2000AD Prog 1437 - 4 May 2005
	Judge Dredd (Rennie / Cook) The VCs (Abnett / Williams) Slaine (Mills/Langley) Bec & Kawl (Spurrier/ Roberts) American Gothic (Edginton / Collins) Synopsis by Gavin Hanly Review by Susan Doyle 2nd Opinion by Richmond Clements Summaries and reviews contain spoilers for this issue.

SD: What a cover. It definitely grabs your attention. The tinting of the water, the gleam on the metal just screams evil – a rank pool in a dark forest sure sets the seen for this week’s slice of Slaine.

RC: A change from the usual gold tinted wrap around covers we regularly see from Langley. I like this: it’s moody and interesting, just like any good cover should be.

Radstock - Part 1

Clearly a bad idea...

Synopsis: Brit Cit rock group Death Rattle are holding a concert in the Cursed Earth, just outside Mega City 1. Citizens queue up to get exit visas for the concert, with the judges checking them thoroughly before they leave. Dredd meets with Harv Harvstein, the tour manager. We discover that the Grand Hall of Justice has given permission for the concert, with 10% of royalties being handed over to charity. Dredd warns him that they'll need protecting, but Harvstein says they've recruited a Cursed Earth biker gang to work on security. Later, watching the preparations from the wall Dredd warns that with a Rad Storm blowing in, the biker gang and drugged out citizens, it's going to turn bad quickly.

Elsewhere, a mutant gang - the Sons of Sin - is watching the proceedings. Father Sin, the leader says they must "rise up against the infidels".

SD: The mighty green one informs us that Karl Richardson is making his debut as a ‘shiny new droid’ for 2000AD. I’m impressed - what a debut. I simply love the artwork; it’s detailed, the colouring is great and I liked the use of perspective, although the bikes we’re a little off. The last frame I think is a favourite, the Sons of Sin leader looks like a round toy I saw at Halloween which oozes green & red gunk when squeezed….

The start off for the story is quite fun although it’s almost laid out like a game of chess, with the judges, fans, band, motorbike gang, rad-storm and the local cursed earth freak show all vying for position – looking forward to seeing more of Karl’s artwork and who’ll be making the first move.

RC: So Dredd does the Rolling Stones. There are shades in this tale of when that group famously hired a gang of Hells Angels to police a concert in San Francisco, with less than pleasant results. Rennie’s script is setting us up nicely for the unmitigated disaster that will no doubt ensue. The Sons of Sin look like a promising bunch of Cursed Earth nutters.

I suppose though, that most eyes will be on the work of new (to me at least) artdroid Karl Richardson. For the most part, he does a bang up job, with the first page in particular being a eye-catching. But some of his figure drawing is odd, with Dredd appearing to be riding a mini version of his Lawmaster in the final panel on page 2. And I don’t mind artists tweaking at the uniform and what have you, but why have the Judges suddenly started to wear their guns from a holster on their belt?

Part 6 - Edgeville

Ryx kills time surfing for porn

Synopsis: The VCs come to Edgeville, a slum city, one of the frontier colonies that has become a hive of black-market dealings. The streets are bathed in light 24 hours a day and the VCs, covered up in heavy disguise, walk down the main street. Smith muses about the Polity and how they ignored the first Human/Geek war, and were about to invite humans into the Polity when the 2nd war ruined their chances. Smith contacts Ryx, who is back at the ship, interrogating the captain. The captain has told them that the contact is an Extro trader called Ff'ibor Seff. The prisoner tells him he can help them link to the Edgeville registry to find the contact. Ryx starts accessing the data.

Later Smith gets an urgent call from the ship. Ryx grabbed a gun and took off, shouting "He's here. The bastard's here." Smith knows that can only mean one thing - Veto

SD: I like this strip so far, particularly the style of the art work with the angular chiselled faces which I think fits the military flavour of the VCs. Unfortunately I did find it hard to get past the grey cloaks and cowls with the darkened faces, doing reconnaissance I kind of thought they were meant to be incommunicado! That and the fact that Ryx has gone AWOL again at the mention of Veto, has slightly put a dampener on it. However I did like the alien crowd, my particular favourite being the four breasted drinker in the sixth frame, and I think the Polity story line still has some mileage. I’ll wait to see next week’s instalment as the story does twist and turn and come up with unexpected.

RC: This episode seems to be nothing more than a device for getting Ryx into position for next week. I for one am welcoming the change of direction in this run. Abnett seems to have rediscovered his interest in the characters and their world, after what was a lacklustre pervious series. I think it’s a testament to this that I thought, ‘Wow, six weeks already!’ and not, ‘Grud, has it only been six weeks?’ So if the scripts keep on at this standard, I’ll be happy.

Artwise, I’ve never been a big fan of Williams’ art, though his colouring has improved greatly with this current series, and the first page here looks great. But I can’t help thinking this would have benefited from an artist with a grittier style.

Odacon - Part 2

Slaine poses for his catalogue shot...

