, Bec & Kawl, XTNCT, Shimura, Low Life.
I have quite a
long list there, I know, but I like to think I’m hard to please.
I didn’t
like Synnamon first time around, and I really don’t think its recent return
showed as much improvement as a lot of commentators have suggested. Apparently
Bec & Kawl is something you either love or hate, but I can’t understand
why anyone would love it. I’ll settle for acknowledging when it’s
good. XTNCT had pretty pictures, but I thought too much was claimed for it, especially
‘lesbian dinosaur sex’. Shimura – boring. Low life didn’t
grab me, apart from the art. The plot seemed just a convenient vehicle for yet
another Dredd universe character.
The best thing
about 2000AD this year
A massive surge
in quality.
We’ve seen
barn-storming entrances for ABC Warriors, Savage, Total War and Strontium Dog.
There were some good one-offs and Future Shocks; and even Robo-Hunter wasn’t
that bad. If it’s thought of as a ‘filler’ rather than a serious
contender for fan favourite, at least it Robo-Hunter was more enjoyable than Synnamon,
Bec & Kawl, Asylum II, Faces, and Past Imperfect. I’d put it on a par
with Sinister Dexter or Low-Life. In fact, I’d much rather read Robo-Hunter
than Low-Life.
The worst thing
about 2000AD this year
A lot of sequels
that I wouldn’t say were disappointing exactly, because nobody had any business
expecting much from them.
What would you
recommend for Dreddcon next year?
I can’t say,
because I need to be at the next one to see it for myself for the first time.
What would you
like to see from 2000AD in 2005?
I would like to
see a high standard maintained. Lots more Henry Flint. A nice long Strontium Dog
series drawn by Ezquerra. And Whatever Happened To Rocky Vollo?
What would you
like to see from 2000AD Review in 2005?
I would just like
to see the site keeping up the good work: more creator interviews and more Sprout
columns.
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