2000AD Prog 1445 - 29 June 2005
	Judge Dredd (Rennie / Currie) Sinister Dexter (Abnett / Davis) Shakara (Morrison / Flint) Atavar 3 (Abnett/Elson) Caballistics Inc. (Rennie / Reardon) Synopsis and review by Gavin Hanly Summaries and reviews contain spoilers for this issue.

GH: Once again, Langley is the cover artist of choice for Caballistics and, once again, he turns in an atmospheric job with a suitably apocalyptic feel. Indeed, it's always good to see Langley on something that isn't Slaine and I'd certainly be in favour of him being commissioned to try out something new - just to stretch his abilities, if nothing else.

Blood Trails - Part 6

Guthrie picks a fight

Synopsis: A citizen/sov sleeper spy receives an early wake up call and calls one of his cell members - "Call the others. Zhukov is active". Elsewhere, Justice Department has Travis/Pasha under surveillance. Travis returns to his apartment to find it being crime-blitzed by Giant and Guthrie. Travis taunts Guthrie with a whisper that Dredd is jealous of his involvement with Vienna. Guthrie responds by giving him a bloody nose. Travis indicates he might make a complaint and clearly takes the punch personally, muttering to himself in Sov that he "owes" Guthrie. Outside, Guthrie definitely thinks Travis is playing them - and now they have his DNA through the blood on his fist.

Elsewhere, Dredd contacts Roffman at PSU who puts Cole near the scene of Renee and her partner's deaths. Roffman says they had a 20 minute blackout at the scene of the crime - fueling Dredd's suspicions.

In the Black sea, Yuri and Kazan discuss their plan against Dredd. Yuri worries that Kazan is engaging in a private vendetta against Dredd, but Kazan sees eliminating him as the only way to take Mega City 1 down.

GH: This has become one of the more entertaining Dredd "epics" in recent times - steering well away from the destruction that Wagner likes to unleash in his efforts and making much stronger use of the supporting characters. Indeed, looking at those supporting characters on show this week, Roffman, Guthrie and Giant to mention three, it's impressive how the Dredd world has managed to gradually beef up the supporting cast to a level where it's able to support a thriller like this.

What's also much more believable is that the Judges are fairly on the ball with Travis and seem to be aware that he's got something planned. What could have turned into a more predictable "Dredd being accused of misusing judicial resources" instead becomes a game of who will move first - making the chess analogy at the end particularly apt. Rennie once again proves that he matches up to Wagner - and indeed betters some of Wagner's efforts (The Satanist, for example).

I'm also becoming a real fan of Currie's work on this series. I've seen the old criticism "he's good but not suited to 2000AD" trotted out for him and despaired. He's a great artist, knows how to out together a good clear panel flow (a highly under-rated trait), he creates distinct looks for all his characters and draws a damned fine action scene. Certainly one of my favourite Dredd artists of recent times.

Slow Train to Kal Kutter - Part 3

Kal Kutter comes under suspicion

Synopsis: On Thursday morning, Belgian detective Achille Bureau is brought in to investigate the discovery of two bodies on the train (those of Fuscus and Albus). The detective deduces that they were killed by a gunshark. Elsewhere, Sinister and Dexter are in pursuit of the train, being given a lift in a dilapidated helicopter gunship by Levi Putin's uncle.

The previous Monday they were in a meeting with Apellido who says that he has discovered that Isobel was still alive and instructs Sinister and Dexter to correct the mistake.

Back to Thursday morning, and Bureau is accusing Kal Kutter of the murder, just as Sinister and Dexter burst in and take credit.

GH: It seem like we've been waiting a while for the Kal Kutter character to really take centre stage in Sinister Dexter and now that it's happened, I'm not so sure it was worth the wait. However, it's entirely possible that this light-hearted story is more likely the precursor to a much bigger tale in Downlode, with the boys vs Senor Apellido. At least I hope that's what's coming because this tale with its multiple flashbacks and irritating accents isn't quite what I was after. The multiple time strands just come across as confusing and it feels as if Abnett is trying to be just a wee bit too clever at the expense of an enjoyable read.

The Assassin - Part 5

D'eath gets cocky...

Synopsis: Valentine and his crew are in pursuit of the Shakaran Assassin, hoping that it hasn't seen him. They follow it into an Asteroid field which is all that is left of the Shakaran home system - and it heads into one of the asteroids. Valentine and his crew head in after hit and discover an inverted world - centuries old but still high tech - a mausoleum to the Shakaran society.

They land and discover the Shakaran suit left empty. Valentine orders Fist to remain behind with the suit and trash Shakara's ship while the rest scout ahead. Fist flicks the suit aside in disgust and then punches Shakara's ship, sending is bouncing away like a pinball.

But then something red starts flowing out of the ground into the Shakara suit...