Synopsis: The war is over and Slaine tells his people that they can go to the otherworld. Some decide that the otherworld isn't for them and decide to head towards Hy Brazil instead. Others, including Amergin, decide to head to the otherworld anyway, as they will feel safer there. The spell is cast by Amergin, and they all disappear, although Amergin stays for the moment. Gael takes the dying Fais to Amergin to ask if there's anything he can do for her. Amergin tries to help, but Fais warns him that there is a new danger: "The Brood! The Spawn of Odacon!" - infecting villages and turning them into slaves.

Elsewhere, Odacon in a hooded disguise heads for a nearby village, seeking shelter. he is let in by a mother and daughter, despite the daughter's objections. He shows them a glowing casket, opening it to reveal a swarm of something alive. They attack the women - "Yes! You are to be hosts to the children of Odacon!"

SD: I find it very hard to review Slaine as I can’t really get my head round this particular style of artwork. I feel that I’m looking at photographs. I’m not sure where pictures end and the art work begins, especially on close ups of the main characters, and this wasn’t the case last week with all that warping. I did like the landscapes and the attire of the warriors especially the weapons. However, and I can’t believe I’m saying this, it may be too close for comfort and too close to real life (Gulp).

Story wise I’m so confused about the portals and swapping peoples from one reality to another. The village depicted as the land of milk and honey was a bit over the top too, and if this was what was on offer why did the warriors want to leave… (I keep feeling a slight draft as this story goes over my head). Perhaps someone can take me to a quiet room and explain it all….

RC: Last weeks episode was a good one, so I assumed this one would be crap. I surprised myself be actually liking it. With the Spawn of Odacon (now that’s a band name waiting to happen) out and about causing havoc, is it to much for me to hope for an intriguing change of direction for this tale? You’ll all say ‘Yes’, but I live in hope...

There are a couple of dodgy panels where the photoshopping hasn’t quite convinced this reviewer ( Last on page 1, first on page 2), but the rest is up to, with the four panels an the bottom of page 2, and the fourth page in particular being nothing short of spectacular.

Attack of the Cones

Ramonez gets his calling...

Synopsis: Pierre Ramonez has let himself into Bec & Kawl's house and is re-telling his latest adventure to an irritated Bec, after stumbling over a passed out Kawl in the doorway. He tells her how he was abducted by Aliens who performed all manner of tests on him. He woke later - surrounded by hundreds of alien heads, but then two larger aliens enter, and reveal themselves to be the parent of the ones that kidnapped him - obviously a practical joke. They sweep away the fake alien heads/balloons, and suggest that they should kill Ramonez in case he tells anyone about them. He tells them he's a pest controller and they decide to use him of rid the earth of the "filthiest vermin of all".

He came to Bec & Kawl to ask for aid, but she doesn't want to help. He tells here that there are thousands of them, evenly spread out throughout the country - what would be the best form for such a creature? We soon find out as the traffic cone that Bec stole on his way home metamorphoses into an alien...

SD: I have to admit it’s taken me a while to appreciate the finer points of this strip and I really enjoyed the ‘toothfairy’ so I was very happy when I opened up to find the start of another Bec and Kawl in this weeks edition. I also really like the idea of a French pest controller with what looks like a grenade launcher and a view that extreme methods are what is called for in the fight against bugs, with Aliens who want him to save the planet, and evil road cones. The amusing references to Alien conspiracies and switching channels, along with Teddy as a Macrocosmic Grail typify this amusing strip. Looking forward to the next instalment

RC: The only reason I finished reading this strip was because I was reviewing it. Sorry, but this is rubbish. Jokes about ET, Roswell anal probes? Not exactly the cutting edge we expect from 2000AD. Then a drunken student steals a traffic cone... “I think my sides just haemorrhaged”.

Hard to believe that this comes from the same writer who gave us Lobster Random, From Grace, and the currently brilliant Zancudo in the Megazine.

Chapter 6

The wolfwoman attacks...

Synopsis: Having been abandoned by LaChance, the Duke is now leading the caravan. However, they now seem completely lost - but the Duke is unwilling to admit that they need LaChance. Lorelli is frustrated with his anger at Lachance and flies away, but she is shot down by the gang hunting them. The Duke's horse is also shot, as are the others in the group, while the hunters try to box them in. The wolf creature who helped LaChance discovers that her daughter has died in the hail of gunfire. She transforms into a more dangerous beast and charges at the attacker, only to be gunned down in a hail of silver bullets. Baba Yagga starts shooting back, but is pulled back to safety by the troll, who also gets shot in the leg. Philippe recognises one of the hunters "Zaroff" and charges, but Zaroff says quietly "come to me, cousin" and shoots him down.

SD: I am really enjoying this story. Although slightly dubious about the art work in the beginning I am now appreciating the dark frames, the black on white reinforcing the gothic, and that hint of Western style. The story’s heating up with the introduction of the hunting party and the reference to ‘family’ and the two leaders recognising each other. It’s probably nearing the end of it’s run (boo), and if so I hope the order is already in for the next story run. I’ll be skipping through the mag to the start of this strip next time round to find out what happens next. Kudos.

RC: On the other hand, everything about this strip is pure class. A sparkling script with real characters in it, and gritty artwork with imaginative panel layouts. I can’t wait for next week!

Oh, and it’s his cousin! Aggghhh!!