GH: Much as I am enjoying this latest run of Shakara, there are certain elements of it that concern me. I'm worried that by delving in too far into the background of Shakara, we'll lose some of the greatness that was apparent in the first series. In the first run, each strip stood on its own as a little more of this vast universe opened up to us. Every episode seemed extraordinarily alien and unlike anything that had come before in 2000AD.

This series doesn't seem to be quite as ambitious. The plot of the group of bounty hunters tracking down Shakara, no doubt to be killed off one by one, is in danger of becoming rather predictable. Luckily Morrison manages to throw in enough ingenious moments like the inverted world to throw off the scent of predictability, but he could do with pulling a few more tricks out of his sleeve if he wants to avoid Shakara settling down into standard Sci Fi mould.

Luckily, he has the art of Henry Flint to add originality to even the most familiar of ideas. From the look of D'eath's ship, designed to blend into the background, to the astounding reveal of the alien world, Flint's artwork is what makes this series such a joy to peruse. It feels as if such care has been put into all the designs on show, even with something as simple as D'eath's flashy suit, one which ideally befits such a flamboyant character.

So while the story may not be quite up to the heights of series one - the art is certainly better and helps to even things out.

Part 3

Atavar gets a little help from his new friends

Synopsis: Voidshaker reaches the last reported location of Worldbreaker and Atavar - and examines the massive object both reported in their last communication. It cannot work out how it is managing to move, but it appears sentient, as it has made several course corrections. It moves towards a planet and devours it as Voidshaker realises the object is devouring the rimworlds.

Elsewhere, Atavar is being helped by Shira and its friends. they return to the weapons sheath abandoned by Atavar as Atavar tries to contact Op-sys. Op-sys attempts to recharge while Atavar orders it not to attack Shira and the others. The damage appears reparable, but suddenly Op Sys detects a threat. A badly damaged Worldbreaker appears from the rubble...

GH: I really liked the last series of Atavar, but I'm having considerable trouble with this one.

If ever there was a series that needed a decent recap, this was it. A full page "what has happened before" was desperately needed here, and even I am now starting to appreciate my own synopses from over two years ago. Now I'm aware that the trade collection is out there - but let's assume that the majority of people reading the comic haven't managed to pick one up, don't have the back issues in question, and don't know about the synopses on this site. How on Earth are they going to make any sense of it?

This is a major failing for this series as there are many elements that will simply make no sense to a very large number of readers. Giving up one page of the first part for a recap would have solved everyone's problems and I just can't understand why this isn't considered an necessity. American books have started doing this (see the Ultimate Marvel books, or Gotham Central) and there's only a one month gap between those!

Now while my opening paragraphs have slowly metamorphosed into a rant, it's an important point to help indicate my current feelings about Atavar. Because I've been so confused by the first two episodes (and remember, I have read the previous series of Atavar, although it seems so...long...ago) I'm just not warming to this one yet.

It does have wonderful artwork from Richard Elson (although I'd prefer to see him try his hand on an AAHAB follow up) and there's a feeling that Abnett's trying something deliberately alien here, which makes for a refreshing change, I just can't get to grips with it. Perhaps as the plot heats up, my interest will too. But at the moment, this is something of a disappointing return for Atavar.

Northern Dark - Part 3

Verse takes on the beast

Synopsis: Ravne and Ness are threatening the members of the Church of Crom Cruach, by throwing them out the window one by one until they talk. Ravne wants to know what's being planned and where the leaders are.

Elsewhere, Brand, Chapter and Verse are being attacked by a monster which appears invulnerable to bullets. They blow up the Mini instead, by shooting at the petrol tank, and this weakens the beast enough to let Verse get in close and finish the job. Brand suggests that the monster might be a Scottish spirit that's been raised through someone's intervention.

Brand calls Ravne who arranges a helicopter for them. Having killed the people he was interrogating, Ravne has discovered that the church is attacking the "biggest bunch of foreign invaders ever to set foot on the sacred soil of Scotland". Indeed, they already seem to be marching on Balmoral...

GH: Really, there's not much to this episode. A big action scene, which ably shows off Reardon's talents in this area, contrasted with Ravne and Ness's somewhat underhanded method of finding out information in Edinburgh. It's great fun, there's no mistaking that, but once again I get the feeling that Caballistics is taking a very long time to get the undercurrent of a plot moving onwards.

I'd much rather be finding out more about Ravne or Ness than have the gang solve another mystery - or at least have elements of a character's history brought to the fore by whatever they were investigating. At the moment it seems we've wandered off into Scooby Doo/Buffy/Dr Who territory with a monster of the month tale. Given the strength of Rennie's plotting that can be witnessed in this week's Dredd tale, I can't help but be left wanting more from Caballistics Inc. There's so much that could be done with this series - and I think that's where my frustrations with it lie.

That said, even if it's not quite what it could be, it's still enjoyable. And based on the stuff he's been coming up with on this series, Rennie could also write a damned fine Dr Who script (and do a much better job than some of those currently writing the TV series). If the BBC was looking for another franchise to play with, this would be an ideal place to start